Where to stay when you leave.
HotelChatter Goes Inside NYLO Plano
1/10/2008 at 12:22 PM
Tags: NYLO Hotels, HotelChatter Reviews, Hotel Video Tours
After an interview with NYLO's GM Patrick O'Neil and a room review from Hotel Maven Stranger on a Train, we decided we still couldn't get enough of NYLO Plano, the newest boutique biz travel hotel that opened last month in Texas. So we sent our favorite girl Jenna, who just so happens to be a Plano native, down there to check it out for us. Enjoy.
From a distance, Plano's NYLO property looks right at home among the low-rise office buildings and cute retail plazas splashed across North Dallas' sparkling-new Shops at Legacy area. And it wasn't until we drove up to the property that we saw the funky, urban-chic brick-and-glass exterior--which, by the way, looks even cooler all lit up at night.
Admittedly, we had to drive a lap around the parking lot before we figured out that the bright red door was the front entrance, but we were more than willing to forgive when we were greeted by a cheerful front-desker who seemed totally on top of her game (especially considering she couldn't have had more than like two weeks of experience under her belt).
Find out more about a night at NYLO after the jump.
For more pics from NYLO Plano, go to Jenna's Flickr page.
Check-In
The front-desker was super-helpful, asked us about our trip, described a couple of points of interest inside the hotel (The Loft, the fitness center), and had us sign a little sheet of paper that made us promise not to smoke on property. No problem. Into the giant industrial-looking elevator and up to our room we went!
Room Reaction
We were on the second floor--which, at the Plano property, is made up entirely of Pure Rooms (certified allergy-friendly rooms with air purifiers and allergen-reducing linens).
And ah, the room: High ceilings and walls of polished concrete, a chic suede loveseat, a flat-screen TV playing one of those trippy audio visualizer patterns accompanied by porny music, and one giant window looking down onto the street and out onto the vast flatness of North Dallas (to be fair, the only scenic things in Dallas are the hairstyles, so there wasn't much to work with on the views here).
The room was hip, urban, and lofty for sure, but without being cold or harsh thanks to the use of enough plush materials, like bright white bed linens and floor-to-ceiling drapes on the walls next to the bed, that softened up the look of the concrete.
What We Liked
The bed. Oh yes. Apparently NYLO has designed its own bed for use across the properties and they didn't mess around. When we went to sleep, it felt like we were falling into a big featherbed. When we woke up (to the iPod-ready alarm clock next to us, thank you), it felt as if we'd sunk into one of those firm-but-soft memory foam mattresses. If we knew what this thing was actually made of, we'd make our own NYLO bed and stay in bed all day reading hotel geek blogs.
When we finally did decide to roll out of the bed and get dressed, we warily touched our little toes to the concrete floor expecting the surface to be ice-cold--nope! Maybe they heat them or something?
Other Things We Liked
Lots of electronic goodies! The HD TV was awesome and mounted on a swivel stand out of the wall. The hairdryer was big, powerful and not wall-mounted. There was a user-friendly digital climate control panel in the room.
And hey--that eerie blue light that freaked out Stranger on a Train? We were told it was actually from the air purifier that's hidden under the furniture in the Pure Rooms; the glow has since been covered up so nobody else panics. Also, the safe was seafoam green--gotta love that.
What We Didn't Like
We weren't nuts about the bathroom because, well, we felt like our business was all out in the open. The shower itself was great--a giant, flat showerhead with powerful water pressure and a smaller hand-held showerhead made a lovely duo. But when we opened our eyes and turned around, we were surprised to see... our naked selves!
Yeah, the bathroom mirror is one long panel that extends all the way into the shower so you can view your nakey self first thing in the morning, if you're into that.
Speaking of your nakey self, we noticed that the big loft-style sliding door to the bathroom (which goes in front of the wall rather than into it), leaves a bit of space when the door is closed all the way and you can see straight from the toilet to the bed and probably vice versa. So we were happy that we didn't have a date with us.
Amenity Assessment
NYLO offers a free 24-hour fitness center with sparkling new machines, and an outdoor pool but in-room there aren't any minibars or small fridges in the standard rooms. Also, the closets are small, and there's only a shelf and a drawer available for storing your unmentionables.
Internet Connect
The WiFi was totally free all over the property and seemed to work perfectly. NYLO also has a business center that offers a big Mac desktop for any guest to use along with free printing.
Restaurant and Bar Scene
We headed down to The Loft for dinner in the evening and plopped ourselves down at one of the clear tables filled with straw (hello, it's Texas-themed). The Loft provides table service and its menu is packed with lots of healthy options, but we went for the Kobe beef sliders (which were fantastic).
Drinks were strong, not ultra-expensive, and our server was friendly and attentive....and she even agreed to model her Daniel Vosovic from Project Runway-designed uniform for us! It was a dress-- kind of an Audrey Hepburn LBD meets Judy Jetson type of garment; unusual, yes--but she gushed about how comfortable the uniforms are and assured us that she and the rest of the staff really dig them. No word from Nina Garcia yet.
We hung out down in The Loft from around 7:30 to 10 in the evening on a Wednesday and there were only a couple other people in the place--no drunks or anything like that. Had we needed to do a bit of work to prep for tomorrow's meeting or whatever, we would have had no problem.
Bottom Line
Considering NYLO is geared toward business travelers (Frito-Lay, JC Penney and some other bigtime corporations call Plano home) and isn't an extended-stay property like a Hampton Inn, the rooms aren't set up for guests that are planning to stick around for a while.
However, it's more than adequate for a weekend business conference (several sunny, bright meeting rooms of varying size and décor are located just off the lobby on the first floor, by the way), but not the kind of place that's equipped for two-week trip to scenic Plano.
How we spent our final moments at NYLO: In the morning before checkout, we grabbed a big, fluffy omelet in still-mellow Loft and pecked away at the computer, looking out past the plush hanging egg chairs onto the pool area. Lovely.
Rooms start at $199 a night.
Have you stayed at NYLO Plano recently? Give us your take on the place here.
Related Stories:
Pitch Your Hotel: Patrick O'Neil of NYLO Hotels
NYLO Plano Gets Its First Review
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