My husband and I selected the Melrose hotel for our recent weekend stay in Dallas based on user reviews at Tripadvisor, and the hotel's "bargain" rate of $129 available on their website. We drove, thus adding a hefty $16 a day for parking, another $10.95 to gain internet access (either wireless or wired in the room), and then endured a tired and shabby room, with a poor location on the backside of the hotel, when clearly the hotel was nearly empty.

Here's what we didn't like about the room condition: stained and tired furniture and bedcoverings; a weird halo of darker stained stone flooring adjacent to the toilet (ahem....), wood surfaces on furniture water damaged and scratched, broken coffee pot, leaky faucet in the shower/bathtub, and the worst: delighted to find a pot of lip balm in a hotel, only to open and discover the swirl of someone else's fingerprint -- gross!

There were some perks: housekeeping was gracious in bringing an extra pillow and towel, the desk clerk and valet parking folks were friendly and efficient, the lobby is gorgeous and Sunday champagne brunch in the Landmark restaurant for $32 is elegant and tasty. We also enjoyed the dressing table in the bathroom and the mouthwash!

Would we go back? No. The Melrose feels tired, lacks amenities like internet access (no heavenly bed here...), or something a little more for guests in the morning than coffee in the lobby.

We recently stayed at the Melrose and also attended a wedding there. The wedding was beautiful with great food and a very nice bar. Our room was quite comfortable with a large bathroom for such an old hotel. The only issue I discovered was how paper-thin the walls are! We could hear almost every word of our neighbor's conversation through all hours of the night. So, word to the wise - bring your earplugs if you plan on getting any sleep at the Melrose Hotel!

Just returned with my wife from the Melrose. We flew to Dallas for business and to pick up our new puppy from a breeder. We had arranged to stay at the Cooper Clinic Guest Lodge and then found out they were not "pet-friendly" and had to change hotels at the last minute. We booked The Melrose because for a $50 fee you can have a pet there. When we arrived Valet was friendly and convenient. We were given a great rate that included breakfast and valet parking. Less than $200. Upon check-in we were upgraded to a corner king suite for no charge. The staff was friendly and the lobby nice. This is definitely a smaller boutique-type hotel. The location is not bad. However, there is a very large alternative lifestyle community right around the corner if that bothers you. If you drive down the Oak Lawn a ways you end up at a beautiful neighborhood with a great outdoor shopping mall. The best thing about the hotel was the restaurant and bar. The food was just rated 5 stars and we definitely would agree. Every meal was excellent. I would recommend the frozen lemon souffle for dessert. The one negative was the room was just OKAY. The comforter had some stains and the furniture looked worn. I was glad they upgraded us. Inspite of the just okay room, we would consider staying again because of the very friendly staff, location, and excellent food!! Last year we stayed at the four seasons and it would have to be ranked higher than the Melrose. However, it is hard to compete with the four seasons, especially when you are comparing it to a boutique hotel with no pool and very few amenities.