Husband had to travel to Dallas for a short trip for work, tues - thurs and asked me to come with him and get a break from our 3 young boys.... Another person from the company stayed here and said it was great, so off I go to research this hotel, looked great and read great reviews so we booked it.

King room pool view, the room was brand new, spotless, modern and just lovely. After getting settled we headed down to the bar for some snacks and drinks before they closed. Jackie was the bartender and what a great and fun person to talk with. She was fantastic and by 12:15am when we departed felt like we have been friends for years. We ordered the beet salad and the tomato and avacado salad, and the cream of broccoli soup... everything was FANTASTIC!!!!

Slept like babies in our super comfy fed, until (only bad thing to say). We had the do not disturb sign on our door, hubby was in the shower and I was still lighly sleeping when I hear the door open and someone on a talking radio entered our room... I screamed my husbands name and quickly the door slammed shut. After speaking to the lovely Nikki at the front desk, we came to the conclusion that it was either maint or housekeeping and they made an error on entering even with the sign up.. they made a mistake. Freaked out at first then realized these things happen.. let's move on and continue to enjoy this hotel!

Head downstairs for coffee (for me) and breakfast for hubby. Our waiter suggested the short rib benedict, it was delish! How do I know... I couldn't resist, I had to have a taste and so glad I did.

Leticia the hostess is so nice and lovely to chat with. Every single person we ran into asked us if we needed anything or how we were.. you get the idea, they actually care and it shows!

Hubby heads off to work and I hit the gym, nothing fancy but had just what I needed. It was equipped with 2 treadmeals, 2 life cycle bikes, 1 elliptical, ab ball, free weights and a bench. TV in front and center. Got my workout in and then got ready for the pool.

The pool area is very simple and beautiful especially at night with the lights. I was the only person out there.. pool was freezing, so only put my toes in but would imagine how good it would feel during those hot summer months. I needed some food and a cocktail, so I went in to speak with Leticia (sp?) and she sent out Tom to take my order... another beet salad, garlic/parm fries and a double ketel one with cranberry juice and a splash of orange juice. Of course the food was fantastic... my $18 double drink.. sorry to say, couldn't taste the vodka and it wasn't double in size it was in a small drink plastic cup, so for $18 I thought I would have tasted the vodka right? Anyway... also note that tip is included by the pool, didn't notice that until after so Mr. Tom got double tip on both my first order and second which was a ice cold miller light. Oh well, made his day Im sure.

Up in my room later our phone rang and it's Jackie... you know from the bar the night before. But she didn't need to say that, I knew who she was and she informed me that the bottle of booze my husband had finished the night before (Oban 18)... they managed to get another one delivered and she said she was hoping to see us later for another drink.

Met some Dallas friends down at the bar and of course there was Jackie welcoming us all and making us feel very welcomed.

Great drinks again, then headed up to the 4th floor outside area for the sunset. Would be nice to have a small bar area up there too, but they don't. Oh well, it's only a short ride down to floor 1 for additional drinks.

this is more of a business hotel, so its pretty quiet during the day. We ended our stay by having free coffee and tea by reception... When my husband remembered we didn't finish our bottle of Cab from the night before, off hubby goes to get wine glasses at the bar and the wine from our room when the lovely Nikki at reception says "you cant have wine without cheese" let me go see what I can get for you guys. A few minutes later she comes back with cheese and 3 different types of crackers.. This place is great!

They have bikes for you to take a ride around the area, but we had to get packed and eat lunch before our 12 noon departure.

Back in the "front room restaurant" we each ordered a glass of wine and I had the broccoli cheddar soup, grilled cheese and tomato sandwich and hubby had the blue cheese and bacon cheese burger. Again.. the food here is fantastic!

Wished us a good trip and we were off... would we stay here again, without question! Don't hesitate it is a great place to stay, relax, have drinks and food.

I couldn't get everyone's name, but here are a few that really made us feel special during our very short stay:

Nikki at Checkin
Tom for pool food and bev service
Jackie the rockin bar tender
Leticia the hostess with the mostess
Gilbert at valet
the worker who showed me where the gym was.. btw its in the original tower 2nd floor opposite side of check in
And the many, many other employees who stopped to make sure we were enjoying ourselves and asking us if we needed anything.

Some high end resorts don't have this personal service. Beware... alot of VERY clean glass all the walls... walked into one, learned my lesson with a red mark on my forehead, actually very funny!

Thank you everyone at the Lumen, we now have the perfect place to stay while in Dallas!!

My husband and I stayed at the Lumen this past weekend. We were treated like visiting royalty. From the moment we walked through the glass doors and greeted as if they had been eagerly awaiting us, the staff went out of their way to do anything to ensure our comfort. Our room was upgraded to a larger room with a walk-out terrace overlooking a lovely pool. The room was very clean with lots of extra amenities awaiting us from the front desk staff. I can't say enough good things about this boutique hotel right across the street from the SMU campus. Rest assured, I'll be back!

I've been staying at the Lumen when I visit family in Dallas for several years now. The staff is almost universally excellent and the rooms are unique and always clean. Also, the Lumen staff always makes me feel special--which is one of the reasons I prefer to stay in boutique hotels whenever possible. So, this is a favorite hotel, and I will definitely plan to stay again--my problems with in-room dining and with the new restaurant--which made me feel not-so-special--were probably a result of the recent grand opening of the expansion. I really like the hotel's expansion which added a pool, a roof top deck and a new restaurant.
I had booked a double queen room with a balcony for my September 2012 stay, but when I arrived I was assigned a double qeen room with a tall window. Balconies matter to me because my grandson loves them, so I called the front desk and Kaley quickly solved my problem. My balcony room featured modern, soothing decor in shades of brown, the beds were very comfortable, and the entire space was very, very clean. There was a mini fridge in the room with a few sodas and juices--but in this room there were no mini-bar snacks where my grandson could spend my frequent visitor voucher. I did not call the front desk on this because I was beginning to feel like a pain.
At 5 p.m. the hotel offers a wine and cheese lobby gathering for guests. As I headed for the lobby about 5:30, I got off the elevator and was greated by a sign saying half the lobby area was closed for a private event, so guests in my wing of the hotel would have to go outside and around to get to the main lobby. I looked around and I seriously believe the private party could have been accomodated with more privacy and without forcing guests to do a walk-around outside. I saw several guests who were confused and had to go to staff for assistance. At least it wasn't raining and I wasn't dragging luggage.
The wine and cheese reception for guests turned out to be wine and deviled eggs, but the hostess could not have been nicer or more attentive to the dozen or so guests in the lovely new lobby.
On previous stays with Lumen, there were breakfast order door tags in the room allowing the guest to hang an order for room service breakfast the night before. There were no tags, so about 11 p.m. I called room service to leave my a.m. order. I got voice mail several times, with no indication that leaving a message would result in my request being received by room service. I called the front desk and was connected to someone in the restaurant who very cooly informed me that everyone went home and I should try again at 7 a.m. I did so and got the voice mail on each of four attempts. Finally, I again called the front desk, and Kaley tried several times before she was able to get me someone in the in-room dining service. (By the way, Kaley is a real service star and any hotel in the world would be lucky to have her. She is unfailingly cheerful and friendly and always ready to help.) Once someone answered and took my order, I was told that the wait would be 45 minutes, which was okay by me. However, the food actually arrived within 20 minutes and was very nice. (The Lumen adds a $3 service fee for room delivery plus a 20% gratuity. This is fairly common, but the food receipt form that the guest signs has a space for adding a gratuity--so just be aware one is already paying the gratuity in the overall fee.)
My family wanted to eat in the new restaurant at the Lumen, so we made reservations for Saturday night. Once we arrived, we were promptly seated and served water. We were pretty pleased at the lively, attractive surroundings. The restaurant is very light and airy. I can't talk about the food, though, because after sitting at the table for over 15 minutes with a hungry child and without even a greeting from a wait person, we gave up and left. If a wait person had just acknowledged us at all, we would have stayed seated longer.
As I said earlier, this is my favorite Dallas hotel and I am hoping the food service glitches and other little inconsistencies will sort themselves out with time and experience in the new space.

Hotel Lumen is my new favorite Dallas boutique-y hotel! It was very reasonably priced, nestled in SMU's campus and near Highland Park posh. I loved the swanky look and comfy-but-cool ambiance. I stayed in a King suite overlooking the pool and was extremely impressed with the room layout and dreamy bed linens & mattress. The staff was friendly and helpful. The pool was delightful. Nice toiletries, towels, and robes too. I didn't eat in the restaurant much, but the cocktails were tasty.
I'll come back for sure. Next time I'll bring my doggie :)