My wife and I loved the room, the breakfast buffet, the location, and the staff. Gee, that pretty well says it all.

The Crowne Plaza is just nearing the finish line of their multi-million dollar remodeling. They warned us ahead of time but assured us that we'd love our stay. That we did!

It is a very short walk from the front desk to the elevators. The elevators were quick throughout the weekend. (Hurray!)

Our room was fresh, comfortable, and everything worked perfectly.The only things not replaced/refurbished were the door into the room and the thermostat controls. I was worried that perhaps the a/c or heat would not be up to par, but I was delighted to find that my fears were unfounded. I loved that every lamp in the room (four!) all had an extra electrical outlet on their bases making it easy to plug in my phone and PC chargers. Nice!

The bathrooms have been redone with a nice shower head with consistent water temperatures. The bathrooms are not huge nor the tubs deep, but they are nice and have extras like curved shower curtain rods and double sinks. Towels were better than similar hotels, and amenities in the bathroom included mouthwash. (Nice extra touches!)

Lighting was excellent (a pet peeve of mine in other hotels) and the room was quiet. I travel a LOT and this was the very first time that I received a thank you note from Housekeeping for the gratuity I left for them. (We stayed two nights).

The beds were very comfortable and the sheets, blanket, and comforter were extra thick and nice. Some hotels make them so light and flimsy that we never feel "nested". Not here! Good pillows, and pillowcases that were actually soft.

The breakfast buffet was really terrific. Great CRISP bacon without having to ask, and the usual spread put on by good hotels. The remodeled dining area was fresh, clean, and open.

The hotel is just minutes (5) from Dallas' best "restaurant row". We loved our $$$$$ dinner at Pappa's Steakhouse but really enjoyed getting back to our room just 5 minutes later! There are MANY restaurants of all kinds and prices on the row and a fabulous 18 screen (stadium seating) movie theatre there to boot. We choose to watch "Bourne Ultimatum" in our room instead!

Down sides: The parking lot is just "okay", but who cares? Don't be discouraged with the hotel's "curb appeal". You will love your stay! The nice indoor pool was very clean and "warm", but the hot tub, fitness rooms and adjoining restrooms are on the "tail end" of the remodel. They all worked, but just lacked the "freshness" of the rest of the hotel. I'm sure that these areas will be sensational in the months to come.

Stay here. You won't be disappointed!

I made reservations at this hotel many months ago. I reserved a king/smoking room. When it came time for the trip, the hotel went to nonsmoking all over. Not only did they not inform me of the change, but then they refused to honor their own policy of either honoring the reservation or finding us comparable lodging elsewhere and paying for the first night's stay. This is both unethical and dishonorable. A phone call to the corporate office did no good at all. Evidently it is up to the hotel manager to tell corporate what they will or will not do. Bad business ethics does not get my business.

3 1/2 stars

The Market Crowne Plaza is one of Priceline's 3 star hotels. I bid $45 for one night (Saturday), and it was accepted on the first try. I do not think I would ever stay here at the regular rate though.

THE GOOD:
This hotel is currently being renovated, and we must have gotten one of the newer rooms. The decor was very pleasant in shades of white/red/gold, the room was large and clean, and the beds were soft. There were people in the rooms next to us, but we usually could not hear them. The hotel included complimentary toiletries, lavender linen spray, and a relaxing CD to help de-stress. The Dallas newspaper was at our door in the morning (20 cent charge, I think). At check in, we were told that our room wasn't ready. They took our luggage for storage, and the bar comped us free beers. The breakfast buffet wasn't bad. It was fairly large, with fresh fruit and omlets made to order, but it still kind of reminded me of Golden Corral. The hotel staff were curtious and prompt. As you can see from a map, the location is very convenient to downtown, and unlike many downtown hotels, the parking is free.

THE OK/BAD:
The neighborhood was not so great, but at no time did I feel threatened or unsafe. The outside of the hotel is pretty ugly, the common areas average looking, and the pool is very small. We saw a rat on the driveway right in front of the lobby. I would definitely not recommend this for a romantic getaway.

THE BOTTOM LINE:
Great hotel for business trips or for when you just need a place to stay... especially if you get it at a discount.

Booked this three night stay through Priceline. When our group arrived we found we had been given 3 rooms with King beds instead of 3 rooms with 2 double beds. After negotiation we received rollaway beds for each room (were told all the rooms were booked). Some of the nice aspects about staying there were: the rooms were spacious, with a comfortable bed and armchairs. They offered some extra amenities such as a free relaxation CD, linen bed spray and earplugs. There were two sinks and a make up mirror. All the rooms were close to the elevators. Upon arriving at the room, found there was no hotel guide or guest service directory, except for the room service menu. Had to call the front desk to get any information. A decorative pillow on the bed had something dried on it. We found the rollaway bed to take up too much room and on our way out the next morning requested that it be taken out. Upon arriving back at the end of the day, found that our room had not been touched that day. We called Front Desk and informed them. They said they would have adjusted our charge if we hadn't prepaid, and offered us free breakfast, which did us no good, as breakfast was included in our conference meals. We requested again that the bed be removed when someone brought up the clean towels. The towels were brought and the bed was left behind. The following day thankfully our room wasn't skipped. They finally took the bed. They left no liner for the bathroom trash and no new coasters for the water glasses. I considered using the workout machines on the first floor during the stay, but found that only 2 of the six machines were working, and were constantly in demand.
All in all, while some of the amenities were nice, I would have enjoyed the stay more if the service had been better.