The Juliet Hotel

There are plenty of things that need work here, and after our stay I'd definitely pass on returning. The building used to be a department store in Lafayette, and it's easy to picture how appealing the hotel might have been right after its renovation. Now the physical condition feels badly neglected, and the shine has worn off. The price and the recent low reviews should have been clues. The pool and hot tubs were out of service. Planters on the pool deck had dead plants, the pool had a dark, unlit bottom, and the hot tub looked unclean, was unlit, and wasn't running. The building's cream stucco exterior was streaked with mildew and needed pressure washing. Inside, hard-water buildup and what looked like improper cleaning left white marks on the fixtures and shower walls. The marble tub walls must have looked first class when new, but minerals had built up around the walls and faucet handles, and the mildewed caulking needed replacing. Getting in from the rear parking lot meant walking through a narrow passage between a wall and the pool fence. It was poorly lit and felt like a back alley. One evening, a motorist driving by called the hotel haunted as we tried the front door. I don't know what that was about. When we told locals where we were staying, they seemed unfamiliar with the hotel and none could recommend it to out-of-town friends. Our first room was above a loud nightclub. The music came through loudly enough to vibrate the floor. There was no staff or management on-site from 7 pm to 10 am, but the manager did return and move us to another room away from the music. The first room's ceiling fan had bare bulbs with no glass cover. The second fan didn't work, though its bulbs did have a glass cover. A wall thermostat seemed to have no effect on the window unit's heat or cooling, but we could adjust the temperature somewhat using the unit's own controls. The coffee maker came with just one pod, and there was no coffee elsewhere in the hotel. Remember, there was no staff until 10 am. The room had a couple of styrofoam cups, but they were too small for the coffee maker, so the coffee overflowed. Our key wouldn't open the front door when we returned around 10 pm. We had to walk around the building and through the alley to enter at the back, where our room card worked. On the last morning the card wouldn't let us out the front door, and neither would the exit button. I'd installed their Keyless app on my phone by then, but it showed an error saying the front door lock's battery was discharged and out of service. We finally had to pry the doors open by hand. They definitely have work to do.

The location is wonderful, but the room looked lacking compared with the photos. The sauna didn't work, the hot tub wouldn't heat, and the smoking area was locked. We saw a receptionist only at check-in, and couldn't reach anyone later because the voicemail box was full. There was no breakfast. The sheets had makeup stains, the towels had holes, and the soap provided was a bar, unlike what was described. The shower head wasn't fully connected and sprayed water around the bathroom. I managed to fix it, but shouldn't have had to. The elevator was missing a tile and had several loose ones. Our room door wouldn't close unless you leaned into it. Checkout was at 11, but room service came at 9 while we were still there. We hadn't put out the sign, to be fair, but they didn't knock loudly enough for us to realize someone was outside before they opened the door. 😅

The location was great, and the woman at the front desk was very friendly and helpful. A few fixes could make this a nice place, but my husband and I won't stay again. The room was warm all night because the air conditioner couldn't go below 70 degrees. We checked with the desk and were told all the units were set to that threshold. The ceiling fan didn't work, and its bulb was exposed. The floors badly needed mopping, and the pool was dirty. There was also a $50 fee held in case of damage, which was fine. Getting it reversed took several phone calls and two weeks. After the manager said on the last call, “oh, I will do it tonight,” we received the $50 three days later.

The TV volume controls are hard to figure out, and you need a manual to know how to adjust them. The photos show a phone in the room, but there wasn't one when I checked in. I called from my personal mobile and was told they don't have phones. That's a safety concern for guests who might not have a mobile. These are important details guests should be told at check-in, or given instructions for.