I found just about everything others have said here about this hotel to be true. When I checked in for my prepaid reservation, I asked specifically for a nonsmoking room, and asked if I might have one near the back to avoid the construction noise from across the street. They said they didn't have any nonsmoking rooms available in the back at the time, but I was welcome to check back in the next morning and see if there was one I could move into. I accepted a nonsmoking room facing the front for the night, but was relieved to find that the construction noise wasn't that bad in my room and it didn't start until about 8:30 am anyway. I told them I'd decided to stick with the room they gave me to start with. It had NO smoky odor or evidence that anyone had ever smoked there, so I was fine with it.

Some of the common areas of the hotel are kind of shabby, but the remodeled rooms are very pleasant and clean, if indeed European minimalist in decor, and the bathrooms are quite big. I enjoyed the free Internet access at the computers downstairs until my second evening there, when for some reason the traffic on them became so slow that even trying to access a Web site took more than a half hour. I don't know what happened, but I didn't really use their Internet service any more after that.

Location of the place is great--an easy walk to and from Union Station (from which you can reach just about every other place you want to go) and plenty of attractions and restaurants around.

It's true, however, that you are best off not even touching the minibar or the water bottles atop it, lest you find unexpected charges on your bill. When I checked in, even though my stay was prepaid, they insisted on putting a $50 deposit on my debit card for "incidentals." I told them there would be no "incidentals," but they insisted anyway. When I got into my room (having already read about their sensor system here and intending to touch nothing in the room containing food or drink), I saw that of several water bottles sitting on a sensor pad in the room, one was already empty. Two days later, a bottle was missing and there was an empty bottle still there. The only conclusion I could draw was that the housekeeper cleaning my room was drinking the water on the assumption that I would be billed for it. I called the front desk and asked if any incidental charges had been added to my bill for water, and said I'd noticed empty and moved bottles in my room that I hadn't touched. Sure enough, they had added charges for the water to my bill! Fortunately they agreed to remove them right away without insisting I prove I hadn't drunk the water myself, and when I checked out, they removed the deposit and didn't try to bill me for anything else.

I hate to sound like a big meanie who would deny the housekeepers an opportunity for a little refreshment, but if they need to enjoy some water and a break while cleaning the rooms (and I can't blame them if they do!), why isn't the hotel paying for it? Why should the guests have to foot the bill by being charged for water the housekeeping staff drank? (I also wanted to make sure nothing was coming out of the minibar that I didn't know about but was being charged for.) There's really no need to pay hotel prices for drinks or snacks, not with a convenience store right next to the place.

A tip: Assuming you're traveling alone and you brought a digital phone or phone with a camera, take a picture of the water bottles in your room as soon as you check in the room (it'll be time stamped). If they've already been drunk from, that will prove it. As for the rest of your visit, the hotel will have to believe you if you say water you didn't drink begins disappearing, but they believed me, so call the front desk right away if it happens and ask them to notify you of anything extra charged to your bill. If they're billing you for anything you didn't use, tell them right away.

To sum up: This is a nice hotel at a decent price, but if you want to keep it that way, touch none of the refreshments in your room, and tell the front desk if anyone else does!