Used a cat 1-7 Free Night Award here for a one-night stay last week.
Parking is valet-only (unfortunately), but as a Globalist staying on a free night, it was complimentary for me. It was nice and easy. I was greeted and escorted to the front desk by a gentleman who helped with my luggage (I didn’t really need help, but that seems to be a thing they do here, which was nice).
Even though up until earlier that day, online availability had shown suites available, when I arrived around 5 PM, none were still showing as available. They did proactively upgrade me to a premium king room on the 18th floor, which the check-in agent noted was actually bigger than the Elm Suite. (The hotel only goes up to floor 20 of the 50-story building.) It was nice and spacious, though not super comfortable (I wish the rooms were carpeted rather than hard flooring). There was a nice soaking tub and separate shower in the bathroom, which was nice.
When I arrived, there was actually a little welcome amenity fruit plate waiting on the desk, along with a small bag of chocolate chip cookies and a large glass bottle of (I assume) some fancy brand of water! That was a really nice extra that I wasn’t expecting.
There was a mini-fridge in the room…kind of. It’s actually a fully-stocked mini-bar, so there’s not much space to put your own stuff in to refrigerate. Still, I managed to find room for 2 bottles of water (horizontally) and one can of Coke (stacked on top of another can already in the fridge).
Before dinner, I decided to take a dip in the outdoor hot tub on the ninth floor. When traveling solo, I tend to not want to get in a hot tub if there’s already other people using it, so I’ll just wait patiently elsewhere (e.g. by the pool) for it to be open, which usually doesn’t take too long. But man, apparently the hot tub is the place everyone wants to be at the Thompson; I noticed nobody at all ever used the pool (it was slightly cool outside, maybe low 70s and cloudy, but not cold), but the hot tub was always busy (and once people got in, they didn’t want to leave, even though normal etiquette is what, 15 minutes?). I waited probably 45 minutes, and it was finally briefly empty, so I got in…only for a couple who wasn’t even there before to follow me in less than a minute afterward. Not their fault, of course, just the universe having a laugh, I guess. But it makes you wonder why the hotel only has one hot tub (and why so many otherwise-nice hotels don’t have one at all)? They could really use a second one, for as much traffic as this one gets. It’s really not that big, either; maybe 4 people could comfortably use it at once (6 if they got cozy). At least the temperature was nice; just can’t really relax much with no alone time.
I went back to the room and showered off, then headed down to Catbird for dinner. To get there, you have to take the hotel elevators down to one of the common floors, then another set up to floor “9C” (which is one above 9). In hindsight, for what appears to be better food, I actually should’ve gone to Little Daisy (on floor 9), but they close at 9:00 on weeknights, and by the time I finally got to dinner, it was already somewhat close to that, so Catbird it was. The destination fee inclusions say you get a “Chef's choice Amuse-bouche in Catbird.” There’s no mention of a time limit, but it turns out it’s only available until 8 pm, according to the server (I guess that’s when the chef in question leaves for the day; no alternative amenity was offered). The website also says there’s live music Wednesdays from 7-9 pm, but I can confirm that was not the case last week. I had a pricey but good teriyaki burger and fries (served with a “togarashi ketchup” which had some spiciness to it—actually really good), and an interesting cocktail called the “Hachi Sting” made with Scotch, honey water, and grapefruit. Catbird feels like the kind of place you go for the atmosphere more than the food, drinks, or service; it felt hip, I guess, but not really my style. They had no actual entrees on the menu at all (e.g. no steak, fish, pasta, etc.—those are all found at Little Daisy instead), just a few appetizers/small plates and Asian-inspired tacos for some reason (actually, the menu as a whole appeared to be Asian-inspired, it’s just a shame they didn’t add full entrees to it). (There are also two fancy restaurants, Monarch and Kessaku, on the 49th and 50th floors respectively, that are not directly affiliated with the hotel; I didn’t visit those, but I’m sure the views are great!)
WiFi speed tests ranged from 8 to 14 Mbps—not horrible, but definitely not great. Didn’t see a wired internet option.
Very comfortable bed; slept great.
Breakfast goes until 2 pm in Little Daisy. Yes, you read that right. Those are my kind of breakfast hours!! When I checked in, I used the app and selected a 4 PM checkout, so I could take my time. I got to the restaurant probably around 1:00 and had a croissant breakfast sandwich and a side of bacon, which were both delicious. (On that late checkout note, I did have a housekeeper come knocking probably around 2 PM, despite my late checkout and the privacy light being on [this hotel uses lights controlled from inside the room rather than traditional do-not-disturb signs]. Had to tell her I have a 4 PM checkout, and she apologized. I feel like a Thompson should be more organized than that, but maybe I’m picky…)
When it came time to leave, I used the QR code on the valet ticket they gave me before leaving my room. As I got downstairs, they were just pulling my car around, so perfect timing! The valet asked if I was also checking out, and I said yes. But maybe 20 minutes after leaving, I noticed I was still checked in on the Hyatt app, and that the breakfast hadn’t automatically been removed for the Globalist benefit (probably because it technically posted as Lunch since it was afternoon). I gave them a call, and they got it taken care of and checked me out.
I waited several days to type this up and post it because of some comments above stating that there were billing issues, including sometimes being billed for an erroneous charge after checking out. But I’ve kept an eye on my credit card statement, and no new charges have appeared from them; all appears correct so far. (I was worried that messing with the fridge/minibar might have set off a sensor or something, but that doesn’t appear to have been the case.)
All things considered, I feel like the Thompson is fine, but nothing special. I don’t know why it’s a category 6. Sadly, it’s the only full-service Hyatt property with a hot tub in the Dallas area (maybe that’s part of why it’s a cat 6, lol; I guess the Regency used to have one, but got rid of it…shame). I don’t regret giving them a try, but wouldn’t go out of my way to stay again.