The hotel is in an excellent location almost on the parking lot of the Lenox Square mall and about two blocks from Phipps. You are only two blocks from the Lenox Buckhead Marta station. The Palm is in the hotel, Morton's is in the next building, Bones is probably a 10 minute walk and Maggiano's is across the street. The Hyatt, Intercontinental, Embassy Suites, Doubletree, JW Marriott and Ritz are all a few blocks from this hotel. This is a quiet peaceful relaxing environment, similar to the Grand Hyatt but less stuffy, and if you want more show, the Intercontinental would be a better choice.

The hotel chain developed a program called Breathe Westin and even tradmarked the name. On the room TV info channel they describe this as something that took much research and a long time to develop. I had to laugh as all it is, is that they made the hotel totally non smoking. I could have saved them some research money as it is intuitive this was a long overdue move. I have the applaud this decision 100%, but it is only a marketing ploy and has a toothless and blind enforcement plan. The first room I was given had been smoked in, and knowing smokers, probably many other rooms had been smoked in too. I must say though, it was a pleasure to be in a nonsmoking hotel.

I was told conflicting information on upgrades for gold members at this facility. The front desk refused to upgrade my room to the concierge level saying they do not participate in this. They also wanted to charge me $50 a day for access to this level. I chose this hotel based on this access and it was upsetting to have to argue with the front desk on arrival. I was pretty turned off by this welcome and wanted to go to another hotel, but without computer access and the late time, I was stuck here.

Parking is $17 (tax included, in and out) a day for self parking and $24 for Valet. Internet usage at the hotel is also costly. Local calls are $1.50 a call. In room dining is about 20% less than eating at the palm, but then they charge service fees that bring you back up to the cost of dining at the restaurant.

The saving grace of the hotel is their concierge Bonn who did an exceptional job making us comfortable here. The concierge level had a nice breakfast with eggs and meat as well as bagels and lox and an assortment of fruits. There was a refrigerator that was always stocked with complimentary sodas and juice. In the evening they have beer and wine and a small selection of good quality liquor. The evening appetizers were also of good quality. At around 9 PM they put out desserts that were very good. The facilities here were complimentary, and there was no begging jar. We however left a gratuity for excellent attention and service by Bonn.

The pool was small and over-chlorinated. There was no hot tub, but they had a sauna and steam room that were co-ed. They had many good quality aerobics machines and runners as well as a yoga room.

The room was of average size and on the 20th level the fixtures were Kohler, and nothing special. There was a large supply of soaps, lotions, and mouthwash. There were two terrycloth robes. Instead of a refrigerator, they had a stocked automated minibar that was set up so you could not use it as a refrigerator if you wanted. My personal taste was that the covers on the bed were too hot and I'm allergic to the down pillows. After several requests, they never managed to bring foam pillows. I also had a hard time getting more than three towels a day in the room. Towels on our level were a bit low quality and coarse. For three nights, the closest we got to turn down service was one night a maid came by and handed us some chocolate. The bathroom had a phone and an adjustble speaker for the room TV, a large flat pannel. TV selections were very good. The room air controls and temp in our room was fine. The rooms were very quiet and we were not bothered by out or inside noise. There is plenty of closet room and an in room iron.

Expect an extra 20% or more in taxes on your bill in Atlanta.

They provided a crib for the baby at no charge, but it had no blankets. It fit behind the desk and did not take up a great amount of room.

This is a great location for shopping and easy access to the subway makes it perfect even if you are going to other areas in Atlanta. If it is raining and you are going to the Aquarium, I'd recommend a taxi or taking your own car.