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The newest hotel in Ft. Worth, Texas, Hotel Drover perfectly fits its neighborhood. With a mix of Southwest and cowboy flair, the 200 room Hotel Drover is in a perfect location for those looking to explore Ft. Worth. But does the staff measure up to the luxury feel of the hotel?

Location

Hotel Drover is located in the Fort Worth Stockyards area of Ft. Worth, Texas. There are plenty of dining and shopping options nearby. You can easily walk to the twice daily cattle drives from the hotel.

Booking

I had a couple of Marriott free night certificates to use that I earned through the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless. I booked directly on Marriott’s website. Since this is a category 4 property, you’ll need 20,000/25,000/30,000 points for off/standard/peak pricing. The standard room is a 1 King.

My free night award was good at properties up to 35,000 Bonvoy points per night, Hotel Drover was only going for 30,000 on my weekend stay. While I didn’t maximize the points value of my certificates, rooms were starting at $422. Considering I only paid a $95 annual fee, I’ll count this as a win.

Pro-Tip: If booking a stay using cash, make sure you use a shopping portal. You’ll still get Marriott points and elite nights and you’ll earn some additional points or cashback.

Check-In

After arriving on property, I dropped my keys with the valet and walked inside.

The hotel lobby was loud. Almost as loud as a packed night club. I later discovered there was a shop opening being hosted at the hotel. The lobby was packed.

Check-in is too the left when you first walk in. I wasn’t greeted. Not off to a great start. I was asked my name and given my keys. There was no explanation of the hotel nor amenities.

Hotel Drover 1 King Bed Room

I was given a room on the third floor around the corner from the elevator. I prefer rooms furthest away from the elevator, but noise wasn’t an issue.

The bathroom is to the left when you first walk in. The toilet is in its own room when to the left. The sink is in the center of the room. The shower is on the right. The shower controls are on the right when you first walk in so you won’t get hit with cold water.

Across from the bathroom is a wardrobe. Inside is the coffee station and a small area to hang clothes.

As you enter the main part of the room, you have the bed, a chair and a small desk. Two bedside tables flanked the bed. To the right of the bed was a chair. On the other side of the room were the desk and TV.

Since I was in an interior room, I had views of the courtyard.

After getting upgraded to suites, this room was small. But it would be fine for two people.

Dining

There is one restaurant, 97 West, on property serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Staff was terrible. I’ll touch on this further in the post.

After being seated, my server took our drink orders. We were quickly brought them. She asked if we would like to have any starters. We ordered the fried green tomatoes and a queso, guac, and salsa sampler.

The tomatoes were meh but the queso, guac and salsa were great. While we were eating, our server did ask if we would like to finish. I really appreciated this gesture. After finishing, we ordered our main dishes.

One of us ordered the gnocchi and the other ordered a bacon cheeseburger. Both were good.

My server was great after just finishing training the week prior. But did forget to refill drinks despite asking multiple times.

Amenities

There wasn’t a lot in terms of amenities at this property.

There was a gym but I couldn’t find it. There were also no signs anywhere. Hotel Drover’s websites shows there are Pelotons.

There is an outdoor seating area both in the front and back of the hotel. The front is more to wait for 97 West.

Past the courtyard was a small pool and hot tub. This area is packed during all hours. The pool isn’t very deep at three and a half feet. The area did give off Southwest vibes.

The hotel backs up to a small creek.

Inside, there is a bar in the lobby with a lot of seating. It does get loud in here when its busy. Prices are different during the day then they are at night. Bar staff was friendly.

Staff Issues

Aside from the valet and server, staff were rude during almost every interaction. It started at check-in which I detailed above and continued throughout dinner and breakfast. I arrived a couple of minutes before the official opening time of 5PM for the restaurant and inquired about a table.

Hostess: (shortly) “None available right now”
Me: “Are there any available any time tonight?”
Hostess: “You’ll have to check the website”
Me: “Can you provide the URL?”
Hostess: “Ugh. There’s one available at 6.”
Me: “Great that works”.

When I returned inside at 6PM, there was a second hostess who started blankly at me while I walked up.

Me: “Hi, I just received a text my table was ready”.
Hostess 2: “Oh. I guess I’ll seat you.”

On the way out, I inquired about takeout which I was told was possible if I called down. The next evening, I called down and was told “we don’t take orders over the phone”. I was then hung up on. I walked down to order. The two hostess from the previous night were there.

Me: “Hi, I just called down about takeout.”
Hostess: “We don’t do takeout”.
Me: “That’s strange. I was just told I could do one.”

At this point a man whom I think was a manager walked up and happily took my order. I got my food about 45 minutes later and went about my evening.

I returned to 97 West for breakfast on my last morning. I was informed that they were just doing a buffet for $35 rather than made-to-order. Hostess Number 2 from the first night then walked away before I could ask any additional questions.

Bottom Line

This isn’t a place that you’d stay for more than 2 nights before moving on to another place. This is not a child friendly property. I thought the property was beautiful but the staff left a sour taste in my mouth. I didn’t mention all my issues at check-out, but the associate didn’t seem surprised. There are plenty of other properties nearby to stay at.

How do you handle service issues during hotel stays? Drop your recommendations in the comments.

These opinions in this article are the author’s not those of a bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.