domerun

I was surprised there wasn't a master thread on this property. I would like to share a few of my experiences at this hotel.

I live in Houston and was an evacuee because of Hurricane Ike. My house wasn't damaged, but a lot of trees around my home were destroyed and uprooted. Of course, my home was without power for 8 days. Knowing my neighborhood and home, (power goes out at the drop of a hat) I booked a stay at this Westin property.

The staff was outstanding. They bent over backwards to make my cat and I feel at home. They upgraded me to a standard suite. I used some points to pay for a few days and cash for other days.

It used to be a Sheraton when it first opened (1982) until it changed to Westin in 1998. I have frequented this property since the change.

Its not a elegant Westin by any means. Most of the guests are business travelers. However, I can't stop bragging about the staff. They truly made the stay enjoyable.

A few things about the hotel I noted:

-Executive lounge is only open from 6am-9am Mon-Fri

-Health club is attached to hotel and its a $10 per day fee for guests. They also have a 24 hour Westin Workout room on the 3rd floor, but I like the health club much more (They have a basketball court!).

-parking garage is $10 per day. There is free parking on the other side of the street (Banner and Merit) across from Benihana's

-free wifi in the lobby and 2nd floor/$9.95 in room

-no concierge on property (they used to back in the late 90s/early 2000s)


My last stay was just the weekend before. I went to see the Red Sox play in Arlington and the hotel booked a conference group that was comprised of 300+ kids that were out of control. It was a "Rethinking Education" conference. Alternative learning was what I was told. Thats the fancy way of saying home school, I suppose.

You will love this....Kids were running around barefoot all over the hotel, jumping up and down and jamming the elevators, rearranging furniture in the lobby and on guest floors, sliding down escalators, screaming and knocking on guest room doors (including ours), kids in sleeping bags in the lobby...etc etc etc.

Some of the older kids (teenagers) were outside smoking dope and one guy (we called him Darth Vader because he walked around in nothing but a long black cloak) was taking off this young girl's shirt and "handling" her.

A few staff members told me they were not allowed to say anything to the kids or parents due to the fact it would "offend the kids and stunt their learning". Their hands were tied. It made for a very unpleasant stay. I felt like the circus was in town and they were staying at the Westin Park Central.

The stay before a few months back, same situation. Uncontrolled loud kids from a basketball tournament and soccer tournament made for a unpleasant stay. I will say they weren't as bad as the alternative learning kids.

The reason I can overlook these two unfortunate stays is because all the other times have been outstanding, like my recent stay this past time, due to the evacuation of Ike.

Thank you Westin Park Central in Dallas.