The Doyle Hotel

The Doyle used to be my weekly stop, and I still love its café, rooftop restaurant and bar, and the courteous, professional staff I’ve met there. But after an incident with the parking valet, I sent a written report and left a voicemail, and I haven’t felt safe coming back. When a regular guest gets no response, I’m done. There are other places to stay in Charlottesville. I remember the hotel as a lovely refuge on icy, windy days. The lobby glows, with books from the shop downstairs, and the spacious rooms and corridors have a mid-century feel. The café in the attached historic house serves breakfast, lunch, and coffee, and the rooftop restaurant has a great selection of local drinks and one of the best salads I’ve had. The chef even made a cold salad feel like winter comfort food.

The rooftop bar was a highlight, with tasty food and great service, and the location made it easy to explore downtown on foot. Our room was clean and roomy, and we had a great stay at the Doyle. Check-in is virtual, but they still answered our questions quickly. I’d happily recommend it for a visit to Charlottesville.

We had a relaxing weekend getaway. The rooftop bar was a fun place to spend time, and the food was great. Check-in was easy, our room was nice, and the location made it simple to walk everywhere we wanted to go.

The room was freezing, never getting above 64 degrees, and it had stained carpet and sheets along with mold and water damage in the bathroom. I messaged the virtual chat bot about the heat, but got no reply that night and nobody came to fix it. With no one at the front desk, we couldn’t ask to change rooms. The following morning, someone went door to door asking who was checking out. I mentioned our problems, and only then did the bot finally answer my message from the night before. A few days after leaving, I discovered I’d been charged twice. We were lucky to book just one night. I wouldn’t stay here again even if it were free, and the Marriott one block away puts this so-called luxury hotel to shame. The problems started weeks before arrival, when repeated emails, calls, and texts said we had an urgent balance due. I called the hotel directly and learned its system had been hacked and our information leaked, so I ignored the messages to avoid a scam. Check-in itself was done virtually on an iPad in the lobby. I’d stayed here when it was the Quirk, and the furnishings seemed mostly the same, but much of the art and decor was gone, leaving the place feeling empty and oddly abandoned. The bartender was the only person in the lobby when we arrived. To get into the room, we received a door code by text, which worked, but the rest of the stay was a mess.