The saying "you get what you pay for" certainly rang true with my encounter at the Silversmith Crowne Plaza. This is one of the many cons of booking hotel reservations online.

My experience started with not being able to find the hotel because it is pretty much hidden to the common traveler. There was no large revealing sign and I believe we drove by about three times before locating the hotel.

Upon arrival, the valet was not outside as he should have been. When he finally came out, he instructed me to leave my car running with the keys in it until he could get to it. Although a bit leery of this I went ahead and followed his instruction.

The first level lobby wasn't too nice, the elevators and carpets were filthy. Once inside the room, the pillows shams were just as filthy as the carpet. The sad thing to say is the nicest part of the hotel was the bathroom. The view outside our window was a brick wall. Let's not even mention the loud roar of the train all night long.

Upon check-out, I discovered that the valet stole money I left my cup holder (by mistake). We alerted the hotel manager of this and he was not very apologetic. He provided us with $10 for the tollway and told us that we should read the back of the valet ticket carefully as it states they are not responsible for theft or damage as the valet service is contracted by an outside company. If that is not enough, after arriving home I also realized that the valet stole a $250 pair of sunglasses from the console of my car.

This is one of the worst experiences I have ever had at a hotel. They should be ashamed to call themselves a luxury boutique hotel.

Recommended: No