Our second stay here, first was 2004. Location is good for all tourist adventures, hotel restaurant is fine as the dont-want-to-go-out choice. The view from the towers is great, the staff are very cheerful and helpful. It was nice to have an empty fridge to use (and there's a good grocery shop just two blocks away). But then there are the negatives. The rooms have odd angles so furniture is hard to arrange, especially if you've asked for two beds: our first room had a bed in each room, but the desk was in one and the cord for the internet service was at the farthest point away in the other room; our second room, with the desk useful for our necessary computer, had an 18" closet in which the clothes had to share space with the ironing board; and the little bar area was 6" away from the edge of one bed. The AC system was horrible -- full-blast on or off, noisy on and switching on and off; because one wall of our room was all glass, facing west, we needed that AC. (The all-glass wall also leads to acres of curtains to pull when you want darkness.) The bath was small. The place is showing its age, and maintenance is sloppy: amateurishly applied caulk around the bathtub, a cracked basin in the bathroom, and a smoke detector dangling from the ceiling! Housekeeping was pretty bad -- one bed not correctly made (one whole corner of sheets and blankets not tucked in), cleanliness not very thorough, and through the course of our week's stay we got fewer and fewer towels and fresh glasses. (At these prices, can't they afford to give more than one drinking glass per person?) Not unique to this hotel, but totally maddening, is the bottle of 'spring' water on the bar area for which they would charge you $4.50!! All in all, not worth the extravagant price.











