JBeechel

I stayed at the W last night and it is still searching for it's way - with one less Platinum to visit it ever again.

I booked a Cool Corner Suite as it was a special event and I didn't want to risk not having an upgrade. There was no upgrade to any higher suite, although none was expected. I pulled up to the hotel and the location really is fantastic. Easy access, easy to find valet, and everyone was quite friendly. Check in went smoothly as expected although I did get a kick out of being told I had been upgraded to a Cool Corner Suite (just like the one on my reservation!).

Went up to the 15th floor and found a housekeeping cart blocking the door completely (this is 7:30 at night). The room was nice enough although the single bar of soap by the sink and no toiletries at all for the bathtub seemed a little cheap.

Over the course of the night, we discovered:

1 - You can only watch either the living area TV or the TV in the bedroom, not both at the same time.

2 - If you try to search for a movie, you get a 404 page not found screen on the TV

3 - The TV signal is sporadic at best and would cut out for a minute or two at random times.

4 - Later at night, the TV simply crashed and put itself into a permanent reboot loop. When I called Whatever/Wherever I was told that "we are still having issues with the TV" and that was that.

5 - The mini bar had not been re-stocked prior to our arrival, and there was trash from prior guests in the trash can.

6 - The pad they used on the bed did not fit and left lumps in the bed that were very uncomfortable.

7 - In the morning, after trying to reach valet with no one answering, I called W/W again to have the car pulled around. I came down 15 minutes later and after waiting 5 minutes outside heard the W/W rep tell the valet to pull our car around.

Overall, I really don't have much nice to say about the hotel other than check in went very smoothly and the room service was very good (quick, well prepared, and a friendly delivery person). Beyond that, the night was terribly with one little problem / disappointment after another. The hotel simply isn't up to the standards of any W I've been to and falls short of the service available at even the Sheraton nearby.

I'm sure the hotel will do well with the party crown because of it's three bars (a fact that was pointed out to us three times during check-in) and Austin's underserved hotel market. That said, for anyone looking for upscale travel, I would have to say to stay away - it's just not what a W should be.