Hotel Review: HALL Arts Hotel Dallas, Curio Collection by Hilton
On our recent trip to Dallas, we decided to stay at HALL Arts Hotel Dallas, Curio Collection by Hilton. The hotel is a boutique, art-inspired hotel in downtown Dallas and is surrounded by art/performance establishments such as Winspear Opera House and Moody Performance Hall. The hotel is themed around artwork and high-tech amenities, and it is not shy to show them off. I’ve been to hotels with artistic touches and atmospheres. Still, the HALL Arts Hotel immediately greeted me with beautiful artwork from the moment I stepped into the property and showcased numerous art installations that guests could enjoy during their stay. There were a few shortcomings during the stay, but I appreciated a new artful experience that I hadn’t encountered in a traditional lodging experience.
HALL Arts Hotel Dallas, Curio Collection by Hilton is located at 1717 Leonard St, Dallas, TX 75201, in the Art District of downtown Dallas.
What Card(s) Should You Use to Book?
American Express Hilton Honors Aspire
The American Express Hilton Honors Aspire card is currently offering a signup bonus of 150,000 Hilton Honors points after spending $4,000 in 3 months. Be aware that since this is an American Express (AMEX) card, you’re only allowed to receive the signup bonus once per lifetime. With a valuation of 0.6 cents per point, the signup bonus is worth about $900. In addition, until 12/31/2021, cardmembers will get a monthly statement credit of $20 when they spend more than $20 at restaurants each month. The annual fee is $450, but cardmembers get a weekend night certificate (redeemable on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights at non-premium hotels), $250 incidental credit towards your airline of choice, $250 Hilton resort credit at select Hilton resorts, and Hilton Diamond status, the highest in Hilton’s member ecosystem.
The American Express Hilton Honors Aspire card is one of my favorite credit cards for its benefits and perks. Photo by AMEX.
The Aspire earns 14X per dollar spent on Hilton hotels and resorts when booked directly through Hilton and 7X on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly with select companies, and U.S. restaurants. All other purchases will earn 3X per dollar spent. As a Hilton Honors Diamond member, you’ll get a 100% points bonus and 10 extra points per dollar spent at Hilton properties. Therefore, the Aspire Card earns a total of 24X per dollar spent on Hilton properties when booked directly with Hilton, yielding a grand return of 14.4%. With Hilton’s frequent points promotions, you can rake in a serious amount of Hilton Honors points in no time. Even if you don’t stay at Hilton properties too often, this card is definitely worth the annual fee due to its amazing perks and benefits, and I strongly believe it’s the best hotel credit card available on the market right now.
If you’d like to apply for the American Express Hilton Aspire Card, please consider using my referral link. It will continue to help fund my blog operations and help visitors make informed decisions to maximize their rewards. Thank you! http://refer.amex.us/EDWARSr3Jf?xl=cp01
American Express Hilton Honors Business
Alternatively, I could’ve used my American Express Hilton Honors Business card to book my stay. The AMEX Hilton Honors Business card is currently offering a signup bonus of 130,000 Hilton Honors points after spending $3,000 in 3 months, which is also worth about $780. Like other AMEX cards, the card is subject to the once-per-lifetime signup bonus rule. The annual fee is $95, and unlike the Aspire, it doesn’t come with airline or resort credits. However, it can be a great workhorse card as it offers generous everyday and business multipliers. It earns 12X Hilton Honors points per dollar spent on hotel and resort purchases booked directly with Hilton and 6X at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, U.S. wireless telephone services, U.S. purchases for shipping, and flights booked directly with airlines or with AMEX Travel. All other purchases earn 3X points per dollar spent. Because cardmembers receive automatic Honors Gold status, you’ll get an 80% points bonus and 8 extra points per dollar spent at Hilton properties. In addition, you’d receive 10 complimentary Priority Pass visits and have an opportunity to earn a free weekend night certificate after spending $15,000 in a calendar year. As a result, the Surpass earns a total of 20X per dollar spent on Hilton properties when booked directly with Hilton, yielding a return of 12%.
The American Express Hilton Honors Business card can cover a wide range of daily expenses and still comes with a great multiplier for Hilton stays. Photo by AMEX.
If you’d like to apply for the American Express Hilton Honors Business card, please consider using my referral link. It will continue to help fund my blog operations and help visitors make informed decisions to maximize their rewards. Thank you! https://americanexpress.com/en-us/referral/EDWARS067p?xl=cp15
Lobby & Check-In Review
As soon as I stepped into the hotel, I was immediately greeted with art installations left and right.
“Resistance Reverb: Movement 1” by Lava Thomas.
It could be overwhelming for some people because I wanted to take some time and explore the lobby even before checking
“Then I Wished I Could Come Back As A Flower” by Nekisha Durrett.
To the left of the lobby was a beautiful staircase leading to the in-house restaurant, Ellie’s Restaurant & Lounge, where you will enjoy breakfast in the morning. I checked in at the marble front desk, as another art piece was hanging from the ceiling. Since I visited the hotel around Christmas, the lobby was cheerfully decorated with Christmas trees and ornaments.
“Bird’s Nest” by Linda Sormova Melichova is hanging above the check-in desk.
Because I hold the Diamond Hilton Honors status, I gently asked if an upgrade was available. The front desk representative denied the upgrade although many upgradable rooms were available at the time of the check-in. Then, I asked him a few questions about breakfast, and he told me that because of my status, I would be granted one free entree on the menu daily. After receiving two complimentary water bottles, the representative handed me a pamphlet that detailed the locations of each art installation and its information.
The art collection map is a helpful guide in discovering local and global artwork.
It felt as if I was scavenger hunting, and it was a fun, enlightening experience that anyone could easily enjoy.
“6302 Spoons” by Najla El Zein.
After enjoying a few pieces of artwork, I took the elevator to the 8th floor to check out the room. If you wish to browse the current collection at the hotel, click here to learn more about the curators and artists.
This was one of my favorites, but I could not remember the name of the work.
Bedroom Review
As soon as I entered the room, a passionate photography art greeted me.
A photo inspired by the hotel’s juried “Through the Lens” photography competition.
After following a narrow hallway, the room opened up. The king bed’s headboard was made of embossed white faux leather, and a huge art piece was hanging above the headboard.
“Nasher Moore Hepworth” by Carolyn Brown hangs above the headboard.
Because the room's overall theme was white and beige, the colorful art brightened the room's atmosphere. Along the entire headboard, a light strip was present to give functional mood lighting and highlight the artwork. The bed was comfortable and the two bedside tables were equipped with outlets and USB ports. On the bedside table, there was a speaker as well as a portable tablet for the room. The speaker had a lightning cable and a USB C cable attached, ready for guests to charge electronic devices.
The tablet was an innovative idea but didn’t actually improve the stay.
The tablet allowed me to control room features (mainly the lights), place room service orders, and showcase various artwork throughout the hotel. It was handy when I requested extra towels but I found it somewhat glitchy when I was trying to use it to adjust the room lights. I ended up getting out of bed to physically turn off the lights. Across from the bed, a TV was on top of a dresser, and I actually used the TV on one of the nights using its Google Chromecast feature to watch Netflix shows.
Despite the TV’s small size, it was equipped with Google Chromecast, and we used it to watch Netflix shows at night.
It worked seamlessly and I appreciated the flexibility of not being limited to cable channels. In the corner of the room, there were a lounge chair and a small table. The table had a cute little potted cactus, and I loved that it was an actual plant, giving the room more livelihood. The work desk was close to useless because of how tiny the working surface was. It was mainly occupied by in-room glasses and a Keurig machine, and I had to rearrange them to use the desk for work.
The desk was tiny and left no room for work.
A mini-fridge was discreetly hidden under the desk, and it didn’t function properly at first. I had to call maintenance to check the fridge, and unfortunately, they did not resolve the issue, and my water stayed slightly below room temperature during my stay. Other than the technological hiccup from the mini-fridge, I loved that my room was a corner unit, and the glass walls allowed plenty of light into the room.
An abundance of natural light came into the room every morning.
The views from the room were not as dynamic as the ones from W Austin, but I still enjoyed them.
“Tatlins Sentinel” by Radz Daswani sits right outside the hotel.
Bathroom Review
The bathroom had two single vanities and a walk-in shower. The back-to-back orientation of the sinks was a creative use of the tight space. I also liked that towel hooks were subtly positioned without taking much room. The bathroom mirrors would light up if the bathroom lights were on, and there was a small make-up mirror should you need a closer look.
Next to the vanity sinks, a huge window wall allowed
The bathroom was small but a huge window wall facing downtown made the space more capacious. The shower had dual shower heads, and while the shower booth was clean and I wish the water pressure was higher.
The discreet shower drain and the footrest were small but thoughtful details.
Though every time I showered, the water leaked through the shower door, I liked a seamless shower drain and a simple metal footrest to make the shower experience more enjoyable. The toiletries were by Natura Bissé, a skincare company based in Barcelona. The bath gel was passable, but the shampoo made my hair dry.
The toiletry bottles were somewhat hard to squeeze.
The toilet was in a water closet, and while the wall was whimsical, it lacked soundproofing.
I always appreciate a separate water closet for additional privacy.
Gym & Rooftop Pool Review
The gym was one of the most modern gyms I’ve used. The gym had all sorts of brand-new equipment for any type of exercise. All cardio machines were facing downtown, as the newest Matrix treadmills and ellipticals were neatly positioned.
All cardio machines were brand-new but lacked COVID safety measures.
Lifting equipment occupied the other half of the gym, facing the mirrored wall.
Most hotel gyms have one or two benches, and it was great to see different types of benches.
The lifting equipment was all brand-new and featured futuristic, ring-shaped dumbbells. The innovative element of the dumbbell was that its shape allowed it to be attached to a flat or a curl bar, doubling as barbell.
Though it took some time to transform the dumbbells into barbells, I valued the versatility very much.
The versatility was certainly appreciated especially when you are working with tight spaces such as hotel gyms, but it wasn’t so easy to put them on and off to a flat bar. It will take some time for first-time users or non-tech savvy people to get used to this equipment. The gym also had a small area that featured two Peloton bikes, a few TRX training sets, and many sets of dumbbells and kettlebells for free weight exercise.
Peloton bikes offer fast-paced, virtual classes.
Everything was immaculately organized, and I appreciated the cleanliness of the gym.
The HIT workout area was neatly organized and had brand-new equipment.
Next to the HIT workout area were water bottles and regular and chilled towels for sweat seekers to use. The only element the gym lacked was a squat rack for serious lifters.
I wish the water bottles were cooled, but having chilled towels was a nice amenity.
After working out, though the weather was brisk for lounging, I decided to check out the rooftop. The rooftop had a small pool surrounded by chaise lounge chairs.
The view was underwhelming, but I still appreciated having the option.
Each chair had a sunshade, which is a must for hot summer days in Texas.
It was too brisk to use the rooftop, but on hot summer days, the rooftop would be a great place to unwind.
On the corner of the rooftop, there was a small bar, and it was closed at the time of my visit.
The rooftop bar was unfortunately closed during my stay.
Various seating options were next to the bar, and I particularly liked the fire pit table. The view from the rooftop was not as mesmerizing as other properties since it overlooked an empty parking lot, but I still appreciated the option to lounge outside while soaking up the sun.
The rooftop bar had plenty of seating options to sip cocktails and lounge around.
Breakfast Review—Ellie’s Restaurant & Lounge
The breakfast was served at Ellie’s Restaurant & Lounge, located on the second floor. As soon as I got into the elevator, another artwork greeted me.
“No Future Plans” by Ben Skinner
The restaurant featured an outdoor patio, but the weather was too brisk to dine outside. The restaurant also had a bar, but I questioned the quality of the drinks since all liquor bottles were displayed by the window, where they were getting direct sunlight 24/7.
The light work is done by Spencer Finch, and you can see more art installations on the patio.
The dining area was commodious and displayed numerous artworks on the floor.
“Resistance Reverb: Movement 2” by Lava Thomas sits at the end of the restaurant.
After browsing the menu, we opted for smoked wild sockeye salmon and Ellie’s breakfast on a bun.
The cream cheese was fresh but other components lacked freshness.
Unfortunately, the food was mediocre at best. Both the bagel and the breakfast sandwich were toasted yet cold, and the accompanying side salads were soggy.
It was probably better had the restaurant omitted the salad.
The waiter was not as attentive as we hoped for, but the most frustrating part was the miscommunication from the check-in representative. As previously mentioned, when I checked in, I was told I would get one free entree on the menu daily. However, it turned out that Hilton Honors Gold and Diamond members are only granted the continental breakfast. The hotel manager waived the bill for our first breakfast, and we ordered the continental breakfast the following day.
I enjoyed the classy setting, but there was nothing special about the continental breakfast.
Nothing was special from the breakfast, and it was comparable to any continental breakfasts one would get from budget hotels. When we got the bill, the waiter told me I was responsible for the breakfast charges. It was as if no one knew what benefits were given to Hilton Honors members. The second day’s breakfast charges were waived as well, but it was an unpleasant, avoidable experience, had the staff trained well from the start.
Summary
Overall, my experience at HALL Arts Hotel Dallas, Curio Collection. by Hilton, was entertaining with opportunities for improvement. Exhibiting art installations in the hotel introduced a different atmosphere than traditional lodging experiences. The hotel’s high-tech amenities, including the portable in-room tablet and Google Chromecast availability, made the staycation more enjoyable. The gym was well-maintained, and the contemporary gym equipment was experimental and creative but added marginal value to the user experience. The breakfasts during my stay were underwhelming at best. I was disappointed in the miscommunication between the restaurant and the front desk staff, which ultimately affected my first impression of the hotel. If you want an artistically cultivating stay in the Arts District of Dallas, give the HALL Arts Hotel a shot.
