We recently went on a long weekend escape to Roanoke Virginia and stayed at the Hotel Roanoke, despite some of the less-than-stellar reviews on this site. We went for no other reason than to relax and explore the area. I'm a fan of old historic hotels and I thought the Hotel Roanoke did a great job of maintaining the character - yet modernizing it's amenities. It was a beautiful property with a lot of charm.

The room wasn't large, but was comfortable and quiet - both high priorities for us. Our A/C didn't seem to be working well on the first day. We called their careline and it was taken care of immediately.

You can't beat the location. The pedestrian bridge that connects the hotel property to the market area made it a breeze to walk downtown to shops and restaurants. We choose the hotel valet service to park the car. While I do hate paying to park, they were responsive and our car was always waiting for us when we got to the front. Much better than most hotels we have stayed at.

We would definitely stay here again if ever in the Roanoke area.

In a recent trip, we decided to stay at this grand hotel. The front desk sevrvice was great and gracious. The rooms was clean and comfortable. The room service was good and choice of food was above average. The only flaw is probably the valet service whose hospitality seems to be forced, not good as first point of contact.

I recently stayed for two nights at this hotel after staying here for several nights last year on a business trip. Overall, if you need downtown access to Roanoke, there really is no other choice in the city. However, if you are simply looking for comfortable room--there may be other options you want to consider.

The hotel structure itself is charming and historic. The lobby is beautiful and its hard to not be a bit awed driving up and walking in. The rooms themselves are comfortable but a bit on the small side. The bathroom is adequate but small--almost Manhattan-like. The bed was very comfortable and its clear since my last visit that the hotel has refitted all the rooms with nice LCD TV's. You do see some wear in the hallways by the rooms and sense a renovation probably cannot be too far away.

The check-in staff was friendly and helpful. What is notable is the parking situation. If you choose the $7 a day self park be warned you got a haul to drag your bags up a big hill. Doing valet is the way to go and I suggest sucking up the $12 daily fee for it.

We had one drink and the bar and it was very pleasant and included a pool table. We did not eat in the restaurant and it seemed rather pricey. The business center was tiny but included one computer with free internet access.

The great thing about Hotel Roanoke is you have a glass walkway that crosses over the railroad tracks in the city and a wide range of restaurant choices. There are several sushi places we tried that were respectable and while the decor is way over the top, the food at 202 Market in downtown will rival any major city restaurant.

Overall, Hotel Roanoke is very nice if you need access to downtown. However, the parking situation and room size may be issues for some others but overall I recommend it.

I had stayed at the HR probably around 5 years ago for a conference, so I didn't have a problem booking it again since I had not recalled any issues. The hotel has been obviously updated and everything that I saw was only an improvement to my last stay.

I was more than pleased with the hotel based on cleanliness, front of house service, and walking distance to downtown restaurants.

This doubletree hotel did have on site parking that could be a nice walk, but I chose to valet. Both coming and leaviing was very professional and quick. Check in was quick and a breeze, got my warm cookie and went to my room.

The room was very nice and although it has a "historic" feel, it is decorated nicely. I was given a 2 room junior suite, and even though it had to double beds instead of my preferred King NS room...it was very comfortable. The sitting room had a 42 inch flat screen, as did the bed room. I didn't pay for the broadband, but used my Sprint card instead.

I did not use any of the other services, but will mention that the bathroom amenities had some additional Neutrogena products (in travel size) that I had not even gotten at a standard Hilton before. I brought them home to my wife, who said " You can bring more of these if you get them". Good luck with that honey.

Of important note is the hotel's proximity to downtown and the ability to walk around. My Monday evening walk was rather quiet, but there a good handful of restaurants and pubs still open for dinner. During the day, the market has many places to eat and it is a very enjoyable walk with lots of people to see.

If you want something nice and close to downtown, this would be for you. If you are looking for just a budget hotel with the free breakfast, there are a lot more options for you in the Roanoke area.

Again, this was a very enjoyable stay.