Were living in hotels full-time at the moment. In this post I wanted to review the Thompson Dallas, where we stayed shortly after opening in late 2020.
Continue reading: Review: Thompson Hotel Dallas
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Great review as always, and I love to see my town being represented here! Actually, judging by the Xmas decorations and since you said you were there for weeks, we may have overlapped when my family did a staycation there on December 20th. I would have loved to say hi had I known!
Quick nitpick - you said the toiletries are Bowmaker branded, but actually the brand is D.S. & Durga out of New York. The scent's name is Bowmaker, and I believe this is a scent exclusive to the Thompson Hotels.
Finally, I totally agree about the shower. I was cold after mine! They should work on their water heaters for sure.
Well impressed, thanks Lucky. Downtown Dallas has changed so much for the better over the recent years.
Are you flying or driving across the country during your life in hotels phase? I presume you’re not subjecting Winston to an airplane hold after they closed the emotional support loophole? Or are some airlines more humane for Winstons
You should have told me you were there! I was there for a night last month (or maybe earlier this month). Aaron made the Prive reservation. Oh well. Another near miss. You have only met my mother so far like a decade ago (she swooped in at a moment's notice and eclipsed with but a mere UA paper SWU from Ari's 1K account what which would have otherwise been your private LH F cabin from FRA to SEA).
By the way, I spent the night before that in the Thompson San Antonio (on points--forgive me Aaron/Ford) and they were also really great on service. Recommend you try SAT Thompson out next time instead of Dallas if you are game--also SAT is way cooler than Dallas and the views were pretty good (not like HKG, but not much is). If you get to SAT, be sure to have a meal at Supper at Hotel Emma. And shop at Larder at Hotel Emma-- awesome place!
--Ari
“Downtown Dallas isn’t the most beautiful city center out there”
I completely disagree, but I guess it’s because I’m a Texan from the DFW area. It has one of the most beautiful skylines of any city. The LED lights are amazing.
I’m sure you ventured out and have been to most of these places I’m listing below, but If you do come back, be sure and check out Trinity Grove, the Bishop Arts district, Uptown/Katy Trails, & Deep Ellum. If you have a car, venture out to the Legacy Hall area (or 121/DNT) because it’s one of the fastest developing area in the country.
Fort Worth is a whole different world (my preferred city). Downtown, West 7th, and Magnolia have some of the coolest places in DFW without the homelessness of Downtown Dallas. The Stockyards are pretty cool if you want to see the Texas stereotype to a “T”.
Did you ever try getting the hotel tax waived for stays over 30 days? Exact rules and stay length differ by state.
The turkish skillet is missing "sucuk", i would rather call that a shaksouka with feta(?).
That's odd about the shower as I had the exact same situation at the new SAT Thompson two weeks ago. I asked the desk to look at it but it never got hot the entire time I was there. That lobby is much more inviting compared to SAT though.
It looks gorgeous, but I gotta say that the single most impressive thing I'm seeing is a squat rack at a hotel gym! I have never seen that before hah!
Great review and you've certainly turned me on to the Thompson brand. It's refreshing to see barbells and power racks in hotel gyms! They've certainly nailed down many of the details.
Clem I was about to say the same thing! They must have had to get some type of gym insurance for that cause I have never in my life seen I squat rack but I wish in the future more hotels would do this.
Also lucky like someone else asked im curious how your choosing to travel with Winston ?
Great review, interesting to read one about a new Thompson property.
I, too, remain puzzled regarding the trend of missing shower doors. Is that a blatant cost-saving measure (to not pay for or have to maintain a swinging or sliding door) or a subtle attempt to get guests to limit their shower time (in order to avoid large puddles on the floor outside the shower)?
Tumeric lattes, interesting. Medicinal coffee?
Thompson is one of the few large hotel chain brands that’s really built themselves a truly distinctive style. After you’ve stayed in one or two of them you immediately recognise pictures / when you walk into a Thompson, especially in the room decor (without actually using the same
Cookie cutter decor you’d see in like a Hyatt Place).
I agree on the DS & Durga toiletries - they used to come in these square bottles that were incredibly frustrating to get the contents out once they were <1/2 full. Then they switched them out more recently for these cylindrical bottles... which are still really hard to get the contents out AND now also difficult to open if you’ve got wet hands!
The most impressive hotel gym I've seen is the Four Seasons Ritz in Lisbon (I wouldn't recommend the actual hotel but the gym was outstanding).
@Ben
Hotel looks amazing, and that was a generous upgrade. Do you mind sharing how many nights this particular stay was? Generally hotels don’t seem to give great upgrades for long stays.
Love the Thompsons! Stayed there recently on a fairly cheap one night Prive rate, so it was an excellent deal. Got the same suite, which was over and above policy for Prive. The Joule down the street has a similar modern vibe and pricing, if you’re *gasp* not loyal to Hyatt.
Next stay burn some Hilton points down the street at the new Halls Arts District hotel. Is a Curio & simply lovely.
The Dallas Thompson is an exceptional stay, and the restaurants there are way above average. Breakfast is indeed fantastic; Catbird's brussel sprouts will delight even the biggest brussel sprout hater, and the staff are exceptional.
I stayed at Thompson Dallas just back in late January for a weekend getaway. I'm from Fort Worth so it's a quick drive over. We had a great time. The stay was excellent. Booked on a Prive rate and they upgraded us to the same room you had Lucky.
I agree on the shower, very annoying not having a door. The rest of the room was fantastic.
The one major con we experienced was in the lobby. We were leaving on a Saturday night and they had a mobile bar and band setup right in the lobby walkway. The staff were masked and observing COVID guidelines but the guests definitely were mask-less and of course having a few drinks wandering all over the lobby. The lobby walkway is fairly narrow with all the couches so we had to wade through these people to get outside. Now, of course, in Texas we have been pedal to the medal for a while now on reopening and going maskless.
Overall, the hotel is gorgeous and service is excellent. And, Lucky, I would disagree with you on one point. Downtown Dallas has changed dramatically over the last ten years. The skyline is quite gorgeous at night and fun to watch the themed LED's on the buildings. But, being from Fort Worth I am biased, we're much more fun west of Dallas haha.
Great review. Compare the Thompson to that nasty Four Seasons Brickell. I know where I'd rather spend my money.
Loving that all of these Thompson properties seem to have Pelotons in their gyms. I will go out of my way to stay at hotels with these bikes!
Not all Thompsons have Pelotons. But, in theory, you can check here :
https://hotelfinder.onepeloton.com/en
It’s not always very reliable - tends to underreport but useful if you’re choosing between otherwise equal properties in close proximity.
What a lovely write up Ben....it was a pleasure meeting you and your crew over your stay and hopefully we will be able to welcome you back in the future! Very excited to follow your travels to other Thompsons set to open this year and also your post on mom-son trip to Big Sur. Good luck on Lifetime Globalist, but seems like you are making killer progress!
Are you taking advantage of hotel stays in Texas of 30 nights or longer being tax exempt? That makes living in hotels much more economically viable. Varies by state (31 days in CA, 90 in DC, MD, and VA, 180 in FL). As someone also living in hotels I’ve had good luck getting substantially lower rates by getting long stay quotes from several properties and then negotiating with a reservations manager.
@Merrick, I’m also (partially) living in hotels with quite a bit of flexibility on location. Do you have any recommendations on hotels that are willing to negotiate / offer a good “long term” rate?
@Coleslaw Almost every hotel. Run it like an RFP process. Say you’ll guarantee at least 30 room nights and you want a rate that’s eligible for WoH benefits and points. You can also ask for things like laundry, F&B discounts, parking, etc
I checked out of the The Thompson Dallas today, Nov. 7th, where my globalist status breakfast credit was $35/person per registered guest. I was expecting the full cost of the breakfast to be complimentary since I have globalist status. The hotel also charged me for parking but I was able to have this charge removed from my bill. $205.68 for 1 night of valet parking. Maybe this $amount was in error, but I did not ask for details once this charge was removed from my bill. I do not plan on returning.
Going to be checking in here tonight for a show at The Factory and then the State Fair tomorrow to check out the new EV's Chevrolet is bringing to the party. Kind of excited, all I normally stay in is the Hyatt Regency in Austin and a few others here and there.