4/10 Rating
Very creepy. "Virtual service" seems to mean virtually no service.
I arrived on a weekday around 12 noon. (I had previously stayed here when it was still the Ace Hotel and enjoyed it a lot.) Using the access code provided, I let myself into the lobby and was immediately shocked. The building, which is an old school, appeared to be completely abandoned. There was no one around; the lights were set very low; the room to the left of the entrance was entirely empty of any furniture or decor; the old gym straight ahead was stripped, looking as though waiting for demolition. The mood was disorienting and borderline scary. The bar to the right of the "lobby" had bar stools piled up which appeared long out of use.
I had arrived ahead of the official 4 PM check-in time, assuming I could sit somewhere in the hotel and work through the afternoon. Clearly this would not be an option, so I needed to check my suitcase so I could at least go elsewhere, but no one was to be found. I called the service number provided and spoke with a woman who clearly was not in Pittsburgh (or possibly even the US), who had never set foot in the hotel. Reading from a computer screen, she led me to the desolate basement location, where I was then instructed to put my suitcase in a flimsy locker until 4 PM. Was this basement secure? Who could be walking around? Would I ever see my suitcase again?
I gave up on the idea of being able to work and called a $30 Uber to take me downtown to the museum to kill some time. After spending another $25 on admission, I began to realize I could just book a different hotel. But when I called the mysterious woman at the service number again, she informed me my two-night stay (which I booked directly with the hotel) offers NO REFUNDS.
I took another $30 Uber back to the empty building and waited to check in. Once I went upstairs and got into my room, I was relieved to see it looked like it did when when the hotel was still the Ace. However, in the middle of winter, the room temperature was set at 65 degrees (the same as the common areas in the hotel), but I was able to adjust it, and after ninety minutes or so, it was a normal temperature.
To my surprise, in the evening, the bar off the lobby did open up and there were finally other people in the building. Nonetheless, my experience during the day upon my arrival tainted the rest of my two-day stay. I did not previously realize how important the staff really is to one's experience at a hotel.