The Burgess Hotel: Where Everything That Glitters Isn't Gold
Before the pandemic I was working in hospitality in the concierge lounge at the Marriott. While working, I conversed with all of their elite guests and heard some amazing stories about their luxury life style which I knew I’d be taking part in soon. My goal was to become an event manager for the hotel because I love coordinating events! Being the Executive Director of a nonprofit organization, I take pride in being attentive to details to make the experience a memorable one for all attendees, including myself.
As you know, COVID impacted the hotel industry tremendously, so it put my goal to work in management on hold, and decreased my ability to travel. This year I want to normalize travel and amazing experiences which is why I recently received my passport. I plan to create more content as I go about these experiences with my boyfriend and our first stop of the year was at the Burgess Hotel located in Buckhead.
I’ve been a fan of this hotel since I moved in my apartment in July 2020 since it is literally walking distance from me. Their exterior design caught my attention from day one and I knew that one day I would be staying there!
I even reached out as a content creator for a collaboration and I basically had to jump through hoops such as sending multiple follow ups, providing them detailed information on my website and audience demographics (mostly African women who love self care) per their request, etc., just for them to turn me down. However, I advised them that I was still a huge fan and was coming their for my birthday and would have loved anything even as simple as a complimentary birthday dessert during my stay and I never received a follow up after I was told “I’ll speak with someone and let you know if there is anything we can do”.
Even yet, we decided we would go forward with our reservation and create amazing content in hopes they would want to work together in the future, but I hate to say that my experience overall did not meet my expectations.
The Burgess is the first boutique hotel located in Buckhead that has luxury vibes as soon as you walk in once you see the beautiful chandeliers, custom paintings and luxury furniture.
It also has an exclusive upscale bar, Mr. B’s and the Fia restaurant that’s serves Mediterranean inspired cuisine.
It bothered me that this hotel does not have microwaves, not even in their kitchen or their lobby and typically if there aren’t microwaves in the room, there is one in the lobby. So if you have leftovers from dinner and plan to eat them in the morning for a breakfast in bed experience, issa no unless you do delivery because their restaurant does not serve breakfast.
Their website advises that their restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, however, during my stay I learned that it’s dinner only which sucks because I love breakfast and I’m a foodie! Also, there aren’t any ice machines on any of the floors, you have to go to the bar to get it which I was not a fan of, especially when the bar has limited hours.
Quick question: When you’re in a hotel room, what do you typically do when you lay down? Find a good movie and relax right? Well we tried that and although the TV showed high quality, after 1 hour of watching it, I attempted to change the channel and it wouldn’t switch. For about an hour, I tried everything before calling the service desk and they eventually sent their security staff member to help.
He was very friendly and tried to get the television to work but to no avail, and he eventually told us “I’m going to leave but keep playing with the remote and see if it starts working” which we were already doing and still nothing happened.
At this point, I was frustrated and it was my birthday. I simply wanted to drink my wine and unwind but I couldn’t because I had to pack and unpack all of my belongings (my makeup, toiletries, clothes, food, etc.) to move to another room just so we could enjoy the pleasure of watching a television in bed which we paid for.
It would have been par for the course for us to receive some type of compensation for this inconvenience at 11 o’clock at night but all we got was a switch to another room and no apology.
I didn’t see a gift shop but my boyfriend had a headache and I called down for some aspirin which they brought to the room at a dollar charge. I’ve stayed at the Marriott in Charleston, SC recently and I was given headache medicine complimentary but not all hotels are the same, I guess.
Furthermore, the walls were paper thin so I was able to hear loud and clear the conversation that the couple was having (and doing) in the next room which was a major deal breaker.
Despite the experience, the hotel is beautiful, the beds were soft, the furniture throughout the hotel is very high end. My favorite part of my room was the blue velvet sectional. The room reminded me of the aesthetic at Grand Bohemian boutique hotel in Charleston, SC which was one of my favorite boutique hotels I’ve stayed at.
Moral of the story, everything that glitters isn’t gold. When booking hotels, do your research (a lot of their reviews complain about $35 parking and since it’s around the corner, we just Ubered).
Follow their Instagram, look at the diversity on their social media. Read their restaurant menu and hours. Also, when you check in, ask if there are any complimentary upgrades available.
When I check into any Marriott hotel, I ask and I typically receive an upgrade. The last hotel I stayed at before this one was the Marriott Evergreen Conference Resort in Stone Mountain and when I asked about upgrades, the woman at the service desk gave me three options which I greatly appreciated, at no charge.
But anyways, I’m looking forward to my next staycation this month which unfortunately will not be here, so stay tuned for that update!
***UPDATE: The hotel read my blog and contacted me about my stay. They said the that take great pride in providing top quality customer service and were disheartened to hear about my experience. They extended a deep apology on the lack of follow up for my birthday (common human error, which is good because I felt as though my birthday didn’t matter) and that they wanted to invite me back for a better experience at Mr. B’s Bar.
Before I speak on my experience at Mr. B Bar, I want to address some things that I mentioned previously in this blog that the hotel staff member addressed in her email to me.
Apparently since there is no ice machine on any of the floors, they offer ice delivery to the rooms. This is much more convenient than having to leave your room for ice, but when my boyfriend called downstairs to ask where the ice machines were, it was not relayed to us that they deliver ice, otherwise we would have taken advantage. We were instead told to get it from the bar, so if you decide to stay there, keep that in mind.
Furthermore, since they are a boutique hotel, they don’t offer microwaves. I never knew that boutique hotels don’t offer this amenity. In the past, I stayed at one other boutique hotel and I ordered room service for breakfast and dinner, so a microwave was not on my radar.
As far as the hours for the restaurant, there is a pop up window that says that the restaurant is open with limited hours and dinner only. However, on the slide I saw (which you can see above) it says otherwise, but at least I know now that the Fia restaurant is dinner only.
Speaking of restaurants, Mr. B Bar was an incredible bar experience, and it’s not just from the aesthetics. The bar staff, Neishta and Quinn, were very friendly and welcoming to myself and my mother. Their warm friendly personalities made me feel like I was at home having a cocktail on my island with friends. Not only were their personalities amazing, but the food was superb!
I’m very open to trying new things and I am glad I took their advice on trying the Tomato Risotto Arancini which are little savory crispy balls made with Sweet & Sour Red Pepper Sauce, Parmesan, Basil Oil, Local Herbs. It was DELICIOUS!
The drinks were incredible, my favorite was the Cosmopolitan which reminded me of a sweet pink lemonade starburst. When it comes to cocktails, it HAS to be sweet and this one exceeded my expectations. I highly recommend!
Lastly, the Goat Cheese and Local Honey Panna Cotta made with strawberry and black pepper preserve was a dessert like no other. It tasted like a rich creamy parfait, and looked like one too! It was so good that I did not want to finish it all there, I had to take the rest with me home to eat while writing this blog, just to remind me of how good it was!
All in all, the hotel is nice, but what matters most, is the customer service and quality of how you treat people, especially on their birthday. My second visit to the Burgess Hotel made my final birthday celebration special. I didn’t expect to see a birthday candle in my dessert, and that alone warmed my heart.
If I come back to the Burgess Hotel, which will be most likely, it’ll definitely be for the dining experience. If I get another room stay, I would definitely bring my ear plugs and reserve a suite so that I can get the full 4 star experience.
Thanks Burgess Hotel for correcting my experience and making me feel special on my birthday!
