The Banyan Hotel Fort Myers, Tapestry Collection by Hilton

We love this location right in the middle of downtown Fort Myers, Florida. We've stayed here a few times, including before the recent renovation. There is a an interesting variety of rooms with different layouts which we enjoyed. This time we chose a King room with balcony and city view. The balcony is small but big enough for 2 people and while it does have an ok "city view," it also looks down upon another roof below with all the air conditioners (something we do not like when paying extra for a "view"). However, you can also see the river along with a bit of Patio DeLeon, in the middle of downtown Fort Myers. At night, is where the view shines with all the colorful lighting and usual music can be heard from live musicians. This room is fairly large for a boutique hotel with a larger than usual TV. However, the TV and dresser on which it sits are oddly placed in a corner at an angle, and pretty far from the bed detracting from the size of the screen. Programming is not in HD and also not set to the correct proportions (everything was vertically compressed) and the remote does not allow adjus**ents for this. It has a nice kitchenette area with a mini fridge but no microwave which we thought it should have given the price for the room and how inexpensive small microwaves cost (It may have been an option but it should already be there). Shower is very nice but every 30 seconds the water pressure dropped, then climbed back up - no biggie, just odd. Toilet paper seemed cheap for this type of hotel but all other items seemed to match this type of hotel. You have to pay $3 per bottle for the 2 bottles that are already in the room. It's like "nickel and diming" for something as inexpensive as bottled water - like having no microwave, it takes away from the experience given the price of the room. Some light fixtures were not fully seated into the ceiling and like most hotels, the air vent in the bathroom had visible dust (I realize most people don't even look at these things, but I tend to notice it). The bed, although newer, was very firm, and not what we typically find in an upscale hotel. The walls are "thin" allowing sounds from outside and adjacent rooms to be heard which is just an observation, not necessarily a negative. Front desk personnel were friendly, professional and helpful. Parking options are basically valet or one of 2 nearby parking garages. One parking garage is literally across the street which worked great for us at a lot less than using valet - pros and cons to each. The ice machine on our floor was not working which requires you to acquire ice on another floor (we were on the 7th floor - the top floor). There is a nice little rooftop bar which has a similar view of the city as our room but a little higher. The bar area has decent seating with a good mix of small couches, chairs and high top tables. We did not eat or have room service during this stay but it's available. Overall, it's a very nice, small hotel in an ideal, convenient location and we will definitely go back.