Salt Lake Plaza Hotel

If you’re looking for a fairly priced hotel situated right across the street from the renowned Temple Square then this is the place for you.
I took a couple days off from work and found myself up in Salt Lake City, UT. Although I am not LDS, I always enjoy staying near Temple Square because it is truly beautiful from an architectural standpoint. The staff at the help desk were kind and check-​in happened quickly.
Parking is $ 5. There is only one entrance to the hotel from the parking lot and it is on the ground floor, so if you find all the spots are filled on the ground floor keep in mind you will have to bring your bags down to gain entrance into the hotel.
Compared to the décor of the lobby, the room had a very modern feel to it. The room was clean and had views of the Salt Palace and 99 West. The beds and pillows were very comfy. Blankets were a little skimpy, if you get cold during the night you might want to request a couple extra to bundle up. The complimentary soaps were all Bath and Body Works scents, so that was an upgrade from the expected bland smelling soaps.
Aside from housekeeping attempting to gain entry to my room at 5:30AM, my stay was very enjoyable.

What are the three keys to success?
Location
Location
Location
This is reason I stay here. The only reason. I only visit SLC to go to the Salt Palace. And the Salt Palace is across the street.
Apart from this one pro. The cons add up. wrong. There are a lot of details to address. Lamps not plugged in, nor a receptacle to plug it into. Coffee maker on microwave and again no receptacle for which to plug in. No closet. They allow parking for events at the convention center ($ 10)which limits guest parking. Are you in the hotel room business or parking business? BTW I’m being charged $ 5 per day to park as a guest.
A good hotel limited by poor decisions and mediocre management. The small details add up and also make a good hotel… great.

I was very disappointed with the customer service here, although they did accommodate us with a room fast, from our first motel not being appropriate, and we advised them of the disaster, we paid almost $ 200.00 for the room. The room like alright at first, after being there an hour a confirm wrapper was discovered by my grandson, I let them know at the front desk, he requested I bring it to him at the front desk. Ewwww! So I did wrapping it in t p and a cup. After taking it to him he tells me to talk to another manager in the morning. Due to this supposed to being our vacation and having to get on the road, with children, I did not, I had hoped that Rogger the manager would have contacted us! He did not, and I was very disgusted, and thought this hotel had hire standards! We did not stay there on our return trip, and I would not recommend them to anyone with their lack of caring for their customers!

We are starting day two of a 5 night stay for convention. When we checked in it was late and we were tired. There were a few things that set my husband off, minor and not real important stuff… but again we were tired. I noticed the room was clean, the bed is very firm (not necessarily a good thing for me), and the sliding glass door to the faux balcony is sealed shut. We slept fine.
However, after a very busy day and a couple of hours in the pool and hot tub (both of which are very nice. Nothing fancy but clean and felt really good) I expected to sleep solid tonight. I’m not sleeping at all. Went to sleep around ten, wide awake since Midnight. It is so stuffy in this room, can’t open the slider for fresh air at all. I can’t breathe. The a/​c is keeping it cool, but is also keeping it stuffy.
There isn’t even a ventilation fan in the bathroom, so when we shower the whole room fogs and gets more stuffy.
The convenience of this place was worth the high price for the week, it’s right across from the event arena and I can walk to everything the next three days. But, the fact we can’t open the door/​window for fresh air while we sleep may be something to think about before I book next year.
The wifi is free and is my saving grace tonight since I can’t sleep.

This is your typical hotel, great price however. I think we paid about $ 60/​night. It’s in the heart of downtown salt lake, close to the rail transportation. They offer free airport shuttles and although we didn’t request one, we were able to join other riders. Our driver was very nice and helped us find our way around the city. The help desk staff was also very helpful and accommodating. They held our bags while we went out to lunch on our last day. The rooms are comfortable and clean. If you’re just looking for a good place to crash, this is your spot. It was also right across the street from the Mormon Temple Square!

I’ve stayed in better motels. The décor is reminiscent of the Kennedy era and the city views are facing away from the action.
Orbitz reviews were totally off the mark.
Customer service caters to those who are visiting the Temple and would not accommodate simple requests.
Big let down after reading the hype on Orbitz

Problem with parking.
Garage gate doesn’t work and desk cannot help because it is not part of hotel.
Hotel charges $ 5 per night to park but gate doesn’t work.
Room is rated 3 star, no more.
Advised you find different hotel.
Overall, 1 star because of problem and no help!

Great hotel. Friendly. Even a 1230 late checkout available. Right downtown and the concierge Todd was helpful!

I spoke with the manager in regards to all the incidents during my stay. He was very helpful and apologetic. I received a refund for one of the nights I stayed. I’m happy he took care of everything for me but I doubt I’ll stay there again bc of the staff’s lack of professionalism.

Staff was incredible. Rooms were beautiful and comfortable. Rates were unbelievable.

STAYING HERE MADE ME ILL.
When I stayed here on ¹⁰⁄₁ there was a pungent chemical odor throughout the building. The door to the balcony in the room was welded shut so I could get no air. I checked out the next morning with a migraine that lasted three days with vomiting initially.
I was supposed to stay there again 3 days later. While on the road I found recent reports of bedbugs at the hotel. I have no proof but became concerned that the awful smell was bedbug insecticide. I can’t otherwise explain my strange reaction to it. They claim the odor was from an essential oils conference but the smell was so weirdly chemical and was thick in the lobby, elevators, hallways, and my room. REGARDLESS of its true origin, I was scared to stay another night.
I called to cancel my reservation and they insisted on charging me for an additional night (72hr cancellation policy and I only gave them 24 hrs) even after I pleaded and explained how sick I had become. I couldn’t believe how dispassionate the clerk was.

DIRTY, STINKY, BED BUGS!
I stayed with a large group of people last weekend for a convention we were all attending. When we arrived in the room (1204), it smelled. There was an awful stench of mold or mildew that never went away the entire trip. We couldn’t be moved to a different room since the hotel was completely sold out. The air vent in the bathroom was caked with black stuff. Don’t plan on a comfortably warm shower as the water will change from scalding hot to ice cold several times during your shower. If this wasn’t bad enough. My friends in another room got BED BUGS. The room was infested with them. The worst case of BED BUGS I have ever seen… And I travel for a living. Even worse. The staff and management at the hotel absolutely refused to help them and acknowledge the problem. What a horrible thing to put a family through with a child under one year old!!! I would never recommend this hotel to anyone. Not even my worst enemy.

Nice place, perfect location downtown. Flew in for wife’s graduation and picked this place since they offered a group rate. Hotel airport shuttle was nice, saved on a car rental there. Hotel staff was busy when we checked in, room wasn’t ready when we arrived bit it was before 3pm checkin. All in all, great stay. Use city can to get around and check out Red Rock and Squatters when your hungry.
Later…

Clean spacious room. They had a large convention in town something to do healing oils the entire hotel reeked of the stuff. It was pretty bad but the staff did a great job defusing the oder. Parking is $ 10 a day but they do offer airport shuttle. Trax runs right in front of the hotel. The restaurant attached to the hotel isn’t much to write home about but the wait staff is friendly.

Hotel is in a great downtown location. Close to restaurants and shopping. Hotel is older, but clean. The only issue was the room size. Ours was VERY small. Made it hard for two of us to move around. Probably won’t stay here again, but price was reasonable, and if you are by yourself, wouldn’t be bad.

If I were only rating location and accommodations this hotel would get 4 stars. Clean rooms and free wi-​fi. Both good things. Unfortunately I left my iPad in my room. When I contacted them about it I was told that the iPad would be mailed to me (at my expense) that day. A week later I still have no iPad. When I reach out to the hotel to get a tracking number I am told that there is no record of my request to have my iPad shipped. It is unclear whether my iPad is even at the hotel anymore. I was told that there was a note saying I would just pick it up, which is curious as I live in Hawaii. At this point I do not expect to see my iPad again, which is disappointing and frustrating.
Don’t stay here unless you like having your things stolen. If my iPad does turn up I will update my review (maybe even my rating).

Not to be confused with the Plaza Hotel in NYC, this hotel was actually quite nice. After reading some reviews, I paid the extra $ 5-​$ 10 for a recently refurbished room and I’m glad I did! No idea what the old rooms look like but the new one was excellent. Our king bed was clean and comfortable, the carpet looked brand new and the couch was a nice surprised.
I didn’t like that they charge $ 5 for parking but the hotel is right in the center of Salt Lake City so we walked around everywhere and didn’t have to pay for other parking. I found the hotel staff to be a bit lacking in competence but we made it through without too much trouble.
A note: the new shower was almost impossible to turn on. Seriously, I thought it was broken and even called down to the front desk. Turns out it’s just a really difficult system but that was virtually our only problem with the room.

After reading some sketch reviews, I thought it best to shell out the extra $ 10 for a newly refurbished room. Turned out to be a great choice. The room was comfy and very clean, had a mini fridge, and best of all was on the very top floor with a rad view from the little balcony. There is also free wifi and $ 5 parking with free in/​out privileges… score!
There is a light rail station right in front, but we didn’t use it. The hotel was close enough to walk to our other destinations — one of them being the LDS campus, which is literally right across the street. This hotel could not be more perfectly located if you’re visiting some church weirdos or the family history library.

This is the 3^rd SLC hotel where I’ve stayed and it’s been my favorite so far.
Sure, it could use an upgrade, but with that aside, everything else about the hotel was great.
— Perfect location. Literally around the corner from the LDS family history museum.
— Affordable
— Free wifi
— $ 5 daily covered parking
— Recycling bins on each floor
— Microwave, fridge & safe in each room
I also ended up on the top floor with an absolutely gorgeous view of city and mountains.

After reading reviews across the internet, I was concerned that we’d be staying at a shabby property that was squeaking by on its excellent location. However, as you simply can’t get any closer to the Family History Center, I decided to try it out.
I’m so glad we did. Let’s start with the pros:
— Airport shuttle was easy. We called from the airport shuttle line upon landing and were picked up within 15 minutes. For the flight home, we signed up in advance for the time we wanted (a few hours after check-​out). Again, no problems. Both times the drivers were very friendly and eager to share tips for dining, things to see, etc. Our driver made sure we had a map of the downtown area and explained the light rail very well.
— The rooms are lovely. Yes, they are showing their age. The doors have the old-​fashioned dials you can turn to display «Do Not Disturb» or «Maid Service Requested» on the outside. We had to jiggle the toilet handle to stop it from running. The furniture has seen a few scrapes. The chairs aren’t going to be squealed over as design finds, but you know what? Everything is pristine and comfortable. Nice big desk, flatscreen TV with many channels (although not HBO), generous amount of drawer space (that you don’t have to bend down to use) and hangers, and both chairs in our room were as comfy as the beds (very comfy).
— Let me reiterate: pristine. The maid on our floor worked hard and fast. Hospital corners and everything. No weird smells. Nothing dodgy. Even the TV remote is one of those «clean» microbe-​resisting ones.
— Four decent-​sized pillows per bed. Four!
— Second sink outside. I love a hotel room that lets you brush your teeth while the bathroom is occupied but doesn’t require that you leave the bathroom to wash your hands when done in there.
— Pizza to your door. I’m not a big fan of what I call «Utah cuisine» (not so spicy, not so vegetarian), but Free Wheeler pizza delivers to your door at the Plaza, and they were quite decent.
— Genealogy to your door. I didn’t need a professional researcher, but they will meet you in the library for a consultation if you wish. Details are in the room or at the front desk.
— Large refrigerator. There’s a Rite-​Aid one (free) light rail stop away if you want to stock up on beverages. (Although, honestly, the tap water is not bad, at least not if you’re used to living in Las Vegas where bottled water is sadly essential.)
— Cheap room service. Room service is provided by an attached restaurant (JB’s — think «Denny’s with a salad bar») for prices that are about the same as what you pay downstairs.
— Free wi-​fi. Fast and works well.
— In-​room safe. Your hotel fees include an in-​room safe, but if you don’t plan to use it, they will remove the fees ($ 1/​day). We were able to fit a netbook, two Kindles, several odds and ends, and a small camera bag with an SLR in there with room left over. It locks t
— Blazing cold air conditioning. With this summer’s heat wave on, we really appreciated this.
— Friendly staff. We arrived at 9:30 a.m. and asked if we could store our luggage or pay a surcharge to check in early. (We were on night hours and pretty tired.) Our room was ready, so they checked us in. No extra fees, no problem. Later in the trip I saw several people have to wait until regular check-​in time because the hotel was full, but the staff was very pleasant and helpful with storing luggage.
— Light rail. The downtown zone is free for three stops in every direction. You can go to the planetarium, the movies, restaurants around downtown, and all you have to do is walk across to the median outside the hotel’s front door.
— Proximity to the Family History Library and Temple Square. Hint: Walk past the front desk and take the back way (past the swimming pool) to the FHL. No need to walk around JB’s. I know other hotels look like they’re close, but you can’t beat this. I was able to take convenient breaks without feeling like I was squandering research time.
Areas Needing Improvement
— Sometimes the wait for elevators was a little long, and often a tradesperson with a ladder or cart would be on the elevator, which sometimes caused delays if not many people could get on. A service elevator is needed.
— The corridors are toasty-​to-​hot. I don’t like heat, so maybe it’s not as noticeable to others, but we were always glad to get into our room.
— We didn’t park, but someone we met on the elevator was unhappy with the parking (but otherwise liked the hotel). It seems that the rules aren’t very clear for who pays when, and I guess spots can be hard to come by. However, this is secondhand reporting.
Booking online was a snap. We asked for a view and got a room on the top (13^th) floor. And hey, this hotel actually dares to have a 13^th floor — good on them.
I like a sure-​thing big-​box hotel experience as much as anyone, but the Plaza hotel is THE place for genealogists to stay in SLC. Clean, tasteful, and location, location, location!