The Galt House Hotel

, Louisville, United States
Explore Louisville
Nearby Airports
Review this Hotel
Popular Travel Destinations

Recently Reviewed Hotels Around Louisville

The Galt House Hotel

, Louisville
4 star

Rooms: 1300

140 Fourth Avenue North - Louisville - Kentucky - 40202 - United States Hotel Website | | 502 589 5200
615 Traveller

Reviews - The Galt House Hotel

10/10
Hotel Gem!
Submitted by: Cindy in 03/04/06
  • Age Group: 41 - 50
  • From: United States
  • Traveller type: Business Traveller
I stayed in the Galt for 8 days during a convention. The hotel is incredible. Service is superb, the River Grill's food is affordable, the service (Jennifer) is very good. There is a restaurant the turns around, food is good, very pricey, but nice to treat yourself to something nice on occasion. We had a suite with a refrigerator, coffee pot (It never worked, And was reported many times, but OH WELL!) I got coffee in the starbucks located in the hotel. (diddn't help when I had no shower, makeup on or clothes at 6am, but I survived.)Overall the stay was very nice, I plan to go again.
Check Rates and Availability for the The Galt House Hotel

Historical Traveller Reviews of The Galt House Hotel

Great at the Galt

from A TripAdvisor Member
Everything was excellent for my stay. Very large room (suite actually) with a view of the river, recently refurbished, very clean and quiet, complimentary high speed internet, extremely reasonable price.

Definitely give it a miss

from Britraveller
We stayed here for a few days in June 2005 and would definitely never return nor recommend it to anyone. On arrival, I was given a room in the West Tower of the hotel and after entering the room immediately asked to be moved to the more modern, recently renovated East Tower. The West tower was diabolical - dark, fusty, extremely old fashioned and not particularly clean. The East Tower was 'ok' but by no means luxurious, the bath was dirty, the furniture old fashioned etc etc. The swimming pool was just an empty rusty hole and the restaurants were poor quality and again not particularly clean. This hotel needs a MASSIVE face lift - don't go there!

Very dated and lacking any degree of charm

from A TripAdvisor Member
The Galt House is not a great hotel. The common parts and the rooms are very dated, uninspiring and some with horrific views over the electricity plant on the back. Even if they market the place as riverfront, the view is more of the highway next to the place. Sizeable rooms but dark and with very dated interior.

Would not recommend anyone to stay here except if you got a very cheap rate and did not plant to spend much time in the room or the hotel.

Great place to stay for business trip

from A TripAdvisor Member
I did some research on this site to see if I wanted to stay at the Galt House when coming down for a convention.......after reading some of the early reviews, let me tell you I was worried (they said the service stunk and the accommodations are seriously dated). My view was changed once arrived and all my fears were put to rest (I booked 8th floor, east tower, executive suite). The service is pretty good (reasonably friendly, and curteous), the rooms are kept quite clean, the concierge was very helpful in finding decent restaurants to eat at (I tried room service the first night and my Chicken Parmasean was more like KFC in tomato sauce but I ate it beause I was starving after a full day of flying.....there are plenty of good places to eat nearby so no worries there). It was also quite close to the convention center (about 3 min walk up the street) and a nice place to retreat at the end of the day. I gave it a 4 circle rating just because it is not a 5 star hotel (and thus doesn't deliver like one), but for a good place to stay during a business trip, it definately delivers. Make sure to only book in the east tower until they finish the rennovations on the west tower (most of the poor ratings in the past were based on people staying in the west tower which is very dated but should complete its facelift sometime this year, check their website for details and dates). I know it helps me to read other people's reviews so I hope this helps others as well.

It keeps getting better and better!

from A TripAdvisor Member
We use this hotel many times throughout the year for small retreats and meetings for the faculty and students from our nearby college. The Galt House staff treats our small groups like they are the most important clients they have. The rooms are very spacious and the amenities are excellent. The renovations are gorgeous and the view breathtaking. We have tried other hotels in Louisville and this is, without a doubt, the best. There are bell hops everywhere and room service is prompt and reasonably priced. The front desk is always well-staffed so you never have to wait to check in. There are two ample parking garages and covered walkways so you never have to go out in the rain. On top of all that, the prices are reasonable. When my husband and I are in Louisville overnight, we always choose the Galt House. As far as I can tell, this is a privately owned hotel that exhibits a distinctly Louisvillian personality.

Good News; Bad News

from edknees
Kudos to the Galt House for their renovation of the East Tower. The rooms are much, much, much nicer than when I stayed here two years ago. However, there are still a number of small problems that remain preventing me from giving a "Above average" rating. The elevators were very inefficient and getting from the 16th floor to the lobby often took 5 to 10 minutes.
My television in the bedroom had a horrible picture. My television in the suite had a good picture but the remote didn't work. There is no indication by the phone that there is a charge for local calls (75cents). One morning I didn't have any ones for a maid tip and I suffered the consequences - my bed was made and I got clean towels but things hadn't been cleaned and soap and coffee were not replenished. There's a $1 charge for storing luggage for a few hours after you check out. I realize these are small complaints but I guess when you pay almost $130 a night you expect things not to be so rough around the edges.

It Pays to be Nice

from A TripAdvisor Member
I stayed at the Galt House on New Years Eve night and the 1st of January and it was a wonderful experience. The front desk was cordial, helpful, and in the spirit as they were dressed to meet the theme of their NYE party. Even more impressive was the way they handled themselves even as busy as they were with all the check ins and the phones ringing off the hook. I had a room in the west tower and although it was dated, it was clean and the staff polite. The one problem I did have, I notified the desk and it was handled within a reasonable amount of time. (45 minutes) I find it's more beneficial to be kind rather than angry to get things done.

The surprising part was the next day. I went to the desk to ask if I could see one of thier newly remodeled suites, and the clerk gladly offered to move me to one. It was so spacious and beautiful. I normally stay at brand hotels during my travels, but I was overwhelmed by the services and treatment I received at the Galt House.

How does this place book solid?

from A TripAdvisor Member
This place is the pits...there is no other way to explain it. I will skip over the fact that they have the ugliest rooms, heck, the ugliest hotel I have ever seen, and go right on into why i once again vowed never to return.
When I arrived (with my group) I was told the room was not clean yet, and would not be so until 2:00PM. At three I went in through the adjacent-room-door of my next door neighbor (A friend in my group), and found it to still be unclean. I phoned housekeeping from my friend's room, and was hung up on when the first of two times I asked for service. Well after I got the room clean, I still had no keys, so I went down 12 floors (not an easy thing to do when the entire tower is booked), went across the street, and waited in line at the front desk. I was greeted bya grunting lady who told me that threw a pair of keys over the counter at me upon request. I took the same 15-minute trip back up to my room, only to find that the keys didnt work. I went back down THREE times before finally the grunting ogre at the front desk admitted there could be a faulty doorknob (novel idea!), and informed me that mintenance would be up in 10 minutes. An hour later I phoned the desk again and they said that the maintenance guy was AWOL, and that I should just go into my room using my nieghbors door for the weekend. I do not call this satisfactory service in any sense of the phrase. Then, when we got into our room, it had the distinct odor of old fish, which was quickly aired out by the broken window which flung completely open (a safety risk on the 12th floor). The bathroom had two towels and one bar of soap, the coffee maker had 3-day old coffee caked in the carafe, the courtesy sink was staiend from the last guest, the floor was sticky...I could go on and on and on. Let me just give you this advice: the Hyatt, Seelbach, or Brown is worth any amount of money if you need to stay downtown once you have had a weekend at The Hell House.

Good, bad, and really ugly

from A TripAdvisor Member
The Galt House is a major hotel in downtown Louisville and the only one on the river, but despite its competitive prices, it's a mixed bag. Both large towers look the same on the outside, but inside they're very different.

The west tower hasn't changed since the 1970s, with heavily carved dark wood trim, deep red carpets, heavy wrought iron lamps, cheap framed art, hand-lettered signs, and coarsely upholstered sofas. The meeting rooms are just as cheesy but also have a ventilation system so noisy that you can't hear each other talking. In twenty years it'll be funky and hip, but for now, it's absolutely garish. It's like discovering an old roadside motel on Route 66, except this one is 20 stories tall.

The east tower is dramatically different inside, with a spacious lobby in lighter colors. The rooms are large suites with simple traditional furniture upholstered in smooth colorful fabrics. If you're planning to stay in the Galt House, you'll want to stay in the east tower.

Lots of construction is going on around the entrances, so it's a bit difficult to get in and out and confusing for both cars and pedestrians. Although it's on the river, don't pay extra for the view--it's a muddy, treeless working river and few will find it inspiring or attractive.

Both buildings are architectural nightmares on the outside. Its unimaginative amalgam of materials and shapes in the Modern style is made all the more apparent by the much better looking adjacent office towers.

The Galt House is adjacent to a major performing arts center and easy walking distance to the West Main Street (with four museums and several good restaurants) and Slugger Field and local theater (which requires walking through dead and decaying East Main and Market streets).

Do yourself a favor, look elsewhere!

from A TripAdvisor Member
The Galt House may have well been the southern jewel on the river back when it was constructed but it's dated in every way. The restaurant food was cold, gelatinous and unappealing and very overpriced for something that resembled a cafeteria school lunch. UGH! The room had a bathroom exhaust fan that was activated with the light switch (hence no way to leave it off) that made so much noise you couldn't turn on the light to use the restroom in the middle of the night. It was as loud as a turbine engine! The suite decor was straight out of a bad 70's porn film....cheap paneling, brown faux wood formica counters, herculon fabric on sofas and draperies that looked like they were pulled from a dumpster. The lighting was horrific and not nearly bright enough to do any paperwork at the dining table or the desk. My guess is they lowered the wattage on all lighting to cut costs.

On the upside, the Galt House IS renovating! The staff is also helpful and friendly and they have the nicest parking garage attendants anywhere. But unless you can stay for free, don't waste your dollars here unless a trip back to the tacky gaudy seventies is your goal.

Top Local Tips for Louisville

4th Street and the Galt House If you plan to go for a fun lesiure trip I don not advise you to stay at the Galt House, we paid 150.00 for our room and was anything but pleased, and honesly didnt really spend much time at the hotel. We did go to 4th Street Live and had an abousoutly fantastic time!!

Trolley saved our feet to avoid the hassle of many one way streets and save your gas, take the .25 trolley to shopping areas, the medical ctr, or any of the places the trolley stops. for savings on six flags, go to convention center to get biggest discount on tickets.

Take the Trolley Take the trolley to get around downtown. Only 50 cents.

(hotels)loading

Other names for The Galt House Hotel

  • the galt house hotel
  • galt house louisville ky
  • galt house hotel and suites
  • galt house
  • galt hotel louisville
  • galt hotel
  • Address: 140 Fourth Avenue North - Louisville - Kentucky - 40202 - United States
Travel Library Traveller Rating?
8.0/10

See All 615 reviews

"Hotel Gem!" - Cindy

Review this Hotel
Candid Traveller Photos
  •  Loading Image...
  •  Loading Image...
  •  Loading Image...
  •  Loading Image...
(hotels)loading

Hotels Near The Galt House Hotel