fenger

FWIW, I'm staying here now, and it's apparent the hotel is going through major renovation, welcome letter on my desk says it's $9.4Million. Westin WorkOut is completed and rooms are next (I'm staying in one of the renovated one). All looks nice, new furnishing, seems like a 32" LG LCD, better wall papers all round, bathroom seems to have new countertop. No suite upgrade for this Plat though (maybe they haven't furnished them). There was also a valet guy that greeted me that I haven't seen before (but I've only stayed here three times before the current trip, so I may just have never noticed the valet service before). Parking is still 20bux at the lot next door. Very personable greetings at the checkin desk where they made an honest attempt at "greeting" me (if that makes sense).

/mod

Pre 2008 thread can be found here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...er-thread.html

/mod

Rusty65

I am currently staying at the Westin Columbus and was upgraded to what must be the Queen Suite. The room is small, but there is an equal size living/working area attached that makes the overall space great. Although the architecture of the building is old world and quite nice, the rooms seeem to be refurbished well including an LCD TV in each room.

Staff was nice and was greeted well. Everyone smiled. In addition to the upgrade, the front desk called me up to confirm I wanted the points for my amenity because they forgot to ask when I checked in.

I got caught by the $20 parking in the lot next door, even without valet, but will know for next time that there is cheaper public lots available ($5 covered lot directly opposite the Westin lot). It is a bit unfortunate to feel ripped off - the lot charges $4 for a daily rate of 10 hours. It seems that the $20 is reserved only for the special suckers staying in the Westin.

I also had the welcome letter from the general manager (but no chocolates) and might let him know about the perception of being charged $20 when parking elsewhere is much cheaper. The $9.95 for wireless is standard in Westin's unfortunately and is not worth a complaint.

Overall, if you want to stay in a starwood property there is no obvious reason to look elsewhere. And if you like grand old buildings, it is a very nice place to spend a night.

Anglo Large Clawed Otter

Reviews of this place seem to run the gamut. I stayed in February of this year, and found the suite that I was upgraded to quite comfortable, with what seemed to be contemporary furnishings. Perhaps the hotel has undergone a renovation since many of these reviews (most in 2006/2007) were written. My stay was very brief, and I had the flu at the time, so don't remember too much about the stay. I did manage to take quite a few photos of the suite, though...

SanDiego1K

Pre renovation reports talked of some seriously tiny rooms at this hotel. Were any structural changes made, or do those rooms still exist? How likely is it that a plat will get one?

Is there a lounge?

How is the location of the hotel for sightseeing? How close it it to the student heart of Columbus?

FatManInNYC

The Westin is on High Street. The student heart resides in the bars on High Street. Some three miles seperates the two.

It's a good location - I haven't lived in Columbus for 20 years, but whatever there is, you'll be fairly close it, but not right on top of it. (if that makes any sense.)

northshorepa

My first stay here as a Gold, I was was upgraded to a Deluxe from a Traditional. The second time however, I had a reservation for 2 Double beds that was in one of the smallest rooms I could recall. I almost called down to the front desk to ask where the bathroom was (literally 10sf). Thankfully, it was only for one night.

As far as the renovations go though, the hotel is in great shape, although with no lounge. Both the bar and the restaurant have good service and there is free parking on the street immediately behind the hotel.

nachoman205

Staying here next week any updates on service and how they treat plats would be nice.

cohighcountry1k

I was here a couple of weeks ago. Nice upgrade to a suite (similar to one in photos). Good location downtown for my client work. Staff was efficient. Used no other services in the hotel.

nachoman205

thanks

brosnan6

Just bumping the thread for any recent experiences. Checking in tomorrow. Anybody used the Plat breakfast amenity there? If so, worthwhile or are they sticking exactly to the continental breakfast definition?

Doesn't looklike they have a lounge there, correct?

brosnan6

Here's an update from recent stay

- Staff is great. Everybody I interacted with was super polite from the front desk to the bar to room service
- Ridiculously small standard rooms given the price ($199/nt), especially considering we're in the middle of nowhere. I've had bigger standard-sized rooms in nearly every other city in the world, including Paris, Tokyo, and NYC
- There really needs to be a minimum standard for a shower to be called a "Heavenly Shower". And this certainly would not meet it: http://s1171.photobucket.com/albums/...t=7ae0b061.jpg. Not gonna lie, the showers in my college dorm were larger than this
- $20/night for parking seems steep given location. Not sure what the rest of Columbus prices look like, but I'd have assumed parking is cheap out here
- Bed was squeaky and shifted around too easily
- Housekeeping didn't do a very good job of cleaning up leftover dishes from breakfast. I left my tray outside, but forgot the salt/pepper shakers, napkin, and an empty glass of juice on the desk and they were all still there when I got back.
- Maybe it's just me, but all the food I had in the hotel had a weird, somewhat "chemicaly", taste to it. For example, I had some seared ahi tuna and short rib tacos from the restaurant and a turkey avocado breakfast wrap from room service and in each of the dishes there was a distinctly odd taste remniscent of chemicals.

While I love Westins, there's a distinct possibility I'll go with another hotel if I ever come back to CMH.

TL2000

I just completed a two night stay here after not being here for a few years. There were definitely a few things that have changed about this hotel, some minor and some major.

On the minor side
- There is no longer shoe shine service available, not a huge deal but was forced to go somewhere else
- There is no longer a spa here. Once again not a big deal

On the moderate side
- I've never had this happen, but when I checked in my room had not been completely serviced. My welcome fruit was there and the room was clean, but it was damp smelling. This was because the bathroom hadn't been serviced and apparently someone had recently showered. Still a damp towel hanging up and mat on the floor. Went down and had to take a queen room instead, but was given some drink tickets for the bar.

On the major side (for me)
- The food and coffee for breakfast are ok, but the lunch and dinner food from Thurbers (sp?) are horrific. Do not eat here, do yourself a favor and go over to short north.
- The hotel feels dated and not clean. I'm ok with small rooms, but they should be nice. One of our group was in the presidential suite and echoed my comments about the general level of disrepair in the rooms.

The staff was friendly and helpful and maybe this was just an off trip. I'm going to stay here again next week and will update with that experience (with no food from Thurbers).

ATLgals

Wanted to post here commenting on my experience with The Westin:

Ive been consistently staying here for several months now, and am growing tired of it. The staff is helpful and friendly, but compared to other Westin's I have been in, this has to be the most dated one.

While they are in the process of revamping the rooms with new paint, I feel the finishes on the whole are very dated. The majority of rooms I have been in are older, especially with the bathrooms.

Several of the rooms, mostly suites, have had the bathrooms upgraded with a tub, which is amazing in comparison to what the original finish is. But this is few and far between. Half the showers do not drain, and water goes from scalding to cold, with no in between. Some of the toilets flush, others hardly.

Walls are thin, and I can hear the doors slam, people's conversations in the room next to me, as well as their alarm clocks. Ive had several rooms where the cable doesnt work, which isnt a huge issue to me.

They've recently been working with a new valet company which is very hit or miss. Sometimes your car is 10 minutes, and other times its 30. I believe the cost is $24.

Gym looks like its been redone and is fine. I dont believe there is a lounge, or I havent personally gone to it.

Food at Thurber's is a no.

Overall my feelings towards the property is very meh. Recently stayed at the Sheraton, which felt like a breath of fresh air in comparison.

UA-NYC

Thanks for the update...have two CMH trips in the next month and doing one here and one at the Sheraton. LOVED my stay at the LM last year but prices have pushed up a lot & above my billable amount.

I remember this Westin having the smallest rooms I can ever remember seeing (like NYC small). I'm biased towards Westins over Sheratons but I will be able to give my own comparison in a month.

UA-NYC

I think I'm done...if the LM is too high, will probably just do the Sheraton. Nice staff but the building just has so many limitations due to its age.
- Rooms are tiny...I was "upgraded" to a Deluxe, and it's still smaller than just about any room you'd get in NYC
- Walls are paper thin
- All the fixtures are old
- Just not a lot of natural light with a single window
- I didn't do the Plat restaurant breakfast, but the take-away situation is substandard
- Valet is up to $26 now...I'd rather just self park
- Location is central but not much to walk to within a few blocks

Very pleasant staff though, I will say that.