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The First Review of W Dallas Hotel Does Not Bode Well

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 2440 Victory Park Lane [map], Dallas, TX, United States, 75219

June 28, 2006 at 9:20 AM | 1 Comment



Update June 28: Grand opening was June 21, so this hotel only has a week under its belt. Soft beta people--you have been warned. Doesn't mean you can't enjoy it--just keep the expectations in check. Send hotel photos if you can.

The W Dallas Victory Hotel and Residences just opened on Friday but already we have a review of the place.

A tipster arrived on Friday night and was so impressed with the music and drinks that he decided to book a room for the next day. But as with most newly-opened hotels, the kinks were still being worked out. Perhaps the hotel should follow the practice of its sister property, the Westin.

I've always loved the W at other cities and could not wait to test Dallas'. 'Welcome to the W!' guys in short blue shirts eagerly echoed as we left the car with the valet and walked inside. The lobby is somewhat barren and almost closterphobic-ish for such a huge building. Blue LED lighting and mod-earth tone carpeting is abundant, as well as serious looking staff in dark jackets and Secret Service earpieces.

They whisked our luggage away, we got a key and happily went upstairs. The 5th floor room was nice and modern if a bit dark & stark - but still cool. I mean, the entire bathroom was open to the sleeping area and the shower had an all-glass wall! Kinky!

We changed clothes and decided to check out the pool... And that's when things began to go south. .. As soon as we arrived pool-side on the 16th floor, a typical Texas storm had blown in and furniture, towels and pillows were flying off the roof and into the pool. Security immediately closed off the area while we watched what looked like a scene from "the Day After Tomorrow" take place.

"I have to request that you evacuate the area" said the W Secret Serviceman. SO, we went to the lobby and looked out the front door. "Please step away from that area" we were warned again. We then went to the 'living room' which is the open bar area where everyone was drinking and waiting out the storm.

Image via UltraScott/Flickr

More on the hotel stay after the jump.

[The Storm] quickly passed so we went outside and grabbed wings at Hooters. Back at the hotel (two hours later and the sky is now clear blue) we attempt to return to the pool we were so excited about enjoying. The doors were still closed and the security man told us to leave yet again saying he was 'monitoring the storm'.

Ok, whatever.. but not whenever so far. We returned to the bar to get a drink and take it with us to the room. The white wines were not yet chilled. ok.. fine, so after compromising with a so-so merlot.. we left... But not yet!

"No drinks are allowed outside this area" we were strictly warned because of the TABC. So we stayed and drank as the electricity went out. and back on... and out again. We left the wine and decided to go to the room but only one elevator was working and we were told to 'please use the stairs'. We waited for the one elevator for about 5 mins. while listening to a New Orleans guest complain to us about his bad "W" experience. (Note: if someone from NoLa is complaining about amenities, things must be bad!)

Finally upstairs, we noticed the air conditoner would not shut off. Noticing we did not pack our winterwear, we called downstairs but no one came upstairs to fix it. Instead, I stuffed the vent with a towel and everything was somewhat fine. THEN, the fire alarm went off and a voice came over saying 'please evacuate the building immediately'. oh great. We got dressed and started to leave when I thought I should call the front desk just to make sure.

"Hello Whatever / Whenever! How may I help you!".. um.. yeah, the fire alarm ... is that for real? Do we really need to evacuate? "What fire alarm?" she asked. "um, thanks". I said and hung up.

SO, next morning after a pretty good sleep, we ordered breakfast. or at least we thought we ordered breakfast. After half a dozen phone calls back and forth to 'whatever/whenever' and 90 mins later, we got our breakfast - well, almost. Just so you know, $45. @ the W gets you grits, coffee, one stale danish, and some sausage. Enjoy!

During breakfast, our phone began ringing but no one was ever on the other end. After like the 5th call, we called the front desk to see what was up. They of course, had no idea. The best part of the stay was Bliss - the full spa on the 16th floor. If it wasn't for that experience, we may have had a nervous breakdown.

At check out, we requested a discount for the host of unscheduled experiences but we were firmly denied a discount from the $309 room. We even asked for a free pass to the Ghost Bar but was told they would not be able to accomadate our request (Ed. Note: Probably becasue the place ain't finished.)

Hey, are we even welcome back to the hotel? hey WHATEVER! WHENEVER! Something "W" does not stand for...wow.

Related Stories:
· Yee Haw, W Hotel Dallas Opens [HotelChatter]
· Behind the Scenes of Westin Boston Waterfront Opening [HotelChatter]
· UltraScott's W Dallas photostream [Flickr]

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Author Photo: juliana by juliana

1 Comment

Return to » The First Review of W Dallas Hotel Does Not Bode Well

  1. markj

    HotelChatter
    June 28, 2006 at 10:27 AM




    Re: The First Review of W Dallas Hotel Does Not Bo

    God I love "first reviews".

    "short blue shirts"--where the dudes wearing half shirts?

    Isn't it ironic, that a a Texas sized storm out of no where blew into "W" right as "An Inconvenient Truth" was hitting theatres, dontcha think?

    Can't wait to see if this place improves or dives.

Return to » The First Review of W Dallas Hotel Does Not Bode Well

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