Westin Questions

[mrcell.livejournal.com]

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!

Comments

[morganskye.livejournal.com]

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.

[arevanye.livejournal.com]

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).

[morganskye.livejournal.com]

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! :)

[arevanye.livejournal.com]

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.

[morganskye.livejournal.com]

>_< 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.