I recently stayed here for 4 nights with a family of four (children ages 14 and 10). We stayed in the Grand Lux Suite. Overall, the hotel, its amenities, and service were first rate and I would stay here again on future visits to Dallas. The hotel is conveniently located to downtown Dallas, Northpark Mall, many fast food (In’n’Out Burger, Torchy’s Tacos are a must) and fine dining (Al Biernat’s is the place we tried).
-
ROOM
-
I thought the Grand Lux Suite was nice for a family of four. It was essentially a two-room suite with a bathroom in the middle. One side had a king bed and a queen sofa/hide-a-bed with a large television that hung from the ceiling and could be turned for viewing whether in bed or on the sofa. The entire wall was floor to ceiling windows and had automatic switches for opening and closing both the shades and “black-out shades”. The other side had a mini-bar, small fridge (this might have been put in there for us as I mentioned the need when making reservations), a small hi-top dining table, and a large sectional sofa around a big coffee table. There was also another large tv on a console table and the floor to ceiling windows with automatic drapes. The bathroom had a single large sink (a trendy 3 footer), a large tub, and a glassed-in shower with a bench seat. We never used the tub, but the shower was great. I started filling the tub up once for a bath, but the water was yellow. I know the rooms were recently renovated and I am chalking that up to the fact that the water needed to run for a while to clear out the pipes (although I passed on the bath at that point). The sink, toilet, and shower water was fine. Positives: size; condition of furniture; décor; cleanliness; hard-surfaced floors; lots of closet space. Negatives: fair amount of street noise through the windows; poor lighting in the bedroom half of suite; uncomfortable mattress on hide-a-bed; loud fan from heating/ac unit (would be nice to have a low-fan setting – which I could not find on any of the suite’s three thermostats).
-
POOL, EXERCISE ROOM
-
With kids, the pool was an important factor in our decision to stay here. We stayed over the New-Years holiday and it happened to be during a cold stretch of weather (highs in the lower 40’s). I knew the pool was open year round and was heated, but was pleased to find out that it was covered in a tent during the winter months. This allowed for a more comfortable use of the pool. The temperature of the water the first 3 days was great (quite warm), but on the 4th day, they adjusted it down so that it was uncomfortably cold. I asked about it and the staff apologized and explained they were trying to get the temperature to the point where there was less steam in the tent. They told me they would adjust it back up for us, but it did not warm up when we tried it later in the day. The kids were swimming 2 – 3 times a day so that was a bit of a letdown for them.
-
I used the exercise room twice. There are two treadmills, one elliptical machine, and two bikes. There was a tv, towels, water (but no cups). The machines were older and it would be nice to see these replaced with newer equipment. There was a enough room for a multi-station gym, but they only had a bench and a small set of vinyl covered dumbbells (from about 1 – 6 pounds). I think they can/should improve the exercise facility.
-
RESTAURANT
-
We just ate once in the restaurant. I had the jalapeno cornbread appetizer and the fish tacos. The cornbread was great. The tacos were okay. My wife had the short ribs, which she thought were decent, but not exceptional. My daughter had pancakes and sausage and they were both very good. The wine and liquor selection is good and all of the staff very friendly and professional. We sat at the bar and received good service from the bartender “Jackie”. Although the food was good, it was a bit too eclectic for me. I think breakfast here would have been fantastic (considering the gourmet pancakes and sausage my daughter had), but we did not get the chance to dine in the hotel for breakfast. I understood the menu was going to be revised and I think that might help the overall appeal of the restaurant.
-
STAFF/VALET/HOUSEKEEPING
-
Everyone at the front desk was top-notch. We were often greeted back when returning from an excursion. The front-desk staff , “Ashley” and “Kaylee” were there the most during our stay and were very friendly, engaging my children in conversation and activity (hula-hooping), which was nice and made the stay memorable for my daughter. The valet was fantastic. I don’t think it ever took more than 60 seconds to retrieve our vehicle. They were that fast. Also, the valets were very friendly and took good care of our vehicle. In addition, “Braden” and “Josh” were available to run you to dinner and shops in the Lumen’s SUV and were great hosts. Housekeeping did a good job and was friendly.