Introduction I've found Pittsburgh to be among the tougher large American cities for upscale or luxury hotels. In my opinion, the higher-end hotel selection does not live up to this great city's stature in just about any other area - culture, fun, food, history, lots of old money, etc. There's a couple of sleepy old grande dames, an underwhelming Fairmont , a nice Kimpton and..... not much else.I'm in town for business every few years, so was interested in this newer 'autograph collection' property. Took a flyer on it, and the hotel ended up being quite enjoyable. Not luxe, maybe not even fully in the 'upscale' category, depending on your own wants/tastes. But quite nice. A normal review from me might have been a bit harsher - there was a real problem (below) that would have lowered my assessment. But the recovery from this was excellent, so it's going up to a full recommend. Recovery has a high degree of difficulty for any hotel, so it counts for a lot. Overall If you, like me, appreciate a historic building that's restored to modernity and for a totally new purpose, you'll love this place. Talk about good bones; the hotel wisely kept the glorious finishes in the main common spaces. (Not so much the rooms, but this was an office building, so i'm guessing they had to change a lot to make the rooms appropriate for comfortable lodging).The common areas are beautifully done. The lounge/working area in particular has a warm, cozy feel, and excellent seating, large tables, etc. I could see this lounge area in a hotel four times the cost of the Industrialist. Has a very Soho House type of hush to it.I'm a big scent person. Love the subtle smell they have pumped throughout The Industrialist. Extremely pleasing, hints of sandalwood, sawdust, tobacco. Not overwhelming, just enough.One drawback might be the elevators. They are quite slow. Yes, the building is old and the hotel probably couldn't blow out new or larger shafts. but they should probably at least tweak the door timing. They seem to stay open an inordinently long amount of time. I spent a fair amount of time standing in an empty elevator waiting for the door to close. Not a huge deal for me, but there it is.Overall, an enjoyable, no-frills-i-didn't-want, comfortable hotel in a historical building. It's got its own, proud style. I'd recommend for solo business, couples, quick stays after concerts, meals, etcFT reviews don't have a box or secion for 'Value' but this hotel would score a 9 or 10 there.. Room Rooms are small - typical of big city hotels and many office tower conversions. But while not 5-star or anything, they are extremely comfortable and laid out well for the limited space. Beds are quite comfy. Finishes and furniture are sleek, unfancy, and perfectly comfortable. Bathrooms fully modernized.If you need space to walk around your room AT ALL you'll need to move above even the 'corner room' category and into jr suites. I had a look at a few, and ended up in a suite. It's not really a suite, Still just one large(r) room, but at least there was room for a desk, sofa and coffee table.Generally, though, if you want lots of space, this ain't the placeViews are excellent, particularly from the higher floors.I was on the top floor, so can't speak to street noise on lower floors, But i heard next to none. Dining Didnt eat at the onsite bar/restaurant -' The Rebel Room' - but the room itself is hip and comfortable. The bartender mixed us some excellent cocktails. Check In Here's where my biggest problem occured: Coworkers and i were in town for late afternoon business meetings and an early evening business dinner. I had asked (no, begged) for early check in to get myself cleaned up and settled. The Industrialist was not able to do it, which was fine. But then check-in time rolls around, room still not ready. Half hour, forty five minutes past check-in time, still not ready. This is when i start to get a bit concerned.First response from front desk shocked me - "Sorry we have a lot of LPE customers staying here today and they all want late check out. There's nothing i can do. We can't really say no to them." Forget that I'm AE for a moment, and that I booked with Amex Plat, i've never heard anything like that from any hotel employee. I said the only thing i could think of saying - "That's great for them, kinda not so great for me."Second front desk response was more typical - "We're fully booked tonight." (I've never understood that response either, tho. Should be obvious if you can't get into any room that they're fully occupied.). My answer was "That's great for The Industrialist, kinda not so great for me".The recovery:At 4pm - an hour past check-in - they found a room for me. And it was a higher room class - Jr Suite to Suite - on the highest floor (18).THAT, my friends, is how you recover from a service situation going south quickly. I appreciated it, still appreciate it. You don't just solve the problem, you don't just make it 'go away'. Any hotel at any class should try to actually PLUS the solution. Comp the night, or comp a meal, or up the room class at hotel cost.Perfect. Service Needed none, so can't really speak to overall service, housekeeping, these kinds of things.