21c Museum Hotel Lexington
1,061 reviews
#8 of 78 Hotels in Lexington
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167 W Main St, Lexington, KY 40507-1397
COVID-19 update: See the added health and safety measures this property is taking.Read more
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$259
$197
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Free cancellation until 09/15/21
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Dining (16)
Room & Suite (16)
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What you can expect during your stay
- All linens sanitized in high-temperature wash
- Face masks required for guests in public areas
- Face masks required for staff in public areas
- Floors marked for social distancing
- Hand sanitizer available to guests & staff
- Regularly sanitized high-traffic areas
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Updated 09/16/20 Safety precautions are provided by the property and are not checked by Tripadvisor for accuracy.
A note from 21c Museum Hotel Lexington
Updated 09/16/20 Safety precautions are provided by the property and are not checked by Tripadvisor for accuracy.
About
#8 of 78 hotels in Lexington
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Travelers' Choice
GreenLeaders Bronze level
21c Museum Hotel Lexington is a combination boutique hotel, contemporary art museum and restaurant in downtown Lexington, Kentucky. The hotel is housed in downtown Lexington's historic Fayette National Bank Building, the city's first skyscraper originally designed by famed New York architecture firm McKim, Mead & White. Woven into the fabric of downtown, 21c welcomes both visitors and the local community to enjoy the curated exhibitions and cultural programming. The world has changed over the last several months and here at 21c, we have made some changes too. One thing remains constant. Our top priority is the safety and wellness of our teammates and guests. Our website has everything you need to know to return to travel with 21c. We can't wait to welcome you back to Lockbox and 21c Lexington!
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Full view
Property amenities
Valet parking
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Fitness Center with Gym / Workout Room
Bar / lounge
Children Activities (Kid / Family Friendly)
Pets Allowed ( Dog / Pet Friendly )
Business Center with Internet Access
Conference facilities
Paid private parking nearby
Wifi
Restaurant
Special diet menus
Banquet room
Meeting rooms
Baggage storage
Concierge
Gift shop
Newspaper
Non-smoking hotel
ATM on site
24-hour front desk
Private check-in / check-out
Dry cleaning
Laundry service
Ironing service
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Room features
Air conditioning
Housekeeping
Room service
Safe
Iron
Minibar
Flatscreen TV
Room types
Non-smoking rooms
Suites
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
HOTEL STYLE
Business
Green
Location
Full view
100Great for walkers
Grade: 100 out of 100
66Restaurantswithin 0.3 miles
38Attractionswithin 0.3 miles
1061Reviews3Q+A49Room tips
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This was my second time staying at 21C in Lexington, and my first time staying over the weekend. My first stay was enjoyable and I had no complaints, but things had most certainly gone down hill in terms of service, perhaps due to the weekend rush. What struck me the most was the less than genuinely friendly or helpful front desk staff, the fact that I was put in an ADA compliant room (that I was told was the "last" room at the property) although I paid a premium price and booked far in advance and direct for an enhanced corner king, and (the kicker here) that my car was damaged during Valet parking (which is really not an optional thing at this hotel). The disorganized check in and valet process, the tired and outdated gym and the fact that our room was not fully stocked with towels and toiletries was also not ideal. I would normally not write this review, understanding that hotels are still learning the Covid ropes as the world opens up, but having stayed here previously during Covid and seeing how well the staff (then) handled things, I perplexed that things went so far downhill in such a short amount of time. One huge exception, the restaurant manager (or at least she seemed to me to be a manager and in charge) was wonderful both last time and this time. She is just the right amount of friendly, totally helpful and constantly working to roll with the punches of a busy restaurant and bar. She was a highlight both stays, and that "side of the house" is doing well and omitted from this review.…
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Date of stay: April 2021
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip: Corner rooms are great, but paying extra and booking in advance didn't secure that room.
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1 Helpful vote
Helpful
This was our second visit to the hotel. We still love the location, the art, as well as the thoughtfully designed rooms. However it’s confounding that upon entering the hotel - with luggage - two or three staff members loitering just inside the front door did not care enough to open or hold the door for us. We noticed this was true for all guests over the several days of our stay. How strange. Also there is a bit of a lackadaisical attitude among the bell staff and those at the front desk. We asked for ice and it took nearly half an hour. We noticed too that there was a discarded candy wrapper in the hallway outside of our room, which remained there for our stay. Our bathroom had a small amount of debris in the corner behind the toilet that the cleaners overlooked. It made us think that housekeeping is superficial. Odd too, that our bedside table had one small bottle of spring water (hey 21c...hello, hello...we are TWO people not one!). Obtaining the complementary cup of coffee in the morning (no coffee maker in the room) was a theatrical production at the front desk - latex gloves donned by the staff members, then they apply hand sanitizer over the gloves, wipe the urn handle, paper cup filled, wiped again, and finally handed to the guest. Adding cream to the coffee...oh we dared not ask lest we start Act Two of the production. Please, please dispense with this Covid coffee theatre and put coffee pod machines and paper cups in the rooms! It won’t take much to bring this 21c back to the five star level that it deserves. …
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Date of stay: April 2021Trip type: Traveled as a couple
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Response from Gabe Isaac, General Manager at 21c Museum Hotel Lexington
Responded 2 weeks ago
Thanks UpstateNY for taking time to share your experience. Location is certainly not enough to continue to win your business; clearly we failed to deliver the intended experience and exceed your expectations. I'm very sorry. Your feedback has been an invaluable retraining tool in bringing service back to standard. If our efforts to protect the health and safety of teammates and guests appeared to be thoughtless theater, I'm very sorry. I assure you it is with genuine concern. We are honored to provide careful service through pandemic and look forward to returning amenities as soon as possible. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me for future reservations; I'd love to assist personally. Very Best, Gabe
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I have no idea how this place ever received an excellence award. I am sorry to report I don’t have too many positives to share other than the fact that the valet was very friendly. I’ve stayed at 21c museum hotels before but this one was very disappointing. We checked in pretty late after a long day so I didn’t feel like complaining about the wait of the elevator or the condition of the room. It seemed there was only one working elevator the night we checked in and there was always people waiting, including two men not wearing masks and talking very loudly on their speaker phone conversation so we chose to wait for a few more elevator rides. Upon entering the room I noticed the carpet didn’t look vacuumed which always grosses me out. (I cannot stand dirty floors.) Unfortunately it didn’t get better from there. I noticed lots of hairs all around the bathtub. Pretty long ones too so it wasn’t like housekeeping staff just overlooked one, it was a pile! The couch in the room was covered with stains and corners of bed were also dirty. Let’s just say I was pretty uncomfortable but considering it was after 11pm we kind of had to just suck it up. Also, no waters in the room and not even an area to purchase one in the late evening. Then the worst thing happened, I noticed no coffee in the room! Funny how they remove coffee machines from the room due to covid but still have bathrobes....hmmmm. Doesn’t make sense to me. I tried calling the front desk to ask about coffee the next morning but was asked to hold, after 10 min I said forget it and we walked to Starbucks. There is nothing worse for me than a gross room and then no coffee in the morning. To be honest I’m not even sure if this hotel has room service however I wouldn’t utilize it just for my morning coffee. I don’t want to answer the door in my pajamas and half asleep or wake up my family, as I’m an early riser. Upon check in it would be helpful if the front desk would let you know these things upfront. How about letting the guests know that there is no water in the room so maybe figure that out before hand. Or if there is somewhere to get coffee, let us know that too so the guest isn’t going out of their way to find it in the morning. This IS NOT a luxury hotel, not by any means. They have valet and a robe in the bathroom....nothing else. Possibly a 3 star hotel if even that. …
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Date of stay: March 2021Trip type: Traveled with family
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Response from Gabe Isaac, General Manager at 21c Museum Hotel Lexington
Responded Apr 2, 2021
Hi 031329, thank you for sharing your feedback with us. I'm not sure I can adequately express my disappointment reading your comments. It's clear we failed to meet our standards or your expectations regarding room cleanliness and the lack of amenities- complimentary bottled water should've been in your room when you arrived. I'd love an opportunity to get additional details from you if you're open to contacting me directly. I'm also happy to shed light on the health and safety choices we've made in response to COVID-19- why robes remain while coffee makers were removed, for example. While service and amenities have certainly changed, we are taking extra steps to continue to deliver an amazing guest experience. Among other supplies and services, we offer complimentary coffee and bottled water 24/7 and are delighted to bring it to you. We should've shared this with you at check in and handed you our welcome letter so you could review the details again in the comfort of your room. This lack of communication is as upsetting as the uncleanliness. I'm very sorry. I hope we are able to connect. Your feedback will be invaluable in reinforcing our standards, and I'd love the opportunity to begin rebuilding your confidence in us, in hopes that one day you will give us another try.
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Beautiful corner room for a mini vacation after covid vaccination. Large and great light. Nice bathroom BUT toilet wasn't clean or a member of the staff used it...Lock Box has a limited menu, no vegetarian entrees. Food was nothing to go back for. No coffee but a Starbucks across the street. One elevator working, one with a sign on it saying it wasn't working but obviously they weren't in a hurry to get it fixed. This was a problem in that you'd wait quite a while for the elevator and when it finally stopped on the floor, it would have 6 people crammed into. Next trip, the Marriott across the way.
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Date of stay: March 2021
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
3 Helpful votes
Helpful
Response from Abbey Tillman, Guest Services / Front Office at 21c Museum Hotel Lexington
Responded Mar 23, 2021
LoveTravel40249, thank you for taking the time to provide feedback from your recent visit with us. I am very disappointed by your experience and cannot apologize enough for the lack of overall service you experienced. Since reopening the hotel last summer we have made particular service edits to align with COVID-19 protocols and precautions. Due to this, we have strived to provide even better service than before knowing that we have made these edits. Clearly we failed to show you our efforts and did not instill any confidence in you and for that I am very sorry. I hope that you will give us another opportunity to welcome you back upon future travels to Lexington. Very best, Abbey
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A bit of good but mostly bad. Let's start with the good. We're chess players and fans of the mini-series Queens Gambit, which is set in Lexington. 21c created a special Harmon Room furnished with authentic mid-century furniture, chess magazines Beth stole from the drug store, and chess pieces on the ceiling. The room is a work of art. It's like staying in a MOMA living art exhibit. It's amazing. The room was spotless from bathroom to living area (it's a suite) to bed. That's all the good. Here is the bad: * No Keurig or coffee equipment in room. This wouldn't be so bad if they had coffee and such in the hotel restaurant or lobby, but they don't after restaurant closes, which is 9pm on weekends. And if I wanted coffee in my room without having to get dressed and goto restaurant, I can't do it without paying premium for room service. This is a major oversight by management. * No sundries or snacks, except the few for sale at a premium in room refrigerator. How about a few free bottles of water? Better yet, how about management walking directly across the street to the Marriott (which is $129 per nite/ 30% of 21c rates) and observe all of the snacks and sundries available. Be sure to go over at 10pm on a Saturday and have a drink at their bar (it's open at that time) or get a coffee or latte from their Starbucks machine. It's COVID for the Marriott, too, but that certainly has not impacted their service and amenities. Don't blame any of this on COVID. * We occasionally travel to Lewes Delaware and stay at a small boutique hotel called Hotel Blue. They have a deluxe self-serve coffee/ expresso machine in lobby available 24 hours a day. Maybe 21c could invest in something like that. Maybe 21c could invest some money in hospitality and service. Maybe managers should actually supervise and be on-premise, coaching staff. Our room service server shows up at our door with ripped jeans and sloppy clothes. Same with front desk staff - sloppy and unprofessional. I'm paying how much for all this? For from restaurant was a mixed bag. Steak side item was fries. What? How much is that steak? How about something more appropriate as sides with that expensive steak. Asparagus? Potatoes dish? Come on you can do better. Best thing on menu was pimento and biscuit appetizer. Very sad indeed. * Check in was horrible. Room was not ready until 4:45pm. Excuse was it was not cleaned yet because someone occupied it nite before? What? Isn't that what happens a lot - rooms are occupied? This is COVID times with low occupancy rates. What if it was a 90% occupancy the nite before? Would check-in be further delayed. No excuse for this. * Valet parking is a rip-off. They left our car on the street all nite. It was iced and snowed over. Wow paid $30 for free street parking. We will be contacting management for a refund - we don't expect to pay $30 when we could have parked for free. * Front desk Sunday morning could not even look up away from their phone/ screen long enough to make eye contact and greet us at check out. We wanted our keys to car so we could leave. He said we had to wait for valet. We're still no sure why. The key box wasn't locked. When valet returned she moved clerk out of the way (the box was directly behind the clerk) and got our keys. What? Clerk could not have done same thing? 21c promotes their product and brand as luxury/ boutique' upscale. Yet customers get Motel 8 service. Management needs to make some major improvements, and be on-site managing their employees and property. Management needs to train staff on hospitality starting when customer arrives and is first greeted, through when they depart, and everything in-between. At these rates management should ensure a luxury experience. For a model of hospitality perfection, management needs to take a field trip to NYC and stay at The Casablanca to learn what a luxury hotel experience should be from the time you walk in the doors. It's a half-block from Times Square and rates are comparable to 21c, but the experiences are hugely different. Our Recommendation: stay directly across the street at Marriott. 1/3 the price and 1000% better service. The Harmon Room is cute, but be prepared for paying a premium for it and with no luxury service to go with it. If you're just traveling and want a great room and great price with superior service, the Marriott and other Lexington choices are much better, and at a much lower cost. The 21c "brand" is sorely lacking in Lexington.…
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Date of stay: February 2021
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
4 Helpful votes
Helpful
Response from Gabe Isaac, General Manager at 21c Museum Hotel Lexington
Responded Feb 9, 2021
Hi Mark, thank you for sharing your invaluable feedback. I'm not sure I've been more disappointed by a guest's experience. We have certainly been aggressive in our health and safety measures which in turn has impacted the availability of amenities, but we are also going the extra mile to compensate and continue to offer you an amazing stay. We failed to share our efforts with you; I'm very sorry. I have reevaluated our welcome process to ensure your options are better communicated. Just a few examples... Removing Nespresso machines from guestrooms has a huge impact for our coffee-loving guests. Instead, we're offering complimentary drip coffee in the lobby each morning and are ready to deliver you Nespresso at any time of day. Reducing water bottles in your room upon arrival to minimize waste has certainly created more work for us, but the team loves to deliver as many complimentary bottles as you'd like, whenever you'd like. Similarly, Lockbox's Grab & Go menu is available 24/7 in an attempt to satisfy your cravings while our hours are reduced. As for our thoughtless service, there are no words. We strive to not only provide but engage our guests with authentic hospitality. Your review will continuously be used to highlight the effects of apathy. Thank you, and again, I'm truly sorry. You walked away with the impression that we take you for granted. Clearly we need to work harder so you can feel our appreciation. We are always grateful for our guests; now more than ever, your trust in us is paramount. We will continue to take the appropriate measures to keep you safe and not lose sight of the holistic experience. If there's ever an opportunity to welcome you back, please don't hesitate to reach out. Very Best, Gabe
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PRICE RANGE
$165 - $382 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
United StatesKentuckyLexington
NUMBER OF ROOMS
88
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Claim Your Listing Frequently Asked Questions about 21c Museum Hotel Lexington
Which popular attractions are close to 21c Museum Hotel Lexington?
Nearby attractions include Rupp Arena (0.3 miles), University of Kentucky (0.06 miles), and The Kentucky Theater (0.2 miles).
What are some of the property amenities at 21c Museum Hotel Lexington?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free wifi, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge.
Which room amenities are available at 21c Museum Hotel Lexington?
Top room amenities include a minibar, air conditioning, and a flat screen TV.
What food & drink options are available at 21c Museum Hotel Lexington?
Guests can enjoy an on-site restaurant and a lounge during their stay.
Is parking available at 21c Museum Hotel Lexington?
Yes, paid private parking nearby, paid public parking nearby, and valet parking are available to guests.
What are some restaurants close to 21c Museum Hotel Lexington?
Conveniently located restaurants include Corto Lima, Tony's of Lexington, and Triangle Grille.
Are there opportunities to exercise at 21c Museum Hotel Lexington?
Yes, guests have access to a fitness center during their stay.
Is 21c Museum Hotel Lexington located near the city center?
Yes, it is 0.2 miles away from the center of Lexington.
Are any cleaning services offered at 21c Museum Hotel Lexington?
Yes, dry cleaning and laundry service are offered to guests.
Are pets allowed at 21c Museum Hotel Lexington?
Yes, pets are typically allowed, but it's always best to call ahead to confirm.
Does 21c Museum Hotel Lexington offer any business services?
Yes, it conveniently offers a business center, meeting rooms, and a banquet room.