Hotel Monaco Salt Lake City, a Kimpton Hotel

Our stay at Kimpton Hotel Monaco Salt Lake City was enjoyable overall, thanks to the hotel's beautiful design, comfortable accommodations, and excellent downtown location. The rooms were stylish, clean, and well appointed, and the staff we encountered were friendly and professional. As frequent guests of Kimpton hotels, however, we were surprised by a couple of things that made this experience feel different from what we've come to expect from the brand. One of our biggest disappointments was the absence of the signature Kimpton evening happy hour with complimentary beer, wine, or spirits. It's a tradition we've always looked forward to at other Kimpton Hotel Monaco properties, and it has consistently been one of the things that sets the brand apart. Not having that experience here was an unexpected letdown. We were also disappointed to learn that we couldn't bring beer or wine back to our room. After a day of exploring Salt Lake City, it would have been nice to relax with a drink in the comfort of our room, and this policy felt unusually restrictive compared with other Kimpton locations we've visited. Those two differences aside, the hotel itself was comfortable, well maintained, and in a fantastic location for exploring downtown Salt Lake City. We still enjoyed our stay, but it didn't quite deliver the signature Kimpton experience we've come to appreciate over the years. We hope these policies evolve in the future because this property has the potential to be every bit as memorable as the other Kimpton Hotel Monaco hotels we've enjoyed.

Had a wonderful stay here. This hotel has so many people who truly care about making your stay wonderful. Rooms are lovely. Assistant general manager Justin Wolfe is a great guy. And it’s easy to tell the people who work there enjoy working for him. Bambara and The Vault, restaurant and bar, are both an exceptional experience. Bartenders make creative and fun cocktails and have lots of experience. Drinking there is a flavor fest. Food and Beverage Manager Bijan runs both and does an amazing job. When you stay at Hotel Monaco you feel like you’ve come home.

While an attractive boutique hotel, I will not be returning due to the petty and unexplained charges on my bill when checking out. First, there was a daily "Conv Tour Assess" of a $4.38 daily charge for two of the three days, and a $5.88 charge for the final day. This charge was in addition to both a state sales tax and a "City Occupancy Tax" daily charges. I asked what was the charge and the explanation I received was that it was an additional tax. Upon looking it up, it is not a tax, but rather a " tourism-boosting initiative funded by a 2% surcharge on short-term hotel room rentals" for the purpose of "marketing, brand awareness, and incentives to secure large-scale events" for Salt Lake City hotels by a private, nonprofit corporation responsible for the promotion of Salt Lake as a convention and travel destination. I had not previously been assessed this charge in staying at any of the SLC Hampton Inns Well, I take great issue with being assessed a charge that is not a governmental tax by a hotel for their own advertising purposes. This is one of their expenses solely for their own business generating advertising purposes and has nothing to do with my stay. It should be part of the rate as it is not a tax and it should not be held out as a tax. Further, I paid a nightly "package" rate that purported to include breakfast. Upon checking out, I was told that breakfast was not included but rather a $50 daily credit toward breakfast. Additionally, however, there were additional charges for "F&B tips" which were well in excess of the amount of the tips I left each day. I asked and was informed that the charge was the tip, plus tax on the charge for breakfast. So let's see ... I paid an increased daily package rate that purported to include breakfast and I am paying both a state and city tax and the tourism boosting chage on that daily package rate, and now the hotel is presumably double-charging those same taxes on their charge for breakfast (I assume they are not charging the taxes on the tips I left which would really be head-spinning). In any event, when I complained about these double-tax charges, the manager removed them from the bill. Perhaps I expect too much but a decent hotel stay should not involve a negotiation over bogus charges at check-out.