Tag: hotels

Playa del Carmen, Mexico ~ Thompson Main House

February 2024

We have a pretty good track record with hotels. From five-star properties with big reputations – where we expect exceptional experiences – to more under-the-radar finds, we typically love the hotels we choose, and this makes writing about them a joy.

But either we missed the mark with Thompson House, or it missed the mark with us.

Our choice of the Thompson Playa del Carmen Main House, which is right in the center of this beach town, was driven by a handful of things. First, we wanted a warm vacation and didn’t have time to do something complicated. We’ve had terrific experiences in Mexico – particularly in Mexico City and Valladolid – and the Riviera Maya is indisputably beautiful.

When many vacationers think of the Yucatan Peninsula, they think of beachfront resorts. For us, resorts are perfect for a few days, but beyond that, we tend to feel trapped, particularly in properties far from towns or cities. Our last few vacations involved moves halfway through, which worked out well, but for this trip, we wanted to get someplace and stay put.

For a seven-night stay, we thought being right in a town but near a beach would be ideal. We looked at Tulum but didn’t find anything intriguing, and one of us had been to Playa del Carmen 20 years ago and remembered it fondly. Thompson House showed up on a few of our go-to references, and it seemed like it had potential to be a fun detour from a typical Mexican beach vacation.

Not a great start, but holding out hope

Our hour-long drive to Playa del Carmen from the Cancun airport was smooth, and a driver arranged by the hotel dropped us right at the front door (we’ll admit, by driving down a pedestrianized street). Upon checking in, we were told that the room we had booked was not available because the air conditioning was broken, but it would be ready the next day. The reception staff – in an extended back-and-forth text conversation with someone who was apparently the manager – seemed to be trying to figure out what to do with us. In the end, they said they would put us in another room and waive our resort fee as recognition for the inconvenience. So much for getting to one room and staying put…but we understand that things happen, and sometimes adjustments have to be made.

Our first room – a king room – was a downgrade from the suite we had booked. This occurred to us after our credit card had been charged but before we headed to the room. We noted this to the staff member at reception, and she said she would talk to the manager and get the charge adjusted. By that point, we were more than ready to get up to the room – and the manager didn’t seem accessible – so we said we would check back the next day when we moved rooms.

Paradise lost?

When the Thompson House opened in 2015 (we stayed in the “main” house; there is also a “beach” house), it must have been stunning. Its modern, curved façade; hallways and rooms with shiny stone floors and dark wood walls; floor-to-ceiling windows; big balconies; dramatic common areas; and an expansive rooftop pool with a bar and restaurant on either end were indisputably eye-popping.

But nine years had not been kind to Thompson House, and it seemed to us that from the moment the hotel opened, it started to decline. Of course, hotels take constant maintenance and continuous attention to service and amenity standards; we certainly understand this challenge. However, during our weeklong stay, it became clear that Thompson House wasn’t getting the attention it needed or deserved, and this showed up in ways big and small.

#127 to #132

We didn’t take time to settle into our first room because we knew we would be moving, but in some ways, the first room was better than the suite we would occupy for the remainder of our stay. It was in the middle of the semicircle and a little sheltered from the street noise below (more on that later); it had a nice seating area, a big shower, lots of storage, and fresh air conditioning. The room was a little dark, and it looked out onto the faded metal roof of the shopping center that is part of the hotel complex, but the mid-century aesthetic was a fun detour from traditional Mexican or typical beach designs. What’s more, everything in the room seemed to work.

The transition to our second room – the one we originally booked – didn’t go smoothly, and to be honest, midway through day 2 we weren’t sure we would actually make the move, as we got vague responses to our several inquiries. But in the late afternoon, a very kind porter escorted us upstairs to make the key exchange. Room #2, which had a pie-shaped footprint, was light and airy with wrap-around windows; a shower with a sliding door to the balcony, which had a deep soaking tub; and lots of space. Because this room was situated on the end of the semi-circle, we had better views out to the streets below and also a fun canopy created by a giant kapok tree. Just as we thought about the rest of the hotel, we could imagine how the room must have looked when it first opened.

And like the rest of the hotel, the room was showing its wear. The leather headboard of the bed had worn spots; the drapes that stretched the full length of one wall needed to be cleaned, as did the furniture on the balcony, which left black smudges on our clothes; the coffee cups didn’t sit squarely on the mismatched saucers; one of the sinks didn’t properly drain; the toilet ran continuously if we didn’t jiggle the handle just right; the soaking tub had hot water only on request; the room smelled musty whenever we closed the balcony doors and turned on the air conditioning; and each time we took a shower, we had to wipe up loads of water from the bathroom floor. We’ll admit, this list sounds long, but these weren’t fatal flaws. We know things can be worse. With that said, we also didn’t expect these kinds of issues from what seemed to be the premier hotel in town.

Do you want to pet a baby tiger?

In our new room, we soon realized that we were right above an “attraction” where, for a fee, tourists could pet – and get a picture with – a baby tiger. From about 8:30 in the morning to well into the night, we would hear employees calling out to tourists, “Hey guys, do you want to pet a baby tiger?” Add this to the competing mariachi bands on the street and the club music coming from every surrounding restaurant and club, and we felt a little like we were in the middle of a theme park for adults.

Because our room wasn’t exactly an oasis, we sought other spots for relaxing. The rooftop pool, like the rest of the hotel, was surely beautiful at one time and was clearly designed to provide lots of amenities. But most of those were gone or on hiatus, and the pool was so cold that it was impossible to get in without getting chilled to the bone.

Thompson’s sister property – the Thompson Beach House a few blocks away – is available to all Thompson guests. Our afternoon visit there, however, was also disappointing. After looking around a little, we found a lounge chair that wasn’t too dirty (most of them needed a good scrub), but nothing was on offer in terms of services. Instead of hearing the call to “pet the baby tiger,” we got the sounds of drills and saws in the property’s restaurant. At least, we thought, renovations were underway.

As the disappointments with the hotel grew, we decided to lower our expectations, but even then we seemed to be foiled at every turn: Our tickets for the ferry to Cozumel ordered online never arrived; our search for seven art galleries listed on Google maps turned up not a single one (most were places trying to sell a time share); and the tequila we bought to make margaritas in the room ended up all over the floor – along with the bottle that broke into what seemed like a thousand pieces –  when the shelf of the mini fridge collapsed and sent everything nearby crashing down.

We’re the first to admit that had we talked to anyone who has spent time in Playa del Carmen, we likely would have been alerted that central Playa is “party, party, party.” And we’ll also say that plenty of people looked to be having a really good time. The whole thing just wasn’t our cup of tea – or, shall we say, our shot of tequila.

Postscript: What does it mean to be part of a hotel group?

We’ve noted before in hoteling.org that we tend to prefer independent hotels over properties that are part of a chain. That doesn’t mean we won’t choose a chain, and we’ve had some great experiences at branded properties; the St. Regis, Four Seasons, and Mandarin Oriental come to mind. For our visit to Playa del Carmen, we actually thought that choosing a hotel that’s part of the Hyatt group might be a good idea. Even before we arrived, we were a little uncertain about our choice of Thompson House. It was a curveball, for sure, but having the Hyatt name attached gave us a little comfort in thinking that the hotel would meet a certain standard.

Our disappointing experience at Thompson House, which continues a month later as we try to resolve a problem with the bill, has taught us a lot about what it means to be part of hotel group. The answer? In the case of many affiliations, not much. 

One of the most frustrating parts about our stay at Thompson House was its poor management. The hotel had several kind and well-intentioned staffers who were doing their best to make disappointed guests happy, but the person or people in charge – none of whom we ever saw – were only reachable through a QR code that required texting via the What’s Up app.

What does it mean to be part of a hotel group? In the case of many affiliations, not much.

Eventually we gave up trying to resolve our issues while on site and decided to pursue them from home through Hyatt rather than directly with the hotel. Hyatt customer service sent us back to the hotel, so we reached out but haven’t received a response. We’ve now gone back to Hyatt with feedback that the hotel isn’t responding, but the effort this is requiring is starting to outweigh our desire to resolve the bill.

Stay details:

What we did, where we ate:

Back to HOTELLING home

Hastings, Minnesota, USA ~ The Confluence Hotel

January 2024

Living with a view out over the Mississippi River, we’ve always thought that river towns have a unique feel, a spirit that evokes travel and the pull of places beyond the horizon. When we heard of a new hotel just downriver from us in Hastings, Minnesota, we knew we’d have to visit, and Hastings is less than half-an-hour away, so the location was perfect for a quick overnight getaway in midwinter.

Hastings is situated where the St. Croix River, fresh from the eponymous National Scenic Riverway, joins the Mississippi on the long journey to the Gulf of Mexico. Following on the heels of its upriver cousin, Stillwater, Hastings is seeing investment in its historic downtown with restaurants, shops, and, now, the historic reuse of an old manufacturing complex, which has been remade into The Confluence, a boutique hotel just west of where the new Hastings Bridge brings you into downtown.

A factory transformed

The Confluence opened, after many pandemic-related setbacks, in the fall of 2023. The aesthetic is an architecturally fun, industrial-chic treatment that does a great job of retaining and showing off the bones of the original structure, which housed the H.D. Hudson Manufacturing Company.

The hotel has outdoor spaces looking out over the river that will surely be wonderful in warmer weather, a ballroom, and several wings with hallways that showcase the original wood and steel-beamed roof high up above the rooms that have been tucked into the shell of the original factory floorplan. But the highlight of the public spaces is the lobby/bar/restaurant area, which already appeared to function as a kind of living room for Hastings. Even in late January, the space had a pleasant and inviting buzz about it.

Everything but a wall of windows

Our room, a king suite, was large and well-appointed, with little to no wear-and-tear, as expected in an almost-new hotel. Although the room worked well functionally, the layout felt a little odd. Likely as an attempt to create a separate seating area (necessary for the “suite” designation?), the TV and cabinet it sat on were situated in the middle of the room, so either the view from the seating area or from the bed — depending on the TV’s orientation — was a view of the back of the TV. We might be extra sensitive to the intrusion of televisions on the design of a space, but this just felt awkward. Additionally, the room had only one window tucked in a corner and blocked from view when we were on the side of the room with the bed. For a building with fabulous windows, we were disappointed to have only one. With that said, upon check-out, we did learn that our particular suite (#229) is somewhat unique in its floorplan, and all of the other junior suites have a full wall of windows. For our next stay, we’ll be sure to request a different room.

On the positive side, the room had a spacious, high-ceilinged, loft-like feel with original exposed steel beams and pillars. It was fun to see some of the structure of the building carrying through to the rooms. Ours had lots of places to sit — we weren’t there long enough to test them all out — and a wet bar (although the refrigerator and coffee maker were across the room, beneath the TV). We’re guessing some of the hotel’s rooms were designed for special-occasion stays where groups may want to gather. The sliding barn door to the bath was a nice touch, and the bath was large with double sinks and a sparkling, white-tiled shower. The room also had plenty of hooks, which are one of our favorite features and always handy for travelers.

No need to venture out

We really liked the energy of the lobby space, so we decided to have dinner at the hotel restaurant, Missi’s Sip & Savor. The name may be a stretch as a play on words, but the bar service, drinks, and food well-exceeded our expectations. We sat at the bar, and the bartending team was skilled, friendly, and energetic, and everyone seemed genuinely eager to work with us to create some custom cocktails, which were outstanding and a great paring with our warm smoked walleye dip, chopped salad and ale-braised short ribs. Our experience at the bar made us think the hotel is the place to go for elevated dining in Hastings.

But fun to explore beyond the hotel

The Mississippi River was the primary transportation route into the Upper Midwest before the railroads made their way to Wisconsin and Minnesota, so many of the oldest towns are strung out along the riverways. Hastings has been able to preserve much of its historic main street (actually 2nd Street East) with some wonderful late nineteenth-century buildings. The street is lined with antique shops, and in between those, we found a few gift shops with local goods and a game store with every kind of game you could imagine. Visitors will also find a good selection of places to eat and drink, some with outdoor space looking over the river. And the residential streets clustered around downtown have quite a few houses of historic interest. We’ll surely return in summer to check out what we imagine to be a lively scene.

Stay details:

  • The Confluence Hotel, downtown Hastings, Minnesota
  • 1-night stay: January 20-21, 2024
  • King suite, #229

What we did, where we ate:

Back to HOTELLING home