I was in the Grapevine area for a couple of weeks due to work. I had actually reserved a room at the one in Irving, but realized there was really nothing around there. So I choose Grapevine since my relatives were close by. Athlene greeted me right away with a smile and made me feel welcome. She helped me change my reservation to this hotel in no time at all. She asked if I was a Point member (always a plus when they give a hoot), in return she handed me a goodie bag that had a water, cheese n crackers, and goldfish snacks. She said with my points I could get an upgraded room for free. She made sure I had everything in my room and even came up to check on me (I realized not everyone has the time to do this, but when they do, it's a huge plus). She realized that the room didn't have a fridge and asked if maybe a room with one already in it would suit me better. So she showed me another room with the couch, small kitchen, fridge and microwave. I told here it was perfect! She has to be one of the nicest people I have ever met.
My stay during the 2 weeks was great. They have a front loader washer and dryer for use if you need it. Soap, fabric sheets, washer and dryer use are all around $1.50 each. They offer a laundry service but it's outrageous. I guess it's more for the business people wanting their fancy suits dry cleaned and all that. I stayed at a Hampton Inn in TN where they let you drop off basic laundry and had it done by 8am the next day. I wish more hotels were like that. Oh well, a few bucks wasn't bad. My problem was where I would get in late from work and have to stay up half the night doing laundry.
On to the wifi. This was my only complaint of the whole 2 weeks. I don't know why everyone doesn't post their speeds when they stay at other hotels. To some of us, this is one of the most important things.
Download was only 1.5mb and upload was 1mb. The ping was excellent, around 16-23ms. So they helped out playing games online, but as far as watching netflix and such, you'd get a buffer here and there. The really strange thing is, it seems most hotels in this area and Irving are all around 1.5-1.8mb down and all around 1mb upload. These places aren't in the sticks, they're in prime business areas and all they can provide is that? I tried multiple Holiday Inn Express's, La Quinta in Irving, and various other big name hotels. I figured different hotels would have different speeds, but everyone was pretty slow.
If you're just needing email and browsing the internet, have no worries, this will get you through just fine. I just tend to watch movies or play games when I'm away from home for a long time. Regardless, the wifi wasn't a deal breaker.
The huge benefit of this place is it's location. It's close to everything! I noticed some reviews in the past complained about location. In the two weeks I was here, no construction hindered me in any way getting where I needed to be. The only time I seen construction be a problem was on the main highway, 114. As far as the road HIE is on, it's hardly ever busy, and there are multiple ways to get in and out.
To those interested in what's around here. Restaurants, (pardon my spelling, just spitting these out) PF Changs, Chili's, Hooters, Buffalo Wild Wings, Bone Daddy's, California Pizza Kitchen, Firehouse Burrito, Pluckers Wing Bar, Outback, Olive Garden, Joe's Crab Shack, Saltgrass Steakhouse, Springcreek BBQ and many many more. All of those are within 1 minute to 5 away from the hotel. Mustang Drive is your friend. It's at the back of the hotel and it will take you to bdubs, hooters all those places. Super easy to get where you want.
As far as shopping and entertainment, you've got Best Buy, Walmart, Sams Club, Academy Sports, Main Event, Tinseltown Theater (awesome theater, I always go here). You have to hit the Grapevine Mills mall. It's HUUUUUGE. It's only about 10 minutes away, with even more restaurants to choose from.
Back to the hotel, every single staff member I dealt with was SUPER nice. Breakfast was usually scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and occasionally omlettes. They have a pancake maker that is a cinch to make pancakes. You just simply hit the start button and it does everything for you! No pouring a mix of mess into something, it's pre-loaded. You hit go, then hit. The only thing I wish they would change is the biscuits. These are the infamous biscuits at just about every hotel. They feel fake and are tasteless. They do have some decent gravy to give it some flavor. Various milks, chocolate even, yogurt, cereals, 4 types of drink (oj, water, lemonade, and peach/orange/mango which was awesome).
I tried the breakfast test (showing up 5-10 minutes before breakfast was over). All the food was still well stocked and hot. They started cleaning up around 2 mins til and they did offer to ask if I needed anything else. Good job. and thumbs up! They even let me use the juice machine after hours!
I'll be sent to this area again for work this year and next, and THIS is where I'll be staying!! Rooms are clean and modern. Very cozy! Love the beds too. You get a few pillows and they're embroidered with "soft" or "hard" on the sides.
Thank you for everything!!
ps. This is a non-smoking hotel. I really wish they would make smokers go to the back door to do their business. Coming "home" after a long day of work and smelling a cloud of smoke as I walk through the front door is not what I'm in the mood for. Just a small suggestion, it's not like there's always someone out there, but you run into it occasionally.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.