The hotel was located on a back alley but near a main street in a safe enough area. My plane arrived very early so I came into the charming lobby just to drop my bag, but the clerk wanted to check me in early into a room in the semi-basement rather than store my bag. Because I had a half-price rate through Expedia and planned to be out sightseeing most of the time, I accepted the lower level room, dropped my bag and left.
I do greatly appreciate the early check in, and the room itself was well-appointed, well-maintained, and spotlessly clean (kudos to the cleaning staff). Nonetheless, it was still disappointing. When I got back and opened the curtains, I found that my window faced a narrow alley across from a cement wall on which graffiti was scrawled, and there were bars on the window. At that moment, I felt that I had been judged by the clerk as less worthy of a courtyard room and disappointed that such a nice hotel would utilize rooms that required bars on the window. I was further disappointed while trying to sleep that I could hear someone’s high heels clacking on the floor overhead as well as drumming through the walls,either from a band or maybe from a radio, until around midnight when it quieted down. I give this hotel high marks for overall quality but would personally never stay there again.