Just finished a 2-night stay over the weekend as a Globalist with AMEX THC. I am honestly pretty impressed given all the negative comments in this thread:

- Welcomed as a Globalist, and when explained the breakfast benefits, they just said "well since you have both Globalist and AMEX benefits, we pretty much will just cover the entire breakfast for you". We didn't go too crazy - two entrees, two cold drinks and two hot drinks each day and never showed up on the folio.
- Late checkout proactively offered although we didn't need it so declined.
- Morning of, got upgraded to 1 King City View Deluxe in the app. Tried my luck asking for a Water View room at check-in around 4pm, and FD mentions although not possible today, a room change would be possible, which was surprising to me since I am rarely proactively offered a room change in the middle of the stay. Next day we checked again, and indeed they say they have blocked the room for us but will need to wait for housekeeping. We had to head out before it was ready, so we just left our belongings by the front desk and by the time we got back at night, they gave us the new room key and our stuff already in the new room.
- In the end we got to try both the City View and the Water View Deluxe rooms, which honestly I realize the City View is just too low in elevation to see the water, but they basically face the same direction. Room is decently sized with a table and two chairs and the King bed, but no couch - makes me wonder how much smaller the regular base room is.
- Room request for toiletries and stuff were fast - we got our items all <5 minutes. Also yes the slippers are back to the comfy Thompson branded ones now.
- Location is great. Right next to Pike's, and only a short <5 minute walk to the Westlake station. For both going from and to the airport we took the Link and it was very convenient.
- Breakfast was good in my opinion. First day we got the Acai Bowl and mix n' match a la carte items, while second day we got the Salmon Toast and the Crab Omelette. Portions are good and fresh, which I usually prefer this type of menu over buffet style.
- TV is mounted with a HDMI port that is pretty easy to reach to, which is a plus for me. If not, Casting worked well too.
- Noise level is one of the lowlights of this hotel. Both units had a water leaking noise randomly throughout the night, and on the 2nd day at around 6am I could hear someone loudly screaming from the street level. I can sleep through these type of noises but light sleepers should be aware.

I've stayed at the HR before, and although that hotel has its own share of highlights, I think the Thompson can really stand on its own. I really feel you can't go wrong with either hotel - heavily depending on what vibe your trip is going with.

Pictures (Room City View, Room Water view, food / restaurant)