Last week I stayed in Dallas at the Hilton Anatole. What a beautiful hotel with absolutely magnificent facilities. The accommodation I was given was a King Corner room on the 24th floor with access to the executive lounge. I was really looking forward to it, as were my three colleagues from Mexico who were staying at the same hotel.
As it turns out, it was a bit disappointing. The first disappointment, as is usually the case, is the necessity to pay for an internet connection. This is one of the anomalies of staying at a four or five star hotel. It annoys me intensely. When I pay over $200 per night for a room, I would expect free internet. I can stay at the Hampton Inn or the Homewood Suites, both within the Hilton Group, and get free internet.
The other disappointment was the requirement to pay for drinks in the executive lounge during "Happy Hour." I stay at many hotels in the USA and internationally. This is the first time I have had to pay for drinks in the executive lounge during this evening time. In fact, at many hotels, basic alcoholic drinks are free any time the executive lounge is open.
Another strange aspect of the stay at this hotel was that on arrival in my room I found two bottles of water..... nice! The strange things was that they did not replace them on the next day. Odd!
Having said all this, the room itself was extremely comfortable. The desk, the sitting area, the bed and the flat screen TV were all great. I would have liked to see a DVD player in the room, though. The workout facility was fantastic, although I was far to busy to use it.
Would I stay there again? Not unless I had to. I would rather stay at the Homewood Suites for almost half the price and twice the stuff, including free breakfast, free dinner AND beer or wine.
