The Limelight Hotel Sun Valley review

Booking this stay

The Limelight hotel is a part of the American Express The Hotel Collection, so I booked through AMEX to receive a $100 property credit and space-available upgrade. The room rates were high, so I booked the base room in hopes of an upgrade since the base room was close to $700 per night after taxes.

Arrival and check-in

I was pleasantly surprised to find out the hotel offers complimentary airport pick ups and drop offs. Friedman Memorial Airport, which is actually located in a neighboring town called Hailey, is about 20 minutes from the hotel by car. I arranged my pick-up the week before my arrival, and I was picked up outside of baggage claim in a Limelight branded suburban. 

Upon arriving at the hotel, the front desk agent was very friendly and aware I had booked through American Express. She upgraded me from the base deluxe room to a grand deluxe room, but wasn’t able to move me to side of the hotel with better views because they were very full for several weddings that weekend.

Grand deluxe room

I was pleasantly surprised by the grand deluxe room for both its spaciousness and amenities. To the immediate right when you walked in there was an exposed closet with plenty of storage, a tower of drawers and a small micro-kitchen with a sink, microwave, mini-fridge, coffee maker and glassware. 

On the left was the large bathroom with Limelight branded refillable toiletries, which smelled decent. 

The room had a king-size bed, a dining table with bench seating, and small reading chair in the corner. The view wasn’t anything special because my room was facing the main street in town and the grocery store across the street. There was some definitely some road noise during peak times, but it wasn’t distracting at night for sleeping.

Main property

Most of the hotel’s amenities were located on the ground floor, which included a restaurant with a bar and indoor/outdoor seating, lounge area with fireplace, gym, and outdoor pool with a hot tub. 

The hotel is a great gathering space and the bar was popular at night with out of town guests. One evening at dinner, they had live music on the patio. 

The town itself is very small, so the hotel’s location is perfect for walking anywhere in town. There is a grocery store caddy corner to the hotel, Starbucks and other coffee outposts a short walk away, a Lululemon on the next block and plenty of restaurants within a 10 minute walking radius.

Service and amenities

I found the service to be friendly but young. I would describe any interaction I had with the staff as serviceable. The hotel charges a hefty resort fee, which covers things like free wifi, complimentary breakfast each morning, yoga classes, complimentary flat and sparkling water refilled in your room etc. Surprisingly, it didn’t cover parking which was an additional $18 per night. It would have been great if they included that in the resort fee. Also, both days after cleaning our water wasn’t refilled in our room.

One amenity I did use was their car share program with Audi. I needed to get to a rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding, so I borrowed an Audi e-tron the hotel has for guests. They were initially very strict about me needing to return the car within 2 hours, but granted me an exception to return it later when I asked. 

The hotel also offer complimentary breakfast each morning, but it wasn’t very tasty. How do you mess up eggs and hash browns?! The coffee wasn’t great either. Most mornings I went to the Starbucks in town instead. 

Considerations

There are not very many hotels options in Sun Valley, but I think this hotel would fit the bill for most visitors depending on the rates. I’m not sure it was worth the rate I paid, but I needed to be there on a specific weekend. I certainly do not think it would be worth staying there if the rates were even higher. 

If you do decide to stay at Limelight, I’d definitely recommend booking through American Express’s The Hotel Collection to get the property credit and space-available upgrade if you have a qualifying card.