shinbal

I'm a frequent basher of this hotel. I've been staying there since 1997. Between that time and 2003, the property went downhill. Platinum service and upgrades were spotty at best. A lot of the staff was very poorly trained in the basics of business english: i.e., "Sir, we have upgraded you to a larger King, but due to the occupancy, our suites/club level rooms are full this week" - is much better than, "I can't upgrade you because other people are paying better rates and they got the suites first". I encountered some very good and some very BAD desk agents here, as recently as this year. I really haven't thought they fit the Westin mold in the last few years at all.

HOWEVER.....after a horrendous last stay, rather than contact anyone else, I placed a call and wrote a letter to the General Manager of this property. Not only did he return my call almost immediately, but he also addressed every one of my concerns, honestly. Sometimes I didn't like the answer....but I knew he was being forthright.

Part of what he told me was that the hotel recognized its service problems, including the front desk....and that they were working on some retraining, and some replacements. He also acknowledged a lack of rooms on club floors that would fit the term "upgrade", and a great lack of suites.

By the time I got off the phone with him, I felt better about a hotel I had patronized dozens of times and which I had written off as "never again". I will be staying there in August on my next Dallas trip.

For anyone with concerns with this hotel, I encourage a call to the hotel, and to ask to speak to the GM. I think Westin would be happy with the way he represents the hotel and the brand.

c230k78

Trip Report/Mini Review:
The Westin Galleria was simply awesome!

We arrived at around 10:30PM on Friday and pulled up to the hotel. It was very easy to find from from the toll road, the hotel map page directions were perfect. Finding a place to park was difficult since you either had to pay $18 per night to Valet (which, I am not opposed to spending money for good services but that was way too pricey I though) or you had to fight for a parking spot right in front of the hotel (which was next to impossible - there are only like 2 rows of parking available) or park in the underground parking garage which isnt well layed out nor is the signage worth a crap. Luckily we found parking in front of the hotel since it was late and the mall that is attached to the hotel had closed. I did however have to park in the underground garage once and it was extremely hot down there and we got lost since the signs were horrible, etc - not a pleasant time.

At check-in we were greeted by a very nice front-desk employee. I kindly asked "is a room upgrade available" to which she responded "well Mr. Rawdon I have you on the 17th floor which is our SPG level and for Golds we dont do upgrades" but then in a lower volume voice she said "but let's do it anyway" to which she put us on the 19th Executive Floor giving us access to the lounge, etc.

The room was great and even though we faced the tollway we were so high up (our ears even went pop on the way up) that the noise was no trouble at all. The room was great and all was in order when we checked in.

On Saturday night I my laptop ran out of battery power (a Dell Inspiron 600m) and I frantically looked for my power charger since I had to make some postings for school credit that same night. Upon realizing I left it at home I called Service Express who said that security keeps all the adapters that are left behind from other travellers when they cant be claimed via lost/found so I could try them and they transferred me down. I went down to the security office and on the first pass nothing worked and it appeared I was out of luck, so I went back up to my room. Not 2 minutes after I got into the room service express called me and they had tracked down a power adapter for my computer from another hotel guest!

After going down to try the adapter (it worked thanked god) the receptionist told me to simply bring it back when I had powered my laptop up and they would return it to the guest in the morning, which I did. To me, this was going above and beyond in a huge way!

Also on Saturday night, before that event, I had contacted the executive conceriege and asked for assistance in making reservations for two for dinner. After explaining what I was looking for he hooked me up with reservations at Sambucca and it turns out that our table was only one away from the stage where the band was playing live jazz! The ambience was perfect and the conceriege gave me exactly what I was looking for! I am not hip on all the tipping etiquette (I am 27 and came from a poor family so when I travel now is the only time I have ever been to places where you should tip people like that :P) so it was well worth the $10 I gave him for making the reservations.

The attached mall was great and we even ate lunch on Sunday at the little bakery that is part of the hotel attached to the mall. Oh, and the lounge appetizers on Saturday evening and Sunday morning breakfast was perfect!

All-in-all, great hotel! I definately want to get the people recognized who helped me so I am sending a letter to the general manager of the hotel.

Thanks to everyone for their help and recommendations! bmwsociety2 I didnt get to see your post about the facial until after we returned home but next time we go (and there will be a next time) I will keep that in mind!

Corey

jwang018

i stayed at the Westin Galleria once several years ago and i remember not thinking much of it. i've been staying at the Westin City Center in downtown for most of this year (20+ times). although some aspects of the rooms are still slightly outdated, they have renovated their bathrooms (or are still in the process of doing so) and all the rooms have heavenly beds. also the lobby looks recently renovated and has that contemporary "westin feel." this property has 3 westin workout rooms, although i've never been upgraded to one. it's my understanding that these rooms have personal treadmills in them. also i believe there are 2 junior suites on each floor and 1 or 2 presidential suites. they host complimentary gold and platinum breakfasts or happy hours usually once a month in the presidential suite. i get upgraded to the junior suite frequently.

Overall the staff is very friendly, although the service could be more well-honed. i just made platinum last week and this week forgot to offer me a platinum amenity although they had a platinum check-in folio waiting for me when i arrived. i also had to ask them if an upgrade was available and a junior suite was available, so they immediately changed the room i was set up in. i've also had several issues with room service (being unreliable, not with quality), problems with the room (maintenance issues), and not getting the type of room i book although i almost always book at least 1 month in advance. my biggest disappointment is with the front desk manager. i had some dialogue with him in the first time i stayed there b/c of a whole sleu of problems i encountered and have had little interaction with him since, although i see him behind the front desk. but, he doesn't seem very friendly nor does he seem like he really cares if i have a good experience at the hotel. maybe i scared him or really pissed him off, but he doesn't acknowledge me although i've practically lived there this year. the rest of the staff is very sweet.

i stayed at the sheraton suites market center 1 week b/c i was so infuriated with the westin city center. it was a horrible mistake. it smelled dank and and it looked really outdated. i felt like i was at a la quinta or holiday inn. there is no valet parking. no one is there to greet you at the front door. paint was peeling off the walls.... i ran back to the westin city center the next week and thankfully everything has been quite smooth since then.

i believe the W Victory is opening summer 2006. i'm really excited about it. here is the website: http://www.victoryresidences.com/

yunakov

I staid in this hotel tonight. As a platinum I didn’t get an upgrade (I was told that they have nor rooms). I did get a separate card to access 20 floor (with free bar which had nuts, soda and empty wine bottles).

I have chosen points as an amenity as a best choice. The staff was not rude.
The view from the room (18 floor) was excellent – you can see half of Dallas. Another plus is complimentary breakfast (very limited menu – eggs, bacons, cereal and juice)

This large hotel has a smallest gym ever (4th floor). Oh, yes, my mistake. The smallest one was in Residence Inn, Plano but they give you a free access to a Life Time Fitness (1 minute away) which is bigger than the entire hotel.

Yes, I’ll stay here again (if there is no choice), but it definitely not the best hotel. First impression from the outside was much better than actual stay. It’s a very average hotel.

ILUVCITIBANK

Well, the facelift is real and is happening now at Dallas Westin Galleria. Stayed recently on a leisure stay, and am very happy to see the makeover has begun. BTW - there was no disturbance to our stay AFAIK except parking is a mess in the front and so much for trying to self-park in front of the property. I did feel there was little effort to help me self-park (brochure hand-out would have been nice) so we reluctantly did the $20/nt valet (I know - to S.F and NYC folks, this is probably a bargain; to me its trading what used to be a 150ft walk for $20 and I generally won't do it). But now it seems a bit forced since the front parking is gone here. Oh well. Not a complaint as much as I dislike "gotchas" in general.

Though there will apparently be no "holidome"-esque upgrade of the pool area that I always envisioned (a true temp-controlled DOME), they will be doing some nice upgrade to that under-utilized asset they call "pool" which is now an uninspiring, unheated flat-rooftop pool which even our kids don't like to use as it is now, but it will remain open-air. Still, from drawings I saw in the lobby, it will get a facelift and attention.

They have moved the lounge to the 20th floor (converted one of the luxury suites on the 20th into the spg lounge) and I believe the make-over is starting on the floors that used to be the spg floors. This property had the old "Westin Clubfloor" signage as you walked off the elevator it was so old in terms of the last makeover.

Speaking of the lounge: This one is now apparently always attended when its open, and the staff is exceptionally watchful and helpful; I was impressed w// the waitstaff and tipped accordingly. Food quality was ok FRI night (not inspiring, but it was the weekend and not much business activity and we arrived near closing time), and since so many spg properties otherwise close the lounge on weekends or marginally staff it or offer only cold foodstuff, I am not complaining. SAT and SUN breakfast offering was outstanding IMO, especially considering this was a weekend lounge. It seems clear to me this property realizes its uniqueness in being not just a business class hotel, that they can "close the lounge" on the weekend, but also that they are a *destination property* (one of a few in the DFW area) for LEISURE travelers since the hotel is attached to a high-end mall w/ loads of designer brand stores...ie probably a higher-spending crowd on the weekends stay here than most DFW properties for the shopping experience.

PLAT status was recognized at check-in; amenity offered. Everything "clicked" in terms of a speedy, accurate check-in.

For me - I plan to book early my Thanksgiving and Christmas stays here..if as I am guessing, the makeover is done well, demand should surge for this place for the summer/fall. Best of luck for the property as this extensive makeover progresses. I think I saw a reference to some $30MM makeover...that should really upgrade these rooms nicely. Hoping a plasma...maybe WI FI in the rooms...would LOVE for this property to re-vitalize the balconies, since balconies in US hotels are truly a dying asset but am afraid liability issues will keep them locked. Real shame. (no thanks to the Texas trial lawyers we have in this state).

digideals

They have started a four-floor by four-floor renovation to completely update the hotel. It's a major project and if you stay there now, you'll most likely be inconvenienced by the construction. I'm glad they are doing this.

The Doubletree is nice, indeed, and has raised the standards that the Westin Galleria once set. The Hilton across the highway is also a great hotel - quite large and set in other office buildings.

Stonebriar is great, or just as far south as the Stonebriar is north are the trendy Dallas hotels (non SPG) but Melrose, ZaZa, Cresent, Mansion.

ILUVCITIBANK

Except for the parking issues, we were not inconvenienced in any way. Unlike a stay a few years in the flagship Sheraton NYC, where hammering directly above our heads woke up up, we did not experience any problems w/ room quality, quietness, or other inconveniences typical w/ construction.

YMMV

I've also stayed in the Hilton (formerly Doubletree) catti-corner from this Westin/Galleria (SE corner of the tollway and LBJ) that you speak of...except for a "wow" grand lobby, the rooms were not especially better (they were nice...but not remarkably better than this Westin), and the pool smallish. Yes, the excercise room was 2-300% nicer than the Westin's.

Lacking the physical tie-in (connection) to a high-end mall, it is not a great leisure destination hotel IMO. By far, the "Hilton-DWF/The Lakes" is our preference if we want to stay out and away from DFW at a place w/ a superb indoor heated and outdoor non-heated pool & tennis complex. I have posted numerous times about this Hilton-DFW The Lakes.

shinbal

That's what I just heard from a front desk agent when I called to advise them of my late arrival tonight. I casually asked if there were rooms on the executive club floor. She told me that, yes, there were rooms available, for $500 a night. (my rate is $279). I then asked, could I get on the floor below or above, and was informed that the club floor, the floor above, and the two floors below are NON-UPGRADEABLE.

I asked about the SPG Platinum benefit of an upgrade to the best available room including some suites. Her response was that "we do give you access to the lounge, but we are no longer doing room upgrades".

If the lurker, or anyone at the hotel happens to be on the boards, I'd love to know the real story and how this fits with the T&C's.

WScottsdaleInsider

Wow, I really do no think that they can say that. However please share it with Corporate Customer Service. 1-800-328-6242 or [email protected] so they can voice your complaint to the general manager's office and find out what is up with this policy. I take then you did not get a suite either Also you said you called and asked, have you not checked in since?

Starwood Lurker II

Hi shinbal,

WScottsdaleInsider is correct. It would be better if you bring this up to Customer Care for them to investigate further on this issue.

Doubt I can comment much at this very moment without getting a clearer picture.

[email protected]

BalluBallu

Sounds like the renovation finally is over and the have suits again the coudl theoretically upgrade to.
Anyway a nice hotel

shinbal

When I arrived late last night, I had actually been put in a room on a floor below the club lounge, in a very nice and good-sized room. This was opposite what I was told by the desk agent when I called in. I am on a one-night stay, so it wasn't a big deal anyway - but it was the policy I wanted clarified since I stay here often.

I spoke with the GM this morning whom I've known for a few years. He informed me that, indeed, there are no upgrades to the actual Executive Club floor. That's a paid room only. However, he admitted that the desk agent was completely off base with "no room upgrades". He said that Platinums are always, with space available, put on the two floors below the Exec club, and are always, regardless of rate or room, given exec club lounge access. He didn't answer the part about suites, and I didn't push the issue. It's clear that, with the renovations complete, (and the rooms are really nice) that they're trying to manage available inventory to keep everyone happy. Still, I'd be happier knowing that I could actually be upgraded to the club floor itself, since these rooms are called "Sky suites".

One thing I will say is that the GM has done a great job in bringing on staff that are trained in service. The oddity with the desk agent aside, the level of service at this hotel is markedly improved over 3-4 years ago.

I'm still going to contact CS about the Exec club level.

Okijames

It is a nice hotel with a terrific seafood restaurant (not associated with the hotel though so no SP). Not all renovations are complete, but the lounge was recently finished and reopened; It is quite nice. I stay there less frequently these days due to poor upgrade frequency for Plats, and the fact they removed the big workout balls from the workout rooms.

BlissWorld

Please report this to customer service and specifically mention that they denied you upgrade to the club floor and suites. The two floors below the club floor sound like SPG floors to me, which is not much of Platinum upgrade

I would love to hear what corporate has to say about this.

SleepDoc

Yeah I would like to hear what corporate says about this too! Whatever happened to upgrades to the best available room including select standard suited? Is the GM trying to rationalize that exec club rooms aren't upgradeable because the benefits are purchased? Kind of like the towers upgrade with the breakfast and ironing package that has been argued about here?