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Westin Questions

I have a reservation at the Westin for 2012 Dragon*Con. I've never stayed there, so I looked at somme of the rating sites to see what other people think of it. The reviews are mixed, but I was surprised to see how many bad reviews there are recently. The complaints included stained carpets, dirty sheets, frayed and worn furnishings, loud air conditioning, bad TV reception, shaky elevators, and lousy housekeeping. I take internet reviews with a grain of salt, since you never know what's really motivating the posters. But, the number of recent bad reviews bothers me. So, here's a few questions for those who have stayed there:

1. How was the housekeeping? Was your room cleaned well and in a timely manner? This is the most important one to me.
2. Was the TV reception bad? I'd like to have decent reception for Dragon*Con TV.
3. Did your room look shabby? Were there stains on the carpet and furniture? Did it smell like mildew? Many of the complaints focused on a bad odor in the room.
4. What was your experience with the elevators? Did you have a long wait to get one? What floor was your room on?
5. In general, what did you think of the hotel and the staff? There were almost no complaints about the staff, except for the valet parking, which I won't be using.

Finally, on TripAdvisor, many of the recent bad reviews had received a personal response from the Westin's Guest Relations Manager. She, of course apologized for the problems. She stated several times that the hotel was overdue for a renovation and would be getting one, starting later this year, with new furnishings, carpets, and TVs. I can't find any announcement about that on the internet. Does anyone know if that's a sure thing? If so, I wonder if it'll be finished in time for D*C. Could on going revovation cause an "over booking" situation like the one at the Hyatt this year? :-O

Thanks in advance for any replies!

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My friends and I stayed there this year and overall it was very good.

1. Housekeeping kept up the room really good and didn't come around at the crack of dawn which is a huge plus...

2. The Dragon*Con TV reception was bad. There was a lot of static and noise... :(

3. The room seemed nice, we didn't notice any stains or broken furniture. We did think the huge safe in the room was taking up to much room. lol

4. The elevators for the most part were really easy. I think we only had to wait longer on Saturday and of course Monday morning was bad with everyone leaving...

5. The staff was very courteous and helpful. I think overall we were very happy with our experiences and would go back next year.

I personally didn't hear about renovations, but I didn't ask either. *shrug

We stayed at the Westin this year and had no problems. We didn't use the housekeeping outside of getting one set of extra towels. But as far as the room, it was clean, it didn't smell, the TV reception on Dragoncon TV was fine for us. (I think the TV remote was broken, but I'm sure they would have brought us a new one if we had asked for one.) I would say it was comparable to the rooms we've stayed in at the Hyatt or Marriott in the past, except maybe a little bit smaller. Also I think the beds are more comfortable at the Westin. The elevators were good for the most part, not a lot of waiting. The only time I experienced an issue was at check-out. I believe we were on the 23rd floor.

I did not stay at the Westin, but...

2) D*CTV had problems in all the hotels this year, especially with sound.

4) I occasionally had to wait three to five minutes for an elevator after panels, but I never had a horrendous Hyatt/Marriott-type wait. (Then again, I never really had to wait at the Marriott, so I think the little elevator gods were watching out for me that weekend.)

Edited 2011-09-27 05:46 (UTC)

It was great when we stayed there this year. I'd definitely go back. It is in need of a renovation, but we didn't have any of the really bad smells in our room. Just an impression of an iron on the floor where someone tried to iron the carpet. I believe it took a lot of damage when a tornado hit downtown Atlanta a couple of years ago. That may have something to do with the need for renovation.

I was at the Westin and loved it. The staff was amazingly helpful, checking in was fast, and the room was very clean. Housekeeping didn't come around until 10am or so. The elevators were fine. I think the (very very mild) shaking comes from the fact that they're express elevators.

This.

The elevators shake a little, but it's because you're going 40 floors in under a minute. I was amazed at how fast they were and we never had to wait long for one. I think that the fact that they are divided between elevators that serve the lower floors and the express elevators to the upper floors and the fact that you needed a keycard for them meant less crowding.

We've already booked for next year. It was a pleasant experience and you are only a short walk down the street from the Peachtree Food Court. Very handy, IMO and the staff was courteous and very prompt.

We were on the 57th floor and had the most awesome view (http://s29.photobucket.com/albums/c268/thewindow/?action=view&current=a416e6eb.jpg).

We're still trying to get the Sheraton (damn deposits!), otherwise the Westin is our #2 choice.

We were on the 40th floor on the opposite side. The CNN building and the Dome were clear as day. Far better view then when we stayed at the Marriott! :)

Did you have a chance to get all the way up to the top floor observation deck? We went up there at night and it was incredible, the lights and being able to see the Georgia Dome from above and the football stadium at Georgia Tech all lit up. We had a blast with the telescopes too.

>_< I didn't. Every time I wanted to go up something else happened.

I think I want to push for the Westin again. It's a bit of a walk, but by the end of the con I didn't even notice it.

I haven't stayed there in about 4 years now, but we stayed there for 2 Dragon*cons and really liked it. I had absolutely no complaints and would stay there again. The only reason we switched over to the Marriott (and a couple years later, the Hilton) was because we were doing more costuming and didn't want to have to walk that far to change.

I have stayed in the Westin for the past two years (primarily because the Alt History Track has been there). The first year, the room had a very slight smell of mildew (I didn't notice it but my husband did)

This past year, our room did not have any mildewy odor. We were on the 41st floor and didn't have any elevator issues. (Yes, there is a bit of a wobble when the elevators are going quickly, but I think some of the other commenters have explained this).

To me, it does look as if the furnishings are in need of an upgrade--I'd say the place was last renovated in the late 90s/early 00s. However, neither of the rooms in which I stayed looked shabby. I had no issue whatsoever with the housekeeping, room service (which I ordered one evening as I was exhausted) and other service (we used the bellmen quite a bit to move track paraphernalia and our own abundant luggage).

I would definitely choose the Westin again!

1. How was the housekeeping?
we didnt use the housekeeping, but the trash we left in the hallway was taken away promptly.

2. Was the TV reception bad?
the first day (thursday) it was kind of in-and-out, but otherwise it was great the rest of the time. sometimes the sound would suddenly get very loud, but i think that was D*CTV's fault and not the Westin's fault because we didnt have that problem if we were watching any other chanel.

3. Did your room look shabby?
No weird smells, the furnishings seemed par-for-the-course, we did have two large melty-spots on the carpet where someone had clearly dropped and left a hot iron.

4. What was your experience with the elevators?
we were on the 55th floor and had to use the express elevators. most of the time this wasnt a problem, but sometimes it was hard to get one because the button for the express elevators would call a regular elevator and then since no one would get on, it would just keep calling that same elevator. the wait wasnt bad. not nearly as bad as the Hilton.

5. In general, what did you think of the hotel and the staff?
The hotel is pretty decent. i liked the phone service better than at the Marriott and everytime we ordered something up to our room (fresh towels, more coffee packets, more shampoo) the staff were prompt in filling our request. like freakishly speedy. also, we ordered a lot from Zifty, a food delivery service, while at con and the hotel staff seemed to know exactly how to handle that and we had no trouble getting our food. i got the flu while at con and we had to check out a day early but had no problems doing so, i think they still charged us for the day but no one hasseled us and we didnt have any problems getting a bellman up to our room to collect our things.

Thanks for all the info about the Westin. We're considering staying there next year, though we may still try for the Marriott.

Does anybody know about their deposit/refund policy for D*C? Their booking page (the one with the D*C rate showing) says they'll charge one night's stay almost immediately, but then elsewhere in the details it says you can cancel up to a few days before your arrival without forfeiture, and that after that point you'll be liable for a one-night charge. So if we book the Westin now as a back-up and manage to get a room during the Marriott Feeding Frenzy on the 3rd, will we be on the hook for the one-night deposit at the Westin? There's nothing there that says expressly that you will, and some of the language seems to imply that you won't, but I wondered if anyone had talked with the Westin directly about that.

Oh, one other question! Has anybody used the pool there? How does it compare to the Marriott? I used the Marriott pool once on Wednesday night this year and it was too cold to stay in for long. Does the Westin heat their pool, and is it partially outdoor like the Marriott?

Thanks for all the feedback. Good to hear some positive things about it -- I was a little put off by some of the reviews I'd been reading too, and would rather have first-hand reviews from fellow con-goers who've stayed there recently.

Regarding deposits, here is the info I was given: http://dragonconrooms.livejournal.com/446070.html?thread=1655670#t1655670

Thanks, yes, that's what's on the "details" item when you hit the reservation page, and how you're reading it is how I'm reading it, that if you cancel a few days before arrival, you shouldn't be liable for the one-night charge. It just isn't very clear from the wording whether they will refund what they charged when you made the reservation, although I'm not sure if anyone has actually seen that charge go through yet.

I have stayed there during two different years, both before DCTV was there...never had a problem or a complaint...Housekeeping was not really used the last time except for clean towels...the bed was comy enough...the A/C only bothered me when it turned off and then on again, so I turned it all the way down so it stayed on...I am a very light sleeper though and all noises bug me if they are not consistent...the snorer in the room bugged me more than the a/c...I prefer the Westin and Sheraton as my hotels, have never had elevator problems like the other hotels...if you get a really high room, they have the express elevators..

1. we elected to skip the daily cleaning. they give out a $5 voucher every day to refuse housekeeping that can be used at their starbucs.

2. the TV worked fine. they weren't a host hotel when we went so there was no D*C-TV

3. the rooms were nice. i don't recall any bad smells.

4. normally the were pretty fast. except during the mornings when people were checking out. we were on 17 in '09 & 26 in '10.

5. didn't have much interaction with the staff, but when we did they pleasant to deal with.

if we go back to dragon-con again, the westin would be our hotel of choice.

some more reviews of all the host hotels & some of the over flow ones here:
http://xiandesi.livejournal.com/8801.html

I didn't stay there but visited my friend there one evening. Their room seemed very nice if a little crowded with furniture. Seemed crowded with four people in there (and that was only for a short while).

It's a good uphill hike from the other hotels.

Just a coupla cents from me.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I feel much better now. I went into the Westin during D*C this year, but was never in a guest room. I'll keep checking regarding the renovation and post any info I find here. Thanks again!

The Westin was pretty fabulous. Part of our group stayed there and the only thing that was annoying was that you needed a room key to go up and down the elevators. That wasn't too annoying until one of our members forgot his key and we had to go rescue him. The view was beautiful, the beds comfortable and it was very quiet. The only other thing we didn't like was that it was a bit of a walk from the main con events to get home late at night after you might have had a bit to drink. Still, its a great hotel.

I've stayed in the Westin several times and I really love it. It's close enough to the con to be a quick walk to everything awesome, yet far enough away that I can actually sleep at night. Plus the rooms are really nice and spacious! The staff in particular is fantastic. I was really impressed with their team.

My only issue was it was hard to get cell phone reception in the Westin for whatever reason. Thursday I couldn't get ANY signal, and then the rest of the weekend it cleared up a bit so I could make and receive calls if I stood by windows. Weird.

We stayed at the westin for Dcon 2002 (I know!! ) and then this year. The rooms are exactly the same so yes, there is wear and tear you would expect at a hotel 1/3 the price. So if you are used to high end hotels this is definitely an exception to the rule. Also, the tvs aren't flat screen. Again no *huge* deal but basically they are still stuck in what was considered 4 stars 10 years ago.

The housekeeping came and did a good job, considering how much crap we had in the room

The elevators, even with a Wait, were faster than Marriott or hyatt

Baggage help on checkout day was also a shorter wait.

Bottom line- if you're doing a fancy overnight swank fest, go somewhere else. But if you want a quieter, less busy but close hotel for the con, it's totally fine
Also the staff was super nice

Holy crap! I forgot about the cell phone reception. Yeah that was insane. So minus a million stars for that.

I've stayed at the Westin for the past two years. To answer your questions first:

1. I hang the "Do Not Disturb" card on my door when I first get there, and it doesn't come off till I leave, so I can't comment on this one. It's just me, so I'd rather have privacy instead of housekeeping.

2. TV worked fine for me, including DCTV. There was a bit of a volume discrepancy between the bumpers, the panels, and the canned videos. However, previous posts on here indicate that this was a problem everywhere, and not just at the Westin. DCTV did cut off at least once, but it came back shortly, so that may have been system wide black out. I think the batteries may have been dieing in my remote, as I sometimes had to point very specifically at the TV at the correct angle. Plus, it was somewhat annoying having to change channels to the DCTV feed from the default menu system.

3. My room was very nice with none of the odors or stains mentioned.

4. I was on the 29th floor this year (and mid 20's last year), with speedy access to speedy elevators most of the time. (Ears would almost pop sometimes.) However, when panels let out and after the parade, there's a mass exodus crowd in the hallways, and the elevators slow to a crawl. While people in the Hyatt are somewhat trained on correct elevator use, I don't think those at the Westin use them correctly yet. There were lots of people taking the elevators to go up or down one floor. If those people had an invisible disability, age, or other medical reason that requires an elevator, please disregard these comments, as you're exempt.

However, I think a lot of people didn't want to take the stairs, or walk all the way down to where the escalators are located by the front desk. Since most of the DC crowd comes in through the back entrance that's on the opposite end of the hotel, they may not even know the escalators by the front desk exist. Especially if they get into focused blinder mode while walking, which I'm guilty of myself. I think I waited over 5 minutes during one of the busy times, which is infinitely better than the Hyatt or Marriott wait, but still unacceptable.

It was definitely worse this year than last since more programming moved to the Westin. I've always been on the lower floors, so I've never had access to the upper floor express elevators, so I don't know how those compare.

5. The staff was always very friendly and knowledgeable, though I generally am a very forgiving and lenient person. In 2010, I had 3 different Hotwire reservations. While I didn't have to physically move rooms, I did have go down after the first reservation was used to get the next one. Fortunately, the clerk working the desk was then able to handle the third one then as well. Unlike I've heard with the Marriott being able to combine different reservations, the Westin seemed unable to do so. However, that may have been that these were through Hotwire and not the regular reservation system.
You mentioned that you won't be using valet parking. If that's because you're flying in, great. But if not, don't self-park in their garage. Use any other nearby garage, because there's is tiny, hot, and way overpriced. Better yet, do the overnight parking at the Lindberg Center MARTA station, and use MARTA to get there.

To Be Continued...

Now, on to some other things related to the Westin:

[See my comment in your other thread for cell phone signal issues.]

I don't know about any planned renovations, but they did just finish completely replacing all the windows in the hotel due some of them being destroyed in the 2008 tornado that went through downtown. And let me tell you, I was getting a bit nervous after finding out we were under a tornado warning on Sunday night, going into Monday. Hearing the wind whip around that tower is a little unsettling. Not sure if there are any further interior renovations planned or not.

People also like to complain about the walk from the Westin to the Hyatt, but I don't mind it at all. About half can be done in air-conditioned comfort, while tall buildings offer shade for some of the other half. See my post here for a very detailed description of the "shortcut" AC route:
http://xiandesi.livejournal.com/22771.html?thread=115955#t115955

The Westin does offer a $5 coupon if you hang the placard up that declines new linens. They cheated me for about half my days this year, but it's not worth fighting more. I guess it is a nice incentive if you don't need a lot of maid service, and want to help the environment.

Bottom line, it's a perfectly fine hotel if you want to stay in a host hotel. However, I probably wouldn't stay here if I had to pay even the discounted con rate. Using Hotwire, I can get it for about half the con rate. At that price, the Westin is very much a good choice if you don't mind the walk. It might not be if you have a lot of big, hot costumes, or like to party a lot. It might also depend on if your fandom interest align with the programming tracks held there.

Thanks for the detailed reply!

I've been debating whether to ask for a high floor when I check in (if they'll let me choose). If the elevator wait wouldn't be too long, I think I'd like to be up where I'd have an impressive view. Of course, even the 29th floor could offer a good view, depending on the side of the hotel. How was your view?

I won't be using the valet parking because I'm not bringing my car downtown. I live just outside the city in DeKalb County. A friend will be dropping me off on Thursday. Then, on Saturday he'll park in the Lindbergh station's long term parking deck and take MARTA to join me for the last three days of the Con. I'll take MARTA back with him to his car when the Con's over. We did that this year and everything went smoothly. I had originally planned to take MARTA down each day and head back to the house each night, but decided getting a hotel room was worth it to avoid having to drag home late at night when I'm a little the worse for wear.

I'm with you on having no trouble with the walk from the Westin to the Hyatt. I did it several times this year, using the Food Court cut through that you describe. I also walked up hill from the Sheraton to the Westin twice and had no trouble with that either. Of course, each time I did it fairly early in the day, before I got too tired.

This year, I stayed at a non-host hotel that was just a short walk from the Westin. I got up early each day and headed out for breakfast, then on to the first panel I'd picked. I didn't return to the room until bed time, so I'm not too worried about the panel crowds causing me elevator difficulties. I do like to find fresh towels waiting for me in the room and a bed that's been made, so I will be using the housekeeping service.

Thanks again for all the advice!

My view in 2010 was pretty good. It looked east out over Peachtree street, so I could look down on the parade as it passed by. However, the angle was REALLY bad, and some of the street was blocked as I recall. My view in 2011 was urban city scape with boring box buildings and air-conditioning units. Don't know what direction it was, but I think it was toward the south.

I just ran across my $5 voucher coupons that I forgot to use. While I can't make out the scribbled over the room number, I think it was room 2220 for last year and room 2914 for this year. I love the MARTA trick, and did it for the first time this year.

The one time I did the walk from the Sheraton to the Westin, I nearly died, and swore never to do it again. You have my sympathy and respect, though you're probably in far better shape than me. I'd rather walk extra far out of my way by going up to the Hilton and through the hotels via the AC people tubes than ever walk up that hill again. The long way gives me a chance to people watch and take pictures of all the cool costumes.

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stayed there in '09 & '10

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