This is a special place for sure. The character of the hotel is apparent upon arrival! Beautifully restored from the outside. When you walk inside you realize they take care of the whole building, maintaining its character while not leaving it to feel dusty...

When at this hotel, walk through the whole place. There are some really cool hallways, with amazing chandeliers and interesting original wallpaper. I walked around one nite with a colleague, and one of the maintenance crew showed us around a bit, and gave us some "little Known facts" information. Someone else did this for us the next day too. People who work at the Hotel Roanoke take pride in their jobs! It is nice to see.

The location is fantastic as well. Right in the edge of the heart of the quaint downtown area (which means a 2 minute walk into the center of the small city). Make sure you visit Nico's restaurant, by the way, as good as many meals I had while in Italy and rivaling the best Little Italy restaurants in the USA!

The rooms maintain the charm of the past, while also feeling modern with the updated bathrooms and TV's. It is really cool that you can try and figure out where your room is from the outside of the building, which is interesting in this building b/c it winds around in so many directions, like a castle.

There are definitely some updates that could be done to make it feel a bit more modern and sleek, however they are doing a pretty nice job. The conference space is fabulous. Some of the meeting rooms are so interesting. One of them looks like the inside of a house turned into a museum, and they let you have meetings in there!

Enjoy this hotel, and definitely stay there if you are in Roanoke. It is a treat...

Convenient location near city center; lives off of faded glory but overpriced with mediocre service; no discounts off rack rate; lots of extra charges; expensive restaurant; monstrous parking situation - cannot park closer than one block to hotel for which there is a fee and an arduous hike back to building. Standard room with one king bed too small. Much better value at newer hotels elsewhere in the city. Useful only if attending event at attached conference center.

We stayed here one night as a special treat when we were going to be in Roanoke for the symphony. I had not been there since the rehearsal dinner for my college roommate's wedding (long ago!) and I heard it was still nice.

Yes, it really is. The entrance, lobby, and halls tell you by their style that this is an older hotel, in the best sort of way. Our room was quite recently redecorated and was very comfortable.

We did not have dinner there, although we have heard that it was good. We had breakfast, and ordered from the menu rather than going through the buffet line. It is a little pricey for the size breakfast we normally eat. The food was very good and the waitress was one of the best I have seen in years.

All staff were very accommodating. We were glad we decided to try it out.

This is probably our 4th stay at the Hotel Roanoke. The room we were given was fine. A little on the small side, compared to the king bedded Hampton Inn we stayed in the previous night on our journey. The carpet in the hallway was in need of vacuuming. The room was outfitted with nice furniture. We were disappointed that there was a daily fee of around $10.00 for WIFI. Many chain hotels, like Hampton Inn, offer it for free. Also the charge for parking is not appreciated. I can see where they would charge for other people using the lot - but unnecessary, I feel, for overnight guests. We mainly stay here when visiting my brother, and since my mother usually also joins us, she really is particular about hotels, so that is why we stay here. While the breakfast is lovely, it still adds up. I'm OK with the free breakfasts at the chains, where I end up eating all I SHOULD eat and not all I do eat when paying a lot for a buffet at the Hotel Roanoke.
Anyway, our stay was fine. The front desk was excellent, and the common areas are great when you are visiting with family and don't want to be stuck in your room. This was the first time, however, that I must have been on the side of the hotel overlooking the train tracks. Being a light sleeper, this was not good. I woke up 4 times during the night, when the train went by. No wistles or anything, but the rumbling of the train was all it took. That was the only BAD part of the visit. I really needed my sleep on this short visit - which required a long ride home the next day. Will we stay again? I'm sure - when my mom is also visiting. But, likely when it's just the two of us, will likely look aroudnd for a newer chain, with free parking, free WIFI and free continental breakfast, and still clean accommodations.