Duke Tower Suites and Condominiums

Hmmm… not really sure how to review this place. On the one hand, for $ 95/​night, this is a great deal and basically like having your own apartment. There’s a living room, kitchen, separate bedroom, little dining area, so it seems like a great deal. On the other hand, I kind of felt like I was staying in a nursing home or assisted living facility or something. Something about the decorations and the feel of the place was slightly off putting to me. And the bed was hella hard.
I would probably stay here again, but I would rather try another hotel in the area.

This is a nice little extended stay hotel. Nothing fancy but the staff is friendly. It is very quaint. Don’t pay attention to the negative reviews. You get what you pay for. Room is older but clean. It is a one bedroom suite with kitchen and dishwasher full size fridge. Courtyard is great very tastefully designed pool is well kept. Remember not only hotel but extended stay so there are pets but that can be a plus as well as a minus

I stayed here for five months while I was between houses. My first home had sold, and I was waiting on my second to be completed. I want to provide the perspective of staying here long-​term.
First, if you need to stay someplace for several months this is a great option. Yes, it is a small space, but any sort of extended stay space is going to be small. The benefit to staying here is that the cost is very reasonable (much, much less than doing a corporate apartment), and it is in a great location. As others have correctly noted, you can walk to many restaurants and even the Carolina Theatre if you so choose. If walking is not your thing, you can drive to these places in five minutes or less.
Second, DT has a lovely courtyard. The pool is great and clean. The remainder of the courtyard has lovely trees, a miniature gold course, a giant chess/​checkers set, many places to sit and hang out, and grills. When the weather was nice, I enjoyed finding a place to sit and read. It is not difficult to find a nice quiet spot outside, and it is very relaxing. I had two or three parties while I was there. Mostly it was me and a handful of girlfriends hanging out in the courtyard, but some others who were staying at DT also joined in. The guests I encountered were very friendly.
Third, you do get housekeeping services once a week on an assigned day. I loved this. Housekeeping always did a great job. If you need anything between visits (which happened only once to me) you can get it without any hassle.
There are of course some less than perfect spots to staying at DT, and they are mixed for me:
1. The laundry situation: There is an onsite laundry mat. You have to pay 1.50 per load in the washer. 25 cents buys you eight minutes in the dryer. Ok — no problem. The washers and dryers are not the best. I chose not to run nicer clothing through them. This was just a personal choice and not based on anything bad that I had happen. My clothing was never messed up. I just didn’t feel comfortable about putting some nicer items in their machines.
Be aware that housekeeping uses the heck out of the washers and dryers. It was a common experience for me to go down and be able to get a washer but have to wait around for a dryer to open up. Housekeeping will also not keep up with moving their items out of the washer and dryer which gets annoying. It was very common for me to find all the dryers taken up, but several of them would be done and have dry items in it which clearly belonged to housekeeping. They did add some more dryers towards the end of my stay which has helped this problem some, but beware.
2. Staff are very courteous and do their best to help you. However, not every staff member can answer questions you might have about your bill, and information you might pass on to one staff member will not necessarily be updated in your account. When you stay for three or more months, your rate will drop and you will not have to pay taxes. You will also get back any taxes you have paid previously. This is very nice and much appreciated. However, when I reached this point in my stay only one of the staff members could help me, and it took me three days to track her down. It would be helpful if any staff member could assist with billing issues/​questions and not just specific ones.
3. The internet: If you need internet, I suggest you check with someone before staying here. My unit did not have what I would call high speed internet, and it did not have wireless. Since I work in the area, I was able to do what I needed from my office. If I needed high speed internet while staying at DT, I would have been in serious trouble. They say they have it, and I believe they are working to upgrade it, but if this is important to you I’d look into it before booking.
4. Finally, be aware that it is common for people to bring their dogs with them to DT. However, it is also common for these people to let their dogs run around off leash. Keeping a dog on leash when outside the unit is not enforced. I personally don’t like large strange dogs running up to me — particularly when their owner is around the corner out of my sight. But residents don’t always seem to grasp that so just know it could happen.
Here’s the thing — at the end of the day DT served its purpose. It is definitely better than going into a chain extended stay, but I’m not sure it’s better than a hotel if you’re looking for just a handful of nights. It’s in a great location and provides and worked well for me in my situation.

I am dumbfounded by the four and five star reviews on this place. It was inexpensive but you get what you pay for. I checked into my room late — 9pm or so — and had to sit in shock as I took it all in. This place is one step up from a roadside motel. My room had an awful smell that took me awhile to get used to. Once I turned on the TV to block out the sound of people tromping up and down the stairs outside my room and swearing at each other, I settled in a bit and started looking for other hotel options in the area so I could leave. My options, at 10pm on a Friday, were limited so I decided to stick it out.
I put the chain on my door, headed back to my double beds and tried to get to sleep. I slept fine but when I tried to take a shower in the morning, I could only find two hand towels and a bath mat. The fact that the shower head hit me at shoulder height did not help my mood. After speaking with other people who had also spent the night, the towels were apparently in a closet. I was too afraid to open any closets or doors so I did not go on a major towel search.
I would not stay here again. I am wondering if I got the last crappy room in the place or if all the other reviewers are delusional.

I am giving them 5 stars because a) at $ 95 per night, and 3 blocks from Duke University (Where my appointment is tomorrow), 4 blocks from Brightleaf Square and the restaurant district, I don’t think you can do better if this is where you want to be. I only came because the Marriott in Downtown Durham was full.
I have a full kitchen, bath Living room, bedroom (with those awesome Tempurpedic mattresses) and the pool is right outside my door (and the pool is huge!)
I have traveled a lot. You can’t beat this place.
(Service in the office was top notch and friendly)
I know where I am going the next time I am in the Triangle.
5 stars doesn’t mean that this is a $ 300 per night luxury hotel. Everything is clean and comfortable. But $ 95 per night? Wow.

So, you are attending the World Beer Festival huh? Good for you, I am proud of you. The Duke actually has a shuttle bus that will take you and drop you off and then… pick you back up to bring you back. Now I have stayed in nice Hotels… I also stay in Hampton Inns for work… and I have stayed in other places too, because I did not want to sleep in my Jeep for the night. This place is clean and the staff are nice, just keep in mind that it is also where some folks live. So, you do not always get the same «crowd» that you would when staying in a hotel or a motel. That said, it is kinda like a motel only the rooms are facing an interior courtyard as opposed to the parking lot. I had a problem with the AC in my room and had absolutely no problem getting switched to another while the maintenance guy passed me on the walkway as that person did not check in yet.
«The Good»
— The staff is very polite and fast, but most importantly helpful. The blonde was very cute too :)
— I am a huge fan of the architecture of the actual building. The center tower in the courtyard has a small breakfast shop in it with a small area for tables and chairs around it. Although I have never made it to breakfast here, the look is at least cool.
— The rooms are clean, have a kitchenette and a separate bedroom.
— They recycle and have the blue trashcan/​bin/​tote.
— There are pots and pans if you want to cook while you are there.
— The rooms are spacious compared to a «normal» hotel room. They are more like suites, but think older, only by looks.
— Laundromat onsite on the first floor.
— It is relatively inexpensive.
«The Meh»
— The parking is different than what you are used to as you enter through cutaways on the first floor, into the courtyard area. There is nothing wrong with it, just different.
«The Bad»
— Nothing really bad to comment on.

A home away from home — only neater. Duke Tower Condominiums and Hotel was the perfect choice for my Durham sojourn.
Within walking distance of Brightleaf square and a multitude of other shops and restaurants, DTC is nicely situated. I had a one bedroom condo, fully furnished with everything I could expect. More like an extended stay hotel, DTC furnishes the linens and the appliances and some dishes, cups, glasses and utensils, but you bring your own toiletries, coffee and food. With all the restaurant options in the area, food is optional; although using the kitchen might be more prudent for an extended stay. Housekeeping comes by once a week, but there’s a change of bedlinens available if you can’t wait that long. Overall, it worked for me since I didn’t have to pre-​clean my room every day before a housekeeping visit.
Each unit opens to the courtyard and there are no units behind so it has a private feel. The courtyard was quite beautiful with its blooming flowers, bird feeders, vine covered trellis’, a couple of grills, a lawn chess set and pool. The Tower, in the center of the garden, has an honor-​system, continental breakfast in the morning. The Tower’s dark wood floors, walls, and tables is either relaxing or claustrophobic, though, depending on your perspective. Disappointingly, the spiral staircase to the upper floor is closed.
There’s wired and wireless internet service available, but they’re still upgrading the wireless for the entire property and for me, the wired connection worked better. Besides all of that, DTC offers complimentary shuttle service to Duke Medical and DPAC. The office staff, security, and long-​term residents are some of the nicest people with really interesting stories to share. Oh, and if you can’t bear to travel without your furry four-​legged friend, DTC accepts pets with a small extra fee.
If you’re the type who won’t consider staying anywhere that’s older than five or ten years, DTC won’t work. But if you enjoy the subtle beauty and quirkiness found in older places, DTC will deliver and for a price much less than you’ll pay for any of the nearby chain hotels.