The hotel room was more than petite! It was super small! In fact, where the toliet was placed made for a very uncomfortable sitting. There was a large crowd partying outside of our doorway until 2:30 am. We finally called security around 2:30 to ask them to move their crowd into their rooms. But it was extremely obnoxious and loud! The food at Monarch was less than impressive. The seabass was good and the tuna appetizer was tasty, but the risotta was terrible and the dessert menu lacks creativity and especially a chocolate item. Who ever heard of a dessert menu without something chocolate! This was supposed to be a romantic night away from our 2 babies, yet it turned into a night of bad food and foul entertainment provided by loud and obscene college boys trying to relive the old days. We will never stay at this hotel again.

First, the good. The service from every staff member from the parking attendant to the concierge was fantastic. Well trained, helpful, and friendly, except the concierge had difficulty directing us to an alternate nice quiet bar to have a drink (see comments below). The hotel is wonderfully situated for Rice, the museums and the hospitals and they are all within walking distance of the hotel.
Next, the bad: No hot water on two out of three showers. There is nothing more disappointing than a lukewarm shower on a cold, blustery day and it is unacceptable in a luxury hotel. (there was no bathtub) The decor - olive green and brown is ugly. The lobby tries to mimic the Costes (Paris) with the bass music and The Delano (South Beach) with the lobby funiture. Neither is attractive in this setting. We had scheduled to meet another couple for a drink in the bar and were told both in person and over the phone through the concierge that this wasn't possible. The tables in the bar were reserved for bottle service only and were taken. Again, it is unacceptable that a hotel guest would be excluded from bar service. It was early so we were actually the only people to enter the bar and still were told it would not be possible to serve us. We had room service for one breakfast and were told that the table would be removed from the room by 10 AM. We returned in the evening and there had been maid service but the dirty dishes were still in the room. Obviously there was a lack of coordination between the staff.. The room was adequate in size but was dark and I considered it boring and dark not hip. The pillows were all bolster size and too large for sleeping (or they needed to be a little softer). While the location suits us very well the hotel cannot be considered luxurious in any way.

I stayed with a group at the hotel this past weekend (january 11th) .. what a FANTASTIC stay!

This hotel with the service, rooms, food was almost undescrible how awesome this hotel is!

Beds are the most comfy I have ever stayed in.. large rooms with marble showers/tubs, sinks, flat screen televisions and great views!

The employees go above and beyond the call and deserve a great round of applause!

If you get the chance, upgrade to one of the magnificent seven suites.. you will not be disappointed

I have stayed at the RZ, the New York Palace, Hyatts and many other 5 star hotels in the USA.. this one exceeded my expectations and I would give it a 6 star out of 5 stars!

I stayed here with a pretty large party of 35 for a weekend birthday bash and was pleasantly surprised at how well they accommodated our group. The rooms are very hip, with nice touches here and there that display a clear attention to detail. The decor is definately not "warm", but that's outweighed by the personality that shines in the design of it all. Very tasteful! The beds are also pretty comfy.

The check in was a no-brainer (the glass of champagne walking in from the airport was right on time), the room service was delicious, the service pretty impeccable (they pretty much handled EVERYTHING within 30 mins), and I'd go back in a heartbeat!