In a well-maintained red and white brick building on a tree-lined street in a residential neighborhood, this hotel is a stone's throw from The Grace and two blocks from the far classier Park Hyatt. It is a squarely commercial hotel catering mostly to the midlevel corporate set and tour groups making a one-night stopover.
The lobby, finished in different shades of wood, has plenty of seating, and additional sitting areas flank the long, narrow paneled hallway to the conference center. Guests perpetually outnumber the overworked front-desk staff, but the attractive carpeting and plush seating make it a pleasant space to wait.
The Chinese and Continental restaurants were decorated several years ago, but in a style that makes them
look 20 years older, and one of the two bars serves pub lunches.
Jewelry and gift shops, a beauty salon and a sunny, well-equipped gym with a steam bath share the premises, and a small pool sparkles on the grounds. Lounge chairs and tables surround the pool, and the pool bar is a popular hangout on sunny days.
The conference center, often busy with local meetings, seats 350, and the hotel has a business center as well. High-tech equipment and high-speed Internet access complement the meeting facilities.
Two narrow, battered elevators rise to guest rooms straight out of the international midrange hotel catalog. 
All are loaded up with routine commercial furniture, desks, phones with data ports, two decade-old TVs, coffeemakers, safes and hair dryers. Rooms in the old wing have more greenery but are smaller than those in the newer wing. The 24 suites have two TVs and windows overlooking the tree-lined street. Baths are small in the old wing, larger and tiled in the newer wing. Some units are smoke-free, and room service is around the clock.
Shoppers appreciate the easy access to nearby malls and restaurants. Still, this busy hotel appeals mostly to businesspeople with a limited budget and groups with negotiated lowball rates.
Editor's Notes
This hotel will be closed through mid-2008 for extensive renovations.
