DogHouse Columbus

The walls were paper thin, and on my last night a baby cried all night. I have kids, so I understand, but the hallway echo made it worse. They offered a free six pack, but when I went to check out nobody was there, so I left already irritated. For nearly $500 for two nights, I was underwhelmed. There were a couple things I liked: the cookies were good, the stouts and cookies idea is fun, and both sour beers I tried were good. Frickles were tasty too, but the wings weren't meaty and the food was pretty subpar. At dinner, the service was only average and they were out of every specialty cocktail. My bartender gave me tequila and soda when I asked for vodka soda, then insisted it was vodka after I watched her pour it. Once everyone at the table tasted it, she asked if she'd poured the wrong thing. I squeezed lime into my drink and a bug fell out. She took my half-finished cocktail, said the bug had flown in from outside, and only remade it after I asked again 7-8 minutes later. I was charged for the drink with the bug. I was excited to stay after discovering this brand in Scotland and loving it there. The check-in beer was a nice touch, but when I asked for the signature postcards, they were out. There weren't really souvenirs to choose from, and the advertised wine wasn't available either. My room was extremely dirty: my feet turned black walking around, the bedding was damp, and nobody cleaned it despite my putting the sign out on both days. I also asked to borrow a bike and was told there weren't any. The trail was nice, but I chose the hotel because I thought I could go on bike rides. The cooler downstairs had a limited selection. Breakfast lacked fresh fruit and lighter options, which seemed odd for a place promoting fitness and freshness. They advertised free beer mimosas with breakfast, but those weren't available. The room's noise wasn't the only disappointment. The stouts and cookies offering was just cookies: staff said there was no stout, and it wasn't available the next night either. I liked the theme, but the stay didn't live up to what I'd hoped.

The restaurant dinner was the low point. They were out of the first two things I tried to order, and the taco salad was so bad I left it and went to the grocery store for food. Getting to the hotel also takes some effort, since it's set toward the back and you have to carry your luggage a bit. The room had a cool look, but the cleaning was poor. There was dog fur on the bedding and in clumps on the floor, plus dog and human hair left in the shower. The record player didn't work. I know it's a dog-friendly place, but that much fur isn't okay. The floor is cold concrete, so bring slippers. It felt like a place with the potential to be great that has slipped, and the stay was pretty underwhelming.

Breakfast used to be one of my favorite parts of staying here. On earlier visits, there were fresh meats, cheeses, breads, fruit, yogurt, roasted potatoes, pastries, French toast, and more. This time, the first morning had three cereal choices, one type of milk, and packets of cream cheese, jelly, and peanut butter with no bread or bagels. There was no fruit. The eggs were greasy and buttery, the sausage and hash browns were very greasy, and the French toast sticks were rock hard. The pastries were the tiny packaged kind. Staff said that was all they had while waiting for a shipment, so we hoped the next day would improve. It was the same, except they replaced the hard French toast with what looked like frozen microwave pancakes. We went across the street to Tim Horton's both mornings. We left earlier than planned because of breakfast. I've stayed here a couple times since it opened, in early 2019 and mid-2023, and it now feels like a shell of the hotel I remember. The room looked incompletely cleaned: there was a dirty tennis ball, trash on the floor, and long black hairs on a bedside table. Wallpaper was torn by the bathroom doorway, one of six framed pictures by the front door was missing, and the mirror koozie and stationery were gone. The Roku wasn't set up; a front desk associate tried but couldn't get it working, so we got a universal remote just to turn on the TV and cover hallway noise. We stayed two nights, but the key stopped working after the first. I don't know whether keys all deactivate at 11 a.m. daily, even for longer stays. The advertised extras have disappeared too. The free beermosas with breakfast are gone, and the front desk quoted $5.50 for one. I asked about the EFP birthday free drink, but the associate looked confused and didn't know about it. The 7-9 p.m. 'cookies and stout' was just cookies. The first night, an associate said there was no stout and they'd have to go next door to get some; we declined, and there was none the second night either. The candy and dog treat jars by the elevators had only about five pieces during our stay. On our way out, we stopped at the store at the front of the complex. It used to be about 60% merchandise and 40% beer, but now seemed closer to 1% merchandise and 99% beer. We wanted four or five packs to take home. At 9:30 on Thursday morning, the associate said he couldn't check us out until 11. We left without beer, disappointed with the trip.

The room was clean, dark, and quiet, and I liked the theme. Getting a free beer at check-in was a nice touch, and the shower beer made me laugh. I'd love to see gluten-free beer or hard cider offered. Breakfast didn't appeal to us, so we skipped it and grabbed food on the road. I'd stay here again.