HotelChatter

Check-In Experience
We had one tiny carry-on suitcase but it was snatched from us by a (tall and good-looking) bellman before we even entered the front doors.

The small lobby featured glass decorations hanging all over the place (in shades of black, gray and white, of course) and some staffers in corresponding shades of warm, hot and hotter behind the front desk.

Can we discuss the uniforms for a moment? The female employees somehow spend their workdays clad in skintight stretchy black shift dresses with sparkly details at the neckline -- and the hem, according to one staffer, turned out to be so short that leggings had to be added to the outfit to accommodate the taller ladies. But very, very stylish, to be sure.

Our check-in process was long. The enthusiastic front-desker walked us through every single amenity at the hotel -- but it was necessary since half of them were unavailable or not ready yet and we needed to know what was up.

Room Reaction
The entrance-way held a single, beautifully-lit orchid in a vase, and a few steps through the small corridor led us into the room and, frankly: stunning. Stunning and very, very sexy. Oh, and speaking of sexy! Apparently someone thought twice about those vom-inducing, God awful "fuck/sleep" pillowcases they test drove in the model units. Good call, Pomeranc.

The decor is a tasteful mix between an industrial-loft style and modern elegance, with a bright white bedspread sitting below a breathtaking lightbox art feature on the headboard -- something we'd never seen before. Huge flatscreen TV, very long desk area, and a funky sectional couch sitting on one side of a metal curtain. Check out the video room tour; you'll be glad you did.

What We Liked
Based on the photos, it's pretty apparent that the decor had major impact. So did the bathroom: the gigantic shower stall had a massive rainfall showerhead plus a handheld attachment (you could use both at the same time) and there were Kiehl's toiletries waiting for us on the shelf.

After our glorious shower, we wrapped ourselves in one of the fluffy, velvety robes (purchase price: $150) we found in the closet and plunked down on the very big, very white bed and turned off our light-up headboard art to drift off to sleep... to be woken up by a wakeup call courtesy of a friendly 7 a.m. voice on our cordless phone (a real person to whom we send our deepest apologies for the morning dragon 'tude).

Also, we appreciated that the staff did the best they could do given the circumstances: sunny dispositions all around, despite the occasional stumbly, sorta-uncertain speech about the current operating conditions of the hotel. Even though the restaurant wasn't open, they improvised with free coffee and pastries that they set up on the concierge desk in lieu of a hot breakfast.

What We Didn't Like
Aside from the obvious -- you know, the place being only half-open -- there were a couple of little things. For one, we had to call down for our hair dryer. Kind of lame. Also, the frosted glass walls in the bathroom show schmutz. We just touched our fingers to the surface and when we removed them, our fingerprints were so obvious that it looked like we'd dunked our hands and newspaper ink, eaten fried chicken and touched the glass (ok we're exaggerating, but those can't be easy to clean).

Speaking of eating fried foods, we took a peek out of our floor-to-ceiling window on the eighth floor to glimpse some sort of rooftop BBQ gathering at the residential building in front of us, and right next to it, a construction project. Sadly, kind of an anti-view.

Also, the elevator situation is still a little bit shady: one doesn't work, another one sort of works half the time, and the one we rode made noises like it was fixing to snap off the cables and send us plunging to our Thompson-branded deaths.

We awkwardly chilled and waited for the elevator for at least three solid minutes when we tried to check out in the morning, and we finally gave up and took the stairs -- teensy suitcase and all -- down to the lobby. Minor kinks; we understand.

Bottom Line
We almost hate to say this, but: we love it. The decor was stunning, the amenities -- the few they did have available -- were worth the trip. The hot staff don't have a hot-staff-like 'tude (yet) and they help make the vibe surprisingly welcoming rather than too-cool-for-school trendy. There are certainly a few kinks to work out and some pools to finish, but when a staffer urged us to return once things were "totally up and running", we said yes and we meant it.

Tags: Thompson Hotels / Jason Pomeranc / HotelChatter Reviews / Hotel Openings / Hotel Video Tours

by Jenna