“Great hotel if you enjoy the ceiling falling on you in bed and the smell of mold. I stayed in three different rooms during my three-month stay on insurance, and all showed signs of water damage. Front desk attendant Ima acted as if this is commonplace, with no offer of assistance in changing rooms to a long-term guest with many belongings. Yes, there’s a rooftop patio (no bar, no tv anymore) and yes, the hotel is well-located as far as downtown Memphis with some of the staff being friendlier than usual, but the hotel falls absolutely flat on value, service, and amenities.Rooms are clean enough but noisy with soft, worn mattresses (the smallest “queen” size I’ve ever encountered) and poor design choices. Unless you’re a child, don’t expect to be comfortable using the sofa beds. Closets are useless, bathroom lighting is terrible, bathroom vents are inoperable, and the showers are very narrow, even for a slim person.Breakfast is on par with that of bad public schools—everything is prepackaged, even the waffles. Perhaps if they didn’t allow every city employee in off the street to partake, they might save enough money to offer a suitable breakfast for this price point.Housekeeping is good, if you can get it. The hotel operates on a 24-hour notice for housekeeping. Even when given the notice, it’s iffy whether or not you’ll receive it when scheduled. You’re more likely to receive a written note under your door from the housekeeping manager rather than any offer of assistance.Valet (at a whopping $29/night) is inefficient to say the least. The ramping area holds about four vehicles (for a nearly 100 room hotel) and is often clogged with people parking for the Starbucks or anywhere else really—there is zero management of this area. In fact my first experience at the hotel was of a full valet area, and, finding no other option than to double park, received a gruff “you in a bad spot” from valet Elmo, who I would come to learn is the most miserable and unhelpful employee at the hotel. Later, upon receiving my car from valet plastered with a booting notice sticker and paper ticket, Elmo’s only response was, “don’t ask me. I just get the car.” Most helpful. With the number of transient individuals hanging around the exterior of the hotel panhandling, you’d expect at the very least an outdoor valet stand to exert some measure of control and safety at the entrance of the hotel.In the end, the hotel is way overpriced at $200+/night total but if you must stay, my best recommendations as a local are to schedule housekeeping before your arrival if you’re staying for a short period, enjoy any of the fantastic local restaurants within walking distance for breakfast, request upper floor rooms ending in “03” as these are the only rooms that face north (away from street noise) and have no adjacent rooms, and to find alternate parking than the hotel valet. Pro tip: valet cars are parked in the First Place garage around the corner where you can self park for cheaper. Or better yet, take your chances on the street, where parking is free north of Monroe Ave. 6pm-8am Mon.-Sat. and all day Sunday, and where there is very little enforcement anytime—a very rare expired meter ticket being a cheaper-than-valet $21.”
— Eric P