Kahler Grand Hotel

The subway connection was the best part for us: a five minute walk from the hotel to the 10th floor of the Charlton Bldg, and three minutes to the Gonda Bldg. We didn't need to move the car for two days, though parking was a little pricey. The room was nice and the king bed comfortable, but the pillows were much too small. The shower was fine with plenty of hot water, while the sink had hardly any pressure. Lord Essex restaurant was lovely, with excellent food at reasonable prices. Ruth Chris restaurant was ridiculously speedy!

For my first time at Mayo Clinic, this hotel made getting around much less stressful. In the cold March weather, I didn't have to drive through construction or walk out into the chilling wind. It's about a five minute walk to the Mayo building's central lobby, and eight minutes to the large open cafeteria and the elevators up to Gonda. I appreciated the hotel while figuring out the Mayo complex.

The customer service was horrific, and I'm never staying here again. A problem with the third party I booked through left me with three room reservations. I called the hotel as soon as I spotted the glitch, just nine minutes after the cancellation deadline, but they said I had to contact the third party and there was nothing they could do. I called the third party, which contacted the hotel and was also told they couldn't cancel the extra bookings. As a last attempt, I reached out to the manager. He rudely said someone from the third party had already asked to cancel for me and the notes on my reservation showed I'd been told nothing could be done. There was a national dance competition in town, so I asked again at check-in if they could cancel at least one reservation. While the clerk told me the notes said it couldn't be done, the clerk beside us turned away another potential guest looking for a room with two beds, the kind I was trying to cancel. They wouldn't even have lost money, just had to spend a little time canceling my booking and making one for that guest. With so many other good hotel choices in Rochester, there's no reason to stay somewhere that treats guests so poorly. If location matters, several hotels offer free shuttles too. I hope you read this before booking. We didn't read the reviews and paid the price.

The hotel was convenient for Mayo Clinic, and our rooms ended up next to each other. We had asked for adjoining rooms, but none were available when we arrived. One room took ages to get hot water, and the refrigerator in the other one didn't work. The fitness room was uncomfortably warm, with no way to adjust the temperature.