Neptune, an Ash Hotel

Location is great. Most of the small staff is great. Coffee shop onsite is a plus, but be aware there are NO decaf or no-caf options except water and hot chocolate - there are full service coffee shops very close though. Parking in the lots is expensive, but with a little planning, you can park on the street overnight for free, right in front of the hotel. We had a Queen Room. It was clean and in good condition, but no place to hang clothes other than a couple of hooks on the wall with some hangers, and no dresser or shelves (we used the wide window sills as shelves). Bed was comfortable but squeaky; would not be good for a light sleeper. We did not hear much noise from the karaoke bar downstairs although we were only on the second floor. There was some street noise, but less than expected, given the hotel’s location. The bathroom is TINY, almost European in size; a larger person would have trouble in the shower. The heat was unreliable; we had to get the staff to manually reset it in the basement twice during our 3-night stay, but they were very gracious about it. The plumbing in the toilet was a little finicky, often requiring a couple of flushes. It’s a quirky old building with an interesting history in an excellent location. Overall, we had a nice stay.

I only spent a few days at this hotel and I wish I had done longer. The front desk staff were so efficient and helpful, joked around and made me feel instantly welcomed - which is huge when solo travelling like me. The lobby area has a great, relaxed vibe with a cafe and areas to work. The elevator is rustic and cool. My room was immaculate so props to the housekeeping team! There’s ample room to hang up clothes, a desk area, tv, comfortable bed, and an amazing black-tiled bathroom with a large walk in shower. The only negative I could think of is that the water pressure was quite intense and there was no way to adjust. The WiFi wasn’t the best unfortunately, not sure if that’s just in my room or throughout the hotel. Overall a fantastic stay, very much hoping to stay here again the next time I come to Providence.

The location is great that’s about it. To park we spent over $220 for four nights so that is a major drawback. As for the hotel itself, it’s a cute quirky place great for a young couple staying for one or two nights. -service is just okay, I had to request the trash to be emptied. There is only one trash can in the room and it holds about five tissues. I asked for additional towels, never got them. - lighting was horrible. The room was so dark and half the lights didn’t work. - the shower is so tiny and was unpleasant -the bed was okay -the thought process around the functional aspects of the room was lacking. No closet space, poor lighting, the shower. It seems like it was designed by a 20 year old man.

It’s a funky old downtown hotel, a several steps up from the sidewalk. A friendly clerk handles check in at the desk and explains that there is hotel bar, but only open on certain nights, and a coffee shop only open in the mornings. She finds the bellman, who then carries your bags up with cheerful solicitude. The main hotel is another half dozen steps up. ||The lobby is small, with black couches and bad lighting. Neon signs decorate here and there, and a generous expanse of mirrors expand the sense of space. The floors are tile or planking with occasional rugs.||From the main floor, you go up in a "Lift" that has a door on hinges that opens on a steel cage that slowly travels up and down in a concrete shaft that you could reach out and touch as it slides past, if you were so foolish. The concrete is raw between floors, but painted red at each floor. I’m told the hotel was once a brothel.||The lights are garish, I can say that. None meant for reading. All dim and glaring at the same time. The halls are shadowy.||The room is dark with spots of illumination at key points. When the sun comes in the western windows, the light is good. There is a vintage half-couch that molds you into a laid-back posture almost like a hammock. Hm. ||The television is easy to operate, unlike in most hotels. A tiny desk allows work at a laptop. There are plenty of electrical outlets.||The bathroom is black tile, gloomy, and there is no hot water. ||The bed is big and comfortable, with adequate covers and good pillows.||Several good bars are just around the corner.||The esthetic seems to be artsy threadbare. Would I stay again? No.||

The establishment was cute and quaint. The young lady at the front desk gave me great recommendations for dinner. The room was cute, but the bed was very uncomfortable to me. It was advertised as a pillow top mattress, but it couldn't have been. I have had pillow top mattresses and it did not feel like one at all. I did love the shower head in the bathroom. I never experienced what I believe is called a rainforest shower head. The one thing that did not sit well with me was when I asked if I could have a late checkout and was told that I could not be accommodated, then while I was waiting in the lobby area, heard others thanking the front desk staff for allowing them to have a late checkout. I guess when you're staying with boutique hotels rather than 5 star hotels, the flexibility for that isn't there.

As the song goes, "Where do I begin…?"|My husband and I just returned from a two-night stay at the Neptune Hotel in Providence. Don’t be misled by its 4-star rating—if anything, it’s 4 out of 100. The only positives were the location (downtown Providence) and the kindness of the staff. Many online reviews echoed what we experienced, but here is our firsthand account.|We were assigned room 410 the first night, Friday. The "closet" area was pitch-dark with no light—thankfully, I always travel with a flashlight. The low, squeaky bed was incredibly uncomfortable. The "rainfall" shower only trickled lukewarm water, and the black shower tiles were dangerously slippery—thankfully, I had flip-flops to wear in the shower to prevent a slip or fall. The bath towels were tiny and as rough as sandpaper. Amenities were nonexistent: no refrigerator, no microwave, no bottled water, no coffee, no snacks, no iron, no ironing board—nothing. The pedestal sink offered no space for toiletries. And every time the sink ran, the pipes emitted a loud, piercing noise that eventually stopped, but only after several minutes.|Friday night was barely manageable. The next night, Saturday, was not. Around 8:30 PM, the pipe-screeching returned—and this time it never stopped. No one could possibly sleep through that. With no in-room phone, my husband had to go down to the front desk around 9:30 PM to ask for help.|Only one alternative room was available—309—which they said was out of circulation due to "no hot water." We agreed to take it anyway, just to get some sleep. Ironically, it did have hot water, but the bathroom light didn’t work. With black tile floors, black shower walls, and black paint on the lower walls, the entire bathroom was a literal black hole. Again, out came the flashlight.|But the worst surprise came overnight: the toilet flushed by itself, waking us up, and then continued running loudly for the rest of the night. By morning, the toilet wouldn’t flush at all—discovered only after I had used it. Now we had a toilet we couldn’t use.|We felt bad for the front desk staff—they were kind but clearly unequipped and unsupported. No manager was on duty Saturday night, and there was no maintenance person available to fix the screaming pipes or the dead bathroom light.|At checkout early Sunday morning, I politely suggested to the two very pleasant employees that they might consider finding other jobs; the hotel isn’t going to survive like this. They admitted that they hear these complaints regularly. Yet nothing changes.|So to the owners: please don’t respond with the usual on-line review responses, "This is not up to our standards, and we will address it," when it’s obvious you haven’t—and won’t.|We were supposed to stay at the Neptune again in December for a wedding, but we’ve already canceled that reservation and booked the Graduate Hotel down the street instead. You couldn’t pay me to stay at the Neptune again.

A great surprise for a boutique hotel in Providence. Keeping things to a bare minimum, the hotel focuses on design and use of space. The only thing I wish the room had was a luggage holder so I could use that as the dresser. They’re small enough that it wouldn’t ruin the aesthetic. Outside of that, the room was nicely decorated, the bed was very comfortable and the bathroom was cute. The only downfall there is the size of the shower. I bounced off every wall . All in all, this is what I look for when traveling, a great place with friendly staff that does something unique and original.