Bell Tower Hotel

The staff at every level were very nice, breakfast was decent, and there’s a really cool chessboard you play standing up. The hotel is close to lots of tasty restaurants, too. But the room was above the alley where used fryer and cooking containers are kept, and the window got stuck open and was never fixed. For three days, I had to smell grease. The hotel sits between a restaurant and what I think is a parking garage, so it’s extremely loud and the rooms smell pretty bad. Furnishings, carpets, and the elevator are all very outdated.

On a football weekend I paid over $800/night. I understand a major event can mean premium pricing, but charging $2.50 for mini-bottles of water in the room feels like gouging. At $800 for a 250 sq ft room, surely a bottle or two could be included. If the hotel can’t afford that basic amenity, charge guests $810/night and let them have all the water they want. It feels like the hotel industry has forgotten it’s in hospitality.

We were told we were the 10th room to report having no hot water. I don’t understand how a hotel can have no hot water. When we asked, they suggested adjusting the shower temperature with the sink water, but that didn’t work either. The fitness room is basically a closet, and the elliptical wasn’t working. I know location costs money, but at these prices you’d hope the basics would be available.

The location is the only good thing about this place. The hotel is old and the rooms are outdated. When I turned on the heat, the temperature in my room actually dropped by 7 degrees. They lock the front doors at night, which is fine, but whoever answered the phone sounded annoyed, as if we were bothering them by asking to be let in.