I’ve just returned from a three-night/four-day stay at the Roosevelt. And while there were some significant areas for improvement, I feel that some of the previous negative reviews are complete hyperbole. The Roosevelt is a beautiful hotel. The public spaces are no less than stunning. The rooms were beautifully and comfortably furnished. The restaurants and bars we frequented lived up to their classic reputations…the Sazerac bar is truly a legendary experience. Besh’s Domenica Restaurant served excellent modern Italian cuisine and the contemporary décor was refreshing yet fitting.
This is no Holiday Inn or Hilton Garden Inn. This is a fine hotel.
We reserved a King suite and enjoyed a living area, small dressing room with a wet bar, bedroom and bath. I was disappointed at first because I was expecting the large “great room-style” suite shown on their Web site, but it was actually nice having the separate areas. I know some have complained about the lack of bath, but Wow! What a shower! Multiple showerheads (rain-style, side-spray, handheld) were an indulgent surprise. The bed was extremely comfortable. I did not find it too soft, it simply had the feather beds and fluffy duvets that you find in most nice hotels. I know I am in the minority, but I found the two 42-inch TVs and the smaller TV in the bathroom to be overkill, but again we don’t watch much TV, especially on vacation. We had no problems with noise from other rooms, but we were located at the end of a hall.
The staff was professional, but I think the surroundings require a bit more polish and even friendliness. Perhaps because the hotel is newly opened, a “personality” hasn’t been established. This would go a long way towards elevating the hotel to the five-star rating I’m sure it would like to secure. The bellmen were the friendliest and warmest, speaking to you as you passed in the lobby. The bartenders in the Sazerac were great mixologists but not particularly friendly. The front desk folks were competent but their hospitality skills were lacking. When I mentioned that we were celebrating our anniversary and if they had a particular suite to recommend (with a view, etc.), the reaction was that she’d already assigned us our suite. OK, it was a nice suite but it was on a lower floor and there was no view whatsoever. In retrospect, I should have pushed but I hated to get worked up for potentially no reason.
My biggest issue was with housekeeping and, more importantly, the lack of promised follow-through from management to make amends. We checked in around noon on a Wednesday and in the evening showered and headed out for the night. Upon returning, I noticed the turn-down service was basically tossing a few chocolates on the bed (which wasn’t turned down). The chocolates weren’t even placed with the logo facing up. Odd, but no biggie. The next morning, I realized they had not provided clean towels the night before so I called down to request them. After an hour, I had to call again. They finally brought towels and we showered and we headed out to a fabulous lunch at Commander’s Palace.
Upon returning mid-afternoon, I found our room had not been cleaned and called the front desk. By five o’clock still no housekeeping. At this point, we needed to get ready for dinner so I asked over the phone and in person at the desk for housekeeping to clean the room after six. Hours later, we returned to find the bed made, but no room cleaning. No fresh towels. No fresh glasses (they had not even removed the dirty glasses from the side tables). No cleaned bathrooms. No emptied trashcans. I was very unhappy and called to express my dissatisfaction. I was told that it was unacceptable and that a manager would contact me in the morning to make amends. Three days later (and back home from New Orleans), I had yet to hear from anyone. We finally received maid service on Friday afternoon, after checking in Wednesday noon.
This is a hotel that has much to recommend it…it’s a shame to have it marred by less than impeccable service, much less the service shortfalls that I encountered. I so wanted to love the Roosevelt…I poured over numerous hotel sites before selecting it for our special occasion. We had a wonderful trip and enjoyed many aspects of the hotel. I hope that if we return someday, it will live up to its reputation and the expectations it promises.
I’m rating a “4” because I still think this is an amazing place to stay. And because I still have hope that a luxury hotel like this will address its flaws and make a truly great destination for one of the world’s great cities. And just maybe, I’ll get a call offering a complimentary pot of coffee or drink in the bar. That’s all it would have taken to make things OK.
