Hotel Donaldson

My wfie and I stayed at The Hotel Donaldson on a Saturday night. This is a small hotel with something like 18 rooms in all. Each room was designed by an artist and has their own "look". The rooms have exposed brick and beams, and a number of windows with blinds and darkening/quieting panels.

Our room was very large. Walking in, we had a wet bar on the left and on the right was a pathway to the bathroom, with a closet on one side (with robes) and vanity area on the other side. The bathroom had a pocket door which was a first for me to see at a hotel; heated floors; glass shower. Back to the main room, the bed was large, very comfortable with ample room surrounding the bed. The room also included a desk & chair, a couch, chair, table and a TV mounted in the corner.

A nice touch was a hospitality hour for guests that included free beer, wine, soft drinks, fruit, cheeses, etc. on the second floor sitting area. Also, when checking in, you receive a room service order card to hang on your door. While they were numerous and reasonabled priced food items, guests also have the option to just have a tray of coffee & hot water delivered in the morning with a basket of baked goods.

We had other things going on so we didn't have time to enjoy the rooftop hot tub. The hotel also houses a nice restaurant where you can expect entrees in the $25-$45 range if I recall. The HoDo Lounge is a beautiful bar and was hopping that evening. The Fargo Film Festival happened to be going on in town at that time so the lounge included some visiting film celebrities mingling with the locals.  There is something about the HoDo Lounge in that I never want to leave.

From the overall experience, this was my best hotel experience ever. A close second is The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, VA. I can't wait for a good excuse to stay at The Hotel Donaldson again.

I stayed at The Hotel Donaldson while passing through on business.  I had heard it was a special place from friends over the years and finally made it a point to stay there.  My greatest regret is that I did not listen years ago.  I will be back.  A lot.

The staff was very friendly and helpful.  

The room I stayed in (14) had two queen beds with a couch.  Quite roomy and the bed was very comfortable.  The bathroom has a heated tile floor.  The lounge has a good selection of single malts and bourbons.  

It costs more to stay in a hotel like The Donaldson but it is well worth it.

I needed to change my review from 5 stars to 2 after my dinner at the HoDo last night. First of all the positive aspects of dinner were the amazing selection of breads served before the meal, the lemon bar dessert and the scallop appetizer. Unfortunately the negatives outweigh the positives. Our server was awful. He didn't tell us about any specials or ask if we needed assistance with the menu. He seemed totally dumbfounded when my friend asked for a drink suggestion. He would walk away as we were asking a question to get water we had asked for instead of waiting until the questions were answered. He never asked how our meals were after we had started eating and let our plates sit in front of us after we had already told him we were finished. I hardly touched my food and said it wasn't to my liking and he didn't offer to get me something else or even respond to my comment.  This is not the dining experience I expect from a five star hotel or a $170 bill for three people. It was not worth it and left a bad taste in my mouth.