Le Méridien Columbus, The Joseph

My husband and I stayed at The Joseph over Memorial weekend while visiting our niece.
It’s centrally located to amazing restaurants, small business, and North Market.
The hotel is beautiful inside. While the lobby is boutiquey, the fireplace makes it inviting.
Our room was quite spacious, bed comfy and squishy, shower heavenly and view beautiful.
The most awesome thing about the hotel was the staff. We were greeted right away upon arrival. Always greeted in passing being asked if we needed anything. Names given in case we had questions or requests. Umbrellas given upon our leaving for the afternoon in the torential downpour that had ensued. The only reason why I’m knocking it one star is because I tried to call the front desk to confirm check-​out time, and the phone rang and rang (quite frankly that only deserves a half star knock, but Unilocal doesn’t allow half star ratings.)
The best amenity hands down was the fruit infused water available in the lobby. Sounds frivolous, but it was amazing given the crazy ridiculous humidity that was going on. We we helped ourselves to a cup every time we came in or went out of the hotel.
Can’t say if we’ll be in Ohio again, but if we are I’d definitely stay at The Joseph again.

When you’re staying in Columbus and you want that little boutique style hotel, your options are surprisingly limited to pretty much The Joseph. Luckily, it’s a beautiful new hotel squeezed right in Short North. It’s a great value compared to the rest of the hotels closer to the convention center or downtown (by most city’s standards, all the same area), but I think my expectations were slightly too high.
The rooms look great. Have you ever thought, «man, my hotel room has great furniture?» Probably not. But it does here! I will say the rooms are painfully small and have some bizarre art, but doesn’t detract too much. We ended up booking a suite which is about the size of a normal hotel room for most people. The first room we received had the giant bath tub in front of the window – exactly what I was excited about – except it was on the 4^th floor, overlooking the highway. No way. Ryan downstairs was super, super nice about my typical request for a higher floor, now putting us on the 9^th (although this new room was slightly smaller with no window in the bathroom unfortunately). As long as they all have the same fancy little soaps, I can overlook the view, or lack there of.
We didn’t make it to the restaurant kind of next door, but did hit the bar in the hotel lobby. Nothing crazy, but the bartender gals were friendly and really talented cocktail crafters.
Aside from the terrible parking situation (garage down the block and across the street, yikes!), I was pretty happy with it overall. I think we’ll probably stay here whenever we’re in town even if just for the giant bath tubs.

Our suite, the food, the service and attention to detail have all been exceptional. We will definitely be back.

I have stayed at this hotel twice when travel for business in Columbus, and I have no complements, service is great, rooms are spacious & trendy. Good Work Le Meridien.

We stayed here on New Years Day. We went to the front desk early to see if we could possibly get in to our room early. The gentleman at the front desk was polite and said of course we can. The rooms are very well done. The only compliant I have is after a night out with the other half, we decided to have a night cap at the hotel bar. At first it was pretty crowded, but soon the crowd turn on to four people including us. So we decided to have another. The bartender was quite rude. Acting as if he was doing us a favor. Then I asked him politely to change on of the tvs to a different channel. (Since all of them were on football and it was not osu playing). He chuckled and said «I really don’t want to». So I assumed he would still turn the channel. Nope he did not. After 20 minutes went by we decided not to drink at the bar anymore. To conclude this review your property is absolutely amazing, but that bar and bartender needs a lot of work!

This is a cute hotel in a great location. The hotel was clean and modern. I loved all of the artwork throughout the hotel. My only complaint is that the room is not very sound proof and the valet takes a very long time to retrieve your car.

Stop in at Soul Bar at The Joseph & see Jason & Kristen! Jason’s cocktails are AMAZING!

Gorgeous, bougie hotel in downtown Columbus. I stay here when I’m in town for business (aka I would never pay to stay here with my own money… lordy). In the heart of the Short North (the Soho of Columbus, they say), this place is conveniently located right next to the Convention Center and awesome bars and restaurants. Everyone is nice and polite, will get you whatever you need, et al — typical bougie hotel.
A few notes from a non-​bougie, practical person like me…
— The décor is so modern, it’s almost suffocating and stuffy. The furniture is so square and the drawers and armoire open very weird, wide angles and hard-​to-​grab handles.
— The outlets along the bedside table are behind the bed and up high, making them… kinda inaccessible.
— The shower is amazing with a great huge shower head, but getting in and out has its own design flaws, and so does the handle to turn the water on (gotta stand and reach in very awkwardly while trying to adjust for temperature and not burn your goods?).
— The towels are surprisingly harsh and the robe doesn’t have loops to put the tie in??? So you’re basically standing in your room, adjusting your robe and then it drops and you’re buck naked (Go Buckeyes!). Weird feeling.
— The pillows look luxurious, but turn to dust when a single hair lays on it.
— Haven’t eaten at the downstairs restaurant yet (The Guild House), but even the menu and the prices look uppity. Hello, we’re in OHIO, why is a ribeye steak $ 35? Come on now.
All in all, although this is a beautiful hotel, a lot of the amenities and accessories make it somewhat inaccessible. Still, I shall patronize this place with the most glorious amenity of all — my corporate card.

Way overpriced for the quality of room and services. Room is a Hampton Inn, nothing special, just overpriced. Paid twice as much for room service then most 4 star hotels… got half the quality. The only thing decent is location. The bartenders were nice and so were the check in personnel.

I am an SPG Gold Member and this was my second stay in this hotel. My first trip this summer was a 2 night work trip. I was so impressed by the location, staff, food, décor, cleanliness and overall vibe that I booked another 2 night stay for my family (including 4 young children) during my Christmas visit with my family. I was a little concerned since this hotel is rather hip and new and wasn’t sure that my kids would not be the best fit here. I have to say that once again the staff was top notch and made our stay nothing short of fantastic! The kids were greeted each time in and out of the hotel, often times by name by the bellman and the front desk staff. We had connecting rooms, one room with 2 queens and the other with a king. The accommodations couldn’t have been more ideal. We ordered room service and food quality and presentation was incredible. The guild house, like most other Cameron Mitchell restaurants, did not disappoint! Thank you to Thomas, the food and beverage manager, George and all the other front desk team and the bellman staff for another memorable experience, we will certainly be back!

I’ve spent about 120 nights in Starwood hotels now, and this is my favorite of them all.
Pros:
1. Location. The hotel is on the only street worth visiting in Columbus. All night life and most good food is within walking distance of here.
2. The room. Tasteful modern furniture in the suites. There’s an Eames chair + ottoman in my room! Expansive floor to ceiling glass for half the room overlooking high street… beautiful!
3. The shower and tub. Both are great, and the wall in the shower room is a giant window that overlooks high street, so high street gets a show unless you choose to lower the shade.
4. The wifi. 30 megabits per second. The best of any hotel I’ve been in.
5. The TV. Not that garbage hotel cable you find everywhere. It’s a normal HDTV with a normal lineup (all the sports channels and HBO, not terrible Showtime or Cinemax). The channels change quickly, just as with a normal TV. This is what it’s supposed to be like… why don’t all hotels do this?!?
6. The noise. It’s quiet. Not the quietest place I’ve been, but you’re on high street, so it’s great all things considered.
7. Food. Guild House is connected to this place, and it’s one of the best restaurants in town.
8. Drink. The bar downstairs makes really good cocktails.
Cons:
1. A little pricey, but you have to expect that. This is probably the nicest place in town. Parking is ridiculously expensive ($ 30/​night in Columbus!!), so I suggest Über if at all possible. It’s about $ 12 to/​from the airport and way faster than if you were to rent a car.
This is the only hotel I ever choose when I come to Columbus.

Room — 915
PROS: The WiFi in the room was fast and free for up to 5 devices. The room was quiet facing facing I-​670. The beds, bedding and pillows were amazingly plush and comfortable. The 2 queen bed room was spacious. The spaciousness of the room was especially noticeable between the two beds — there seemed to be more room there than is typical which was great. The beds were modern with a wood headboard going all the way up the wall and half over the bed on the ceiling. On this ceiling part were two reading lights one for each side of the bed. There were 2 outlets and 1 USB port for each bed and the same by the desk. The Illy coffee in the room is great and the machine is easy to use — Keurig style. The curtains were sufficient to black out all light at night. I also loved the shower head — a big rain spout with great water pressure. The walk in shower was spacious too.
CONS: The only bad thing about the room was the sliding bathroom barn style door which would not stay closed unless you got it in a particular spot. Since the door faces the side of one of the beds instead of the entry way this was particularly problematic.
Spa
PROS: The masseur, Robert, was great. I loved how he incorporated hot towels in the massage and helped me with various neck stretches. A 60 minute massage was $ 111 and a 30-​minute was $ 58. His technique was great and he can definitely deliver pressure. To start of the massage he asked me about any trouble areas and then gave me a couple of oils to smell, and told me their benefits, so I could make a selection as to what he would use. I also liked that after the massage you get 30 minutes in the spa suite if you booked an hour treatment and 15 minutes with a 30 minute treatment. There isn’t too much to do in the suite alone, but there is a pretty awesome shower that throws water at you from above and all sides — about 9 different angles.
CONS: Maybe it was just forgotten, but some music would be nice in the suite. Also I would like heavier black out curtains. The room ends with windows on two sides so the light from High Street flooded into the suite through the drapes. Either black out shades and mood lighting is needed or eye masks need to be handed out when lying face up. The 9 jet, 8’X11’ shower could also use another drain — the 3″ circle drain got a little overwhelmed to say the least.
NOTE: Even if you are a hotel guest, go first to the front desk to sign-​in for your massage. Someone will then escort you up to suite ⁴⁰¹⁄₂ for your massage. Robert told me I was supposed to be escorted out after my massage, but when I finished with my 30 minute relaxation no one was around so I just left.
Overall
PROS: Overall the hotel experience was great and I would return here in a heartbeat. It really feels like a boutique hotel, but of course with the rewards/​status perks of a chain. The front desk staff was friendly and always greeted us as we walked past it to the 2 elevators. Upon check in they provided good recognition of elite benefits/​status and when passing the desk after my massage a front desk employee recognized me and asked how it was. The doorman always had the door open and was always friendly. Upon arrival he offered luggage assistance. The hotel location cannot be beat. You can walk right out the door of the hotel onto High Street in the Short North to shops and OpenTable’s highest rated restaurants. This hotel is the perfect home base for a weekend getaway.
CONS: Valet was very slow. It took them a long time to retrieve cars. The valet staff were very friendly and considerate people, but the length of time it took made it take awhile to get your car when you wanted to leave, and also made getting close to the hotel to a point where you could drop your car off take some time. The road in front of the hotel was often backed up with cars the valets had not yet taken away. Another oddity I noticed occurred when I was watching another guest print his flight boarding pass. This had to be done on one of the two front desk computers. So the guest had to come behind the registration desk and use one of the computers therefore cutting the efficiency of the desk’s check-​in/​out ability temporarily in half.
The hotel restaurant is The Guide House. See my positive review of breakfast at this restaurant.

A lot of reviews say this is just an Aloft trying to be something upscale.
I would agree but for the price, we paid 220 plus taxes, You are really just paying for location which is great with everything in walking distance of short north. This was $ 20 more than the Hilton downtown and was more or less similarly priced for the standard room.
Parking/​valet is $ 30 a night. It’s the same price if you just left your car in their garage overnight. Again this is due to the location. It would be a nice perk if parking with no valet was free with your accommodation. For example if you were just going to leave your car in the garage and walk/​or just give one free validated parking ticket!
Everyone from staff/​guest services were great. The entrance has a cool, funky vibe that also has a funky strange smell, something listed on many reviews that we read. But the décor is chic, almost to a point where it’s forced.
The room is modern, they kind of beat you over the head to make sure you know this, and was fairly spacious. The view is eh but its Columbus what are you going to do! The room is loaded with mini-​bar price traps so if you have kids make sure to put that stuff away! (Review up date: we got charged $ 11 from the mini bar after our stay and we did not touch a thing… beware its a trap)
There is an Illy coffee machine with really cute cups, but kind of just a keurig. The bed was clean, as was the room, and very comfortable. The room has pretty nifty décor it screams Ikea but I loved it.
The bathroom was fairly baller. I’m happy they watched any episode of HGTV and threw in a walk-​in shower with some subway tile. The bathroom door is a large warehouse sliding one, again their designer is on that HGTV. The upgraded rooms also have a beautiful bathroom, but why in the buns would you pay for that when the water barely gets to warm. This was the sad face. I was all ready for my walk-​in subway tiled HGTV flip that house hot shower and that shit barely got to steamy. I was inconsolable. I thought maybe this was just during a heavy use time so I tried it again hours later… and nope. This is disappointing. I can get a hot
shower at a red roof inn plus or literally any hotel.
No I am being difficult because this is an upscale Aloft. If I was at the Rodeway Inn I would be presently surprised.
Overall this is a 3 star stay. Everything was okay. My price point for this would probably be $ 150-​$ 200 for a standard room. The rooms are nice/​clean, service was good, and location is great. If you want to splurge and get that baller room just be ready for a lot of «Okay» with nice décor.

Very clean and modern. Furniture and bedding all very comfortable.
No exhaust fan and terrible acoustics in the bathroom, plus the door is sliding and metal. So if your roomie has to go number two you might hear more than you’d like.
On arrival we were given a room that wasn’t yet cleaned. Went back to front desk and it took way too long to give us another room. Cleaning staff walked in on our room twice without knocking. Not cool.
If you want to hang out in the Short North, this is your place.

Loved this hotel after my first stay. Unfortunately during my repeat visit, the hotel used a heavy epoxy to seal the showers on one of the floors. Hotel is not inhabitable however they didn’t shut it down, notify guests, or provide alternative accommodations. Rather a fully booked hotel of guests stayed and got il!!! Very poor management. When we checked out, they said they’ve been sealing the showers one floor at a time for the past several weeks. Why would they not do the right thing and close the hotel for several days to repair this issue without toxic fumes causing guests to become ill!

Absolute great location. The hotel is upscale and modern with great finishes. The staff is absolutely amazing from the Valet to Front Desk.
Everyone is very helpful and friendly.

I travel weekly for business and I am a big fan of Westin hotels. Helpful staff — but all I kept thinking was it is an over-​priced ALoft where they wash the comforter covers. $ 30 a day for parking is ridiculous — even by DC standards. Switched to three different rooms — strong chemical smell in all of them that left me with a headache. Overall — disappointed.

Awesome amenities. Great location and beautiful interior. Much better than the hiltons at Easton shopping center.

Probably the best property in Columbus, certainly downtown. They did a great job.
Every member of the staff was genuine and went out of their way to help us. We stayed in the Executive Suite and had a great view of the fireworks at Red, White & Boom. SW views are the best.
The room was large and spacious and very modern. We travelled with a 2 y/​o and a 2 month old. The crib was already in our room when we arrived. They also provided a list of nanny services.
The location is perfect too. Surrounded by really good Cameron Mitchell Restaurants. Walking distance to Goodale Park and the Arena District. Get a sandwich from Press Grill.
2 huge complaints: the valet situation is an absolute disaster and detrimental to the experience. Don’t rent a car if you don’t need to. If you do, use a parking garage 2 blocks down.
Coffee in the lobby is not free. Literally every $ 200+ a night hotel I’ve stayed in offers complimentary coffee.

First impression is that they have very attentive staff. Opening the door for you all the time, and when it rains they hold an umbrella over you while waiting for a ride. On to the front desk! The morning staff were great! Sociable, happy, and more importantly very well informed about local recommendations. One of the managers also struck up a delightful conversation about local recommendations. The foyer is well done decorated with marble floors, elegant furniture, and art work. The room is very modernly decorated. The bed and pillows were 5 star all the way. The shower was perfect with a valve that controls full range of pressure. Room view was nice for thunder storms and aerial view of high street. The price, slightly over priced. However, they earn it with everything previously mentioned and location. Some of the best brunch, breakfast, and dinner places are all a couple blocks away.

I had the chance to visit The Joseph several times over the weekend, since my parents were in from out of town, and I told them they had to book a room there. The interior is so clean and modern, and there’s some very cool artwork hanging up all over. I was actually expecting there to be more art pieces, but I’m actually glad it wasn’t made out to be it’s own art gallery. Check out the water bottle chandelier on the stairs going from the first to the second floor. Really neat.
My parents were on the 4^th floor, and the view from their room faced South and was one of the best views of the Columbus skyline I’d seen. At night time, it looked especially amazing. The rooms have some modern artwork as well, but I’m not as big into this as my mom, and I was more into admiring the huge flat screen TV.
We spent a couple cocktail hours at the Soul bar down in the lobby. I loved that it was right in the lobby too, so that you could drink and watch people come into the hotel. You felt immersed in everything whether you were drinking at the bar or arriving for the first time. It was very lively. The Guild House is right next door, but you can also order some dishes at the hotel bar. Next time I’m there, I’ll have to take a picture of the menu. My mom loved the house cocktails they made. I did have a Ginger one though that I wasn’t a huge fan of.
Everyone was working there was incredibly friendly, and the bellhops and valets were about as helpful as you’d expect at a hotel of this caliber. It’s definitely not a cheap place to stay, but if you have some friends from out of town looking to spend some time in Columbus, and you want to impress, I’d definitely recommend them booking a room here.

I come to Columbus a few times a year for work and typically don’t love the hotel options… until now. This was my first time staying here and I have to say I was very impressed! Beautiful décor, friendly/​attentive staff and a great bar menu.
The icing on the cake was the card I was handed from the front desk welcoming me to the property. The attention to detail was noted and most definitely appreciated. I have a new home away from home in Columbus and can’t wait to stay here again!

We went to Columbus for a wedding and stayed in the Le Meridien because the shuttle to the reception was going from the hotel. When we checked in there was a large group that were going to the wedding checking in, but ours was the only room that wasn’t ready yet for some reason. We waited approximately 20 minutes and were given our keys. We were happy to find that we were given a room overlooking North High Street, which probably is one of the better views at the hotel. From then on, our experience at the hotel improved.
The room was clean and had nice toiletries. Unfortunately, housekeeping knocked on our door right before we were going to leave and, although we said we’d be gone in 10 minutes, they never went back to service our room.
We also had an issue where the door locked us out with the latch at one point and the service crew had to assist us to get back in. The front desk staff said that happens all the time, so luckily it was a quick fix and we got right back in.
We went to the bar both nights. The first night it was empty other than us and the second night it was packed with wedding guests. I don’t think that they were prepared for that many people showing up, as there was only one bartender both nights and some people from our group left the second night because it was taking too long to get drinks.
We went to the gym twice and both times we were the only ones in it. It had several treadmills and exercise bikes, benches, some yoga mats and weights. There were some snacks available (oranges and apples) and a water dispenser.
Overall, the hotel was clean and well located. We would stay there again.

We arrived ½ and hour after our 3pm check in time. We were told that the room had not been cleaned yet. The guy at the desk was very nice and it was not his fault, but the wait was annoying. The room had an AWESOME VIEW of the city! We were on the 9^th floor. The room was nice, The bed is comfortable and the shower is nice as well. Overall the place is good, not sure 350 a night good though. Doesn’t have the 5 star feel you’ll get at other hotels, but Its new. Valet is a pain. Costs 30 a day and expect to wait 30 minutes for them to fetch your car.

I’m solely reviewing the Soul bar and not the hotel. The atmosphere is really cool and hip. There are seats by the bar and two communal tables with additional seats. Lots of great cocktails to chose from. The back door is connected to The guild house.

This lovely hotel only opened in January 2015 and not only has gorgeous and spacious rooms but also exceptional service and extra friendly staff.
Huge and comfortable beds and very modern bathroom; complimentary illy coffee maker in the room. Will book again!

All I can speak for is the Soul bar and the art gallery here, but they are both fantastic! As I walked past a slew of tiny overcrowded bars in the Short North, The Joseph was a spacious and beautiful respite from the chaos. There was plenty of open seating in the lobby which was available for drink service from the Soul bar. I ordered a cocktail for $ 10 and got a $ 6 craft beer for my boyfriend. The service was friendly, the atmosphere is top notch, and it was surprisingly not nearly as crowded or expensive as I expected.
After ordering drinks, we were told we were allowed to wander around upstairs with our drinks and check out the gallery for free. This made for quite a lovely and affordable date night in a drop dead beautiful location.