The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa, Autograph Collection

I stayed at The Brown Palace for a week-long business trip, and unfortunately, what should have been a polished, professional hospitality experience became an exercise in frustration. By the end of the week, some of my concerns went beyond poor service and crossed into what I consider legitimate questions about guest safety. During our conference, the fire alarms went off in the middle of not one, but two separate speakers’ presentations. What was particularly disturbing was the complete lack of communication from hotel staff. We were never properly informed whether there was an actual emergency, a test, or a false alarm. Instead, we eventually learned through attendees at a neighboring conference that the hotel was apparently experiencing technical issues. A malfunctioning alarm is inconvenient. A malfunctioning alarm accompanied by inadequate communication in a hotel filled with guests and conference attendees is something entirely different. That experience became even more concerning when considering the accessibility of the hotel's entrances and exits. During our stay, one of the primary entrances was a revolving door, while the adjacent standard door appeared to be nonfunctional or unavailable approximately 70% of the time I attempted to use it. That raises an obvious question: What happens during an actual fire or emergency? If guests need to evacuate quickly, relying on a revolving door while an adjacent conventional door is routinely not functioning does not inspire confidence. After experiencing repeated fire alarms with little meaningful communication from staff, I found the situation particularly troubling. I cannot determine whether these conditions violate any specific fire, building, ADA, OSHA, or other safety regulation, but as a guest, I should not have to wonder whether the hotel's emergency egress is adequate. The combination struck me as reckless and deserving of serious attention from hotel management. Unfortunately, the problems continued in my room. During an entire week-long stay, my room was serviced once. By the third day, I had run out of toilet paper. Normally, this would require a simple phone call to housekeeping or the front desk. Unfortunately, the telephone in my room did not work for the duration of my stay. As a result, whenever I needed something as basic as toilet paper, I physically had to go downstairs and ask for it. Even the temperature of my own room was apparently not mine to control. Guests could not independently adjust the thermostat to their preferred temperature; changes had to be requested through the hotel. Since my room phone did not work, this meant yet another trip downstairs simply to ask someone to adjust the temperature in a room I was paying a considerable amount to occupy. Then there was the piano, which began playing around 7:00 a.m. every morning. While a piano may contribute to the historic atmosphere of the property, 7:00 a.m. is certainly an interesting interpretation of luxury hospitality for guests who may actually wish to sleep. What disappointed me most, however, was the attitude of the staff and particularly the acting manager. Things break. Mistakes happen. Hotels encounter unexpected problems. What distinguishes a quality property is how management responds. Instead, I repeatedly felt as though I was the inconvenience for bringing legitimate concerns to their attention. There was little sense of “How can we help?” or “How can we make this right?” I received no meaningful acknowledgment of the inconvenience, and the overall attitude was remarkably dismissive for a hotel trading on a reputation for luxury hospitality. I was also traveling with my dog. For a hotel accepting guests with pets, some consideration for a designated pet-relief area would have been appreciated. Instead, even a simple bathroom break required navigating busy streets or walking several blocks to find an appropriate area. Unfortunately, the food did nothing to redeem the experience. Steaks were not prepared to the requested temperature, burgers were also incorrectly cooked, and room service was extraordinarily expensive for food that, in quality and execution, felt closer to fast food than luxury-hotel dining. This was an expensive week-long business trip involving professional conferences, not a bargain hotel stay where limited service might reasonably be expected. After spending an entire week here, our conclusion was easy: we will not be returning to The Brown Palace, nor would I recommend it for future business conferences based on our experience.

Background: Lifetime Titanium elite member. That means so many nights over so many years in Marriott properties worldwide, therefore I kinda know the system. Checkin was horrendous. I checked in online when I received the link, got my confirmation that I was all done and to just go to front desk to receive my keys. Emir was one of 2 people manning the desk. I asked for the keys and said I had completed the online checkin. He demanded my credit card and ID saying that's not possible. We dont do that. I could have argued since the confirmation was on my phone but he was already throwing an attitude so I didn't bother. Elite benefits allow you 1000 points or breakfast or $10 f&b credit depending on the hotel. I chose the points, since I knew breakfast was typically offered to elite members above Platinum when an executive lounge is not available. I mentioned this and he said only if I paid for it, since I had already chosen points. I pointed out that this was actually an additional benefit for higher elite members separate from the welcome points. He insisted this was not the case. In addition he did not offer a room upgrade which is guaranteed IF a room is available. I checked all higher category rooms a bit later and saw that several were still available to book, even as late as 10 pm. We were checking in at 4 so there would have been some then. I found the exact sections of the Marriott rules and offered them to Emir. He refused point blank to check them. When I asked to speak to the manager, he said he was the manager. (his card showed him to be the front desk supervisor) so I said, "to be very clear, you are refusing to adhere to the terms and conditions of Marriott policy?" He said he had not been told about this and if I had more questions, call the GM. My wife called for me, and I followed up with a synopsis email. We have heard nothing. For anyone interested, I am referring to Marriott written policy sections 4.3.c.iii and 4.3.c.iv and they have been updated last month. Very disappointing. Not at all what you would expect from any Marriott property, much less an Autograph selection property. As far as accommodations go, this hotel has definitely seen better days. The bed was on split box springs that were not covered, or if they were, it was very grungy fabric. The Electric plugs were so loose in the wall that our charging blocks could not stay in. The grout in the bathroom area was either moldy or plain black from age. Take your pick. There were no bathroom amenities except for one small bar of soap. Naturally shampoo and conditioner were in the shower area in large dispensers but no other amenities. (Shower cap etc) There were two thick bathrobes which were nice, but only 1 bath towel and 1 hand towel. Given the age of the hotel I can forgive that it took a good 10 minutes to get hot water, but I felt bad about the waste in our current drought environment. Nice rain shower head in the wall and ceiling but they screeched as if someone was being murdered. I cannot imagine what it sounded like next door. The rules also state compensation of $100 is due if breakfast is not offered. I wonder if that is the case when it is refused? We shall see.

Beautiful historic hotel lobby to listen to jazz music and have a beverage on Saturday afternoon/evening. The jazz band was excellent as well as a surprise 90 year old tenor that got up and belted out a tune! I was wrong with my last review that it was at the Oxford. It was at the Brown Palace! We heard from 2 people we know that their Dads stayed at the Brown during WW11! Our neighbor said her Dad was with the medical depot in St. Louis flying medicine across the country! What a history and beautiful hotel

Upon checking into our hotel at 4:00 pm on August 22nd we were made aware that our room was not ready. No problem, we made them aware that we wouldn’t be back until 1:00 am for a concert, but we would be back. We left our luggage with the bellman. Upon returning to the hotel we were given a room that had not been cleaned and the bed was un-made. We went back down to the front desk and they told us that they had no additional rooms to offer us. We obviously did not want to stay in a room that had not been cleaned, so we asked for a refund and left. We were never refunded for the night and no manager will return my calls or emails. This was a horrible experience.

We had the pleasure to stay in the Roosevelt Presidential Suite, the room is amazingly decorated, very spacious with a comfortable bed and nice washroom. The room was not ready when we arrived at 4:00 PM which was disappointing but we received a voucher that we exchanged for 2 cocktails at Ship Tavern where we had great service. We also had the complimentary glass of champagne at check-in. Our issues came from the lack of special amenities in the room. I would expect that level of room in an Autograph Hotel to have either fresh flowers, a fruit bowl or fancy chocolate... Also the AC unit in the bedroom part of the room was not able to keep the room cold so the night of sleep was unfortunately what we would have hoped for.