Corporate Suites Butler Brothers Dallas

The corner unit was cute, cozy, and spacious, with unbeatable city views and a creative, industrial, old-fashioned style. The exposed metal pipes and dark mechanical look even made the inside feel a bit like a spaceship. The building has an interesting history. Still, this place won't suit everyone, and I gave it three stars because I had safety concerns. I arrived on a lightly rainy holiday, when there didn't seem to be much security and police were around. Drunk people were hanging out by the liquor store on the first floor. A demi celebrity who was also an Airbnb guest helped escort me past them. The police moved the group along the next day. The garage is detached, so I wouldn't recommend walking between it and the building alone late at night. The Butler Bros building feels like an underground motel. I'd look it up on local sites and read Google reviews before booking. One end is a name brand hotel, while the side with Airbnbs is supposed to be residential. With the city's affordable housing shortage, there should probably be more residential units and fewer Airbnbs. There was a faint chemical smell in the hallway and unit, maybe paint or concrete lacquer, though many people may not notice it. The clubhouse amenities close very early, as a somewhat uptight leasing agent explained, so they're hard to use. The gym and pool stay open later. The host, Farhan, said an extra privacy deadbolt was available, but there wasn't one, just the keypad deadbolt, which seemed easy to figure out sometimes. Maintenance or the host entered while we were away without telling us and left the lights on. Parking is free but valet only, so you may have to wait in line. Also, beware of new Airbnb listings at this location, since some get deleted and relisted to get rid of unfavorable reviews. A valet shed at the front entrance might help give guests and residents more supervision as they come and go.

We left after three of our four nights. I couldn't leave my son alone for the final day because it didn't feel safe. He's 27, but being there by himself wasn't an option. If I'd been travelling with young children, I wouldn't have stayed at all. The apartment itself had lovely furniture, beds, and furnishings, and cleanliness was okay, though it needed dusting and the crockery wasn't properly clean. But there was a horrible petrol or chemical smell throughout the property that clung to our clothes, bags, and shoes. I had to wash everything when I got home, and could still smell it on my trainers a week later. Many reviews say the smell affects the whole building. The building should have security staff, but I never saw any. Reviews also mention the lack of security, and everyone seems to know the door code, so nonresidents come in all the time. Many people live in this large apartment block. Groups gather at the entrance, openly take drugs, and make you feel unsafe. There were frequent parties and arguments. The concrete corridors were dark and smelled terrible. We dreaded calling either of the two lifts because we never knew who might already be inside, including couples arguing, gangs, or people with obvious mental health issues. Valet staff were very rude, and I heard reports that they lose keys. Our car was fine, but we worried because we couldn't see where it was parked, and gangs hung around that area. The pool was small and looked okay, but we didn't feel safe enough to use it. Groups lingered there, and we'd have had to leave our things unattended to swim. I was really disappointed to miss out on the pool. We booked through Booking.com, where the place was described as a 'modern-chic loft in heart of Dallas.' We didn't feel secure there at all.

The building is clean and nice, but it seems like staff have stopped trying to make it a pleasant place to live. The amenities in the VRBO listing were appealing, though several weren't really usable. The pool was too cold most days, the movie room only plays DVDs, and the only working game-room machine was skee-ball. It was also very noisy: on several nights, I woke between 1 and 4 a.m. to people screaming and banging in the hallways. I'd hesitate to move in.

Check-in and payment went fine, and the building was in decent shape. The bed was positioned okay, though many walls hadn't been redone, with a lot of brick left exposed and painted over. The worst part was finding bedbugs under one of our players mattresses.