The Brown Hotel

The experience was top notch and everyone from reception to the restaurant offered stellar service. Our clients were thrilled and we hope to come back to see you again next year.  Dinner at the Bar & Grill was incredible - Jamal, Kris and Rob took incredible care of the group. The Chef came out and said hello to the table, which really impressed the group...they were talking about it the entire trip. The food and ambience were incredible.

I don’t leave reviews normally but I want to leave a review to help out future travelers. This place is somewhere between a motel and a hotel . We stayed in room 1105. The room is tiny. Must be less than 400 sqft including the bathroom. It smelled of mold and smoke. We requested the maintenance staff to open the plexiglass that was blocking the windows. That way we could open the windows. The carpets are old. Furniture is super old. Bed is ultra soft and creaky. Pillows super hard. I don’t think they renovated this place for 40-50 years. Maybe longer. I found the staff to be super friendly and nice. They were all helpful. And hence the 3 star review (not one or two). I normally wouldn’t leave a review but we paid over $3,000 per night for the derby weekend for three nights. Almost $10K! This is a $200 hotel. AT BEST!. During check-in I requested a tea kettle. The receptionist asked “for what”. I said for boiling water. She said we can bring you water sir. We don’t have tea kettles. The tiny coffee machine in the room must cost less than $30 and haven’t been maintained for decades. I was scared using it. Pillows are like stone. You'd expect down pillows or down comforter for that price. But no! We were a group of 6 people. Everyone said the same. We are not staying here ever again. Like NEVER! And again, it is all about expectations. If we were expecting a $150-200 hotel, then this is what you get. If you are expecting a $3,500 hotel (even in Derby weekend), then this is a complete rip off.

The Brown is a fine old hotel that keeps many of the fine old hotel traditions alive for a very good reason - it helps insure that their guests get an excellent stay. Every single time. Check-in started with the reception at the front door, and the doormen and bellhops had the luggage unloaded and us heading up to the second floor for check-in in just a few minutes. Check-in was equally trouble free, and we took a bit to admire the adjacent high-ceilinged Lobby Bar and Grill (main dining room). The elevators are very smooth and fast, but it can take a bit to get the hang of swiping your room keycard to allow passage to the upper floors. We had a Deluxe Room with king bed, and it didn't feel cramped. The large windows look out to various views of downtown Louisville. It appeared to have been recently refreshed and all the furniture, wall decorations, lamps. etc., looked new and worked well. The bed was very comfortable. You get four rather soft pillows so if that's an issue, pack your own. The closet contained two suitcase stands, iron and ironing board, and one white terrycloth robe. Housekeeping will bring another robe up on request. There were adequate amenities in the bathroom, including towels, and the water pressure in the shower was good. The showerhead was the rainfall type. Lighting in the bathroom was a little dim, but there was a swing-out makeup mirror available. The only real down side to the room was the lack of a mini-fridge. The phone system was also problematical - none of the pre-programmed buttons seemed to work, but the front desk could be reached by dialing 0 and get you routed to who you needed to talk to. You owe it to yourself to spend at least an hour exploring the hotel, learning about its rich history, the movie that was filmed there, the exceptional craftmanship of the public rooms, all the architectural details, and the many cozy areas to read a book or people watch. A visit to the rooftop patio and garden area will reward you with panoramic views of the city and surrounding area. Both the Lobby Bar and Grill on the second floor and J. Graham's Cafe on the first floor are exceptional. Every dinner we had in the Lobby Grill was very good, and the service was quite attentive. J. Graham's knows how to do breakfast, and will have coffee and that day's newspaper at your elbow almost before you sit down. The avocado toast is not to be missed. The small bar grill area was closed when we were there. Both restaurants ask for reservations. We found that the easiest way was to go to the hotel website on our smart phone and then reserve a time slot through Open Table on the link to each restaurant. It can take a bit to master, but there were no issues with table availability when we did it this way. Some reviewers have commented that The Brown is in a sketchy area of town. We walked all over the immediate area and surrounding streets and felt perfectly safe, so that was not a concern for us. PS - the squirrel the bellhops feed peanuts to needs his own Instagram account, it's that cute.

Beautiful old hotel. HUGE, comfortable room. There were only two minor issues with the room. There aren’t as many electrical outlets as more modern hotels, and the shower took forever (5 minutes) to heat up. There are four restaurants in the hotel: a lovely dining room, a lobby restaurant, a bar, and a breakfast/lunch restaurant. All the food we had was wonderful. Their famous hot brown in the lobby restaurant, shrimp and grits from room service, and their breakfast buffet. I wouldn’t say that it’s in a bad neighborhood, but I expected it to be in a more commercial, higher end area. I would definitely stay there again though.

I was quite taken by the reviews of the hotel before booking, and excited about the appearance of this historical and flawlessly maintained hotel when arriving, and therefore very displeased and disappointed with the most indifferent, bordering on hostile, welcome at the check in. The receptionist, unfortunately, do not know his name, offered little warmth, asking only curt questions with minimal effort—interactions that could easily be replaced by a machine. A disappointing first impression for an otherwise well-maintained and clearly loved establishment with such a rich history. The room is nice, lobby is beautiful and the history of the building is very impressive, but just a little smile, hospitality and effort from the receptionist would really make a difference. It is all about first impressions after all!