Preview Review

Next Review

Hilton Hotels Consumer Reviews - Page 2

Most Popular | Newest | More Options >
More filter options:
Horrible Experience
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA -- I recently called the Hilton front desk to ask if they partnered with any local florists so that I could send my girlfriend flowers there while she was staying in San Francisco. They stated that since they were a five star hotel that they don't allow outside flowers to be brought in to their hotel. They stated that I would have to contact the concierge and have them purchase and have the flowers delivered for me.

After contacting the concierge I had specifically told him several times that I had a maximum dollar amount that I would like to spend on them, and that if he could find her a nice arrangement under that amount I would appreciate it. Several times I specified that I didn't want to spend over this amount. The next morning I woke up and checked my bank statement, and was very surprised to see that the flower shop had charged me much more than the dollar amount I specified that I didn't want to go over. I originally brought this to the hotel management's attention. I was told repetitively that there was nothing that they could do.

I had spoken with the front desk person in the evening, during the day, and ** the night manager, and ** the concierge that took my original request. I was told that I would have to take this issue up with the flower shop that charged me, if I wanted any amount of money back due to the hotel not having any of my money and did not take a fee for this, that they cannot be held responsible for any refunds.

My answer to this was that ”If I were to have given your concierge $40 cash and said that I wanted flowers for said amount that he would have to adjust the cost appropriately, correct?” in return I got this response from the manager “But you didn't give him cash, did you, you gave him a credit card.” I feel that this is an unacceptable response.

When I spoke to the concierge that placed my order, and asked him why I was charged more than I asked him to place on my card he responded with this statement, “Sir, you asked me to get her $40 worth of flowers, and that's what I did. On top of the flowers, the florist charges for delivery and for the vase.” Again I feel that this is an unacceptable response. This feels like it is just word manipulation.

After speaking with 3 different employees and a manager, the manager said that if I would like to return the flowers that she would see if the florist would accept that. And yet again I was appalled by her even saying this as an option. The flowers had already arrived to the room and my girlfriend had already received them. This was not the fault of the florist and I was continued to make feel at fault. I am really not interested in speaking with the management at that hotel any further. If you have a central customer service line I would be happy to call that, or I would be satisfied continuing this conversation via email.

Replies
Most rude employees I've ever encountered
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

DEL MAR, CALIFORNIA -- I really have been dreading writing this review. I can, sometimes, get into the mood and write reviews that are negative, and I've been able at times to have fun with that, but this time? This time I wish so, so much that I didn't have to. This time, the negativity I need to review touched my kids, especially my daughter, and that just makes me sad. And now that the anger is a week old, it's really settled into disappointment. I have never been so poorly treated in my life, and neither has my daughter. Not from a company, not from a big or small company, ever.

We were there for a conference. A conference that was for kids and about kids. In other words, they knew we were coming, they knew that many kids would be there... this is really painful to write. First - the opening scene:

It began before I even checked in. We had to wait a bit to check in, so we decided to go get lunch in the hotel's cafe/bar area. I asked the front desk gentleman if sitting there was OK, if they had table service and if children were allowed in that area. He said yes, that was just fine, and we went and sat down. A man who appeared to be a manager glanced at us after more than a few minutes, and I asked if we could order.

"You want to order food?"
"Yes, please, I was told we could sit here...? We just need some menus."
"You want to eat here?"
"Um... yes, we do."
"You want to eat in the restaurant?"
"Are we able to eat here?"

At this point, I'm confused and think that maybe I misunderstood the front desk person, or maybe he was wrong... Nope, that wasn't it. "I'll go see if I can find a waitress," Mr. Maybe Manager says to me. Okay, that's cool... I'm still confused, but still laying that on me at this point.

A really nice young woman came over, said she was sorry she took so long, and can she get us drinks? She brought them, the table settings and the menus (the menus, by the way, were paper, like the kind you see that are often if not always, disposable. This comes into play later - trust me).

The young woman, whose name I would LOVE to have remembered was so good to us, so kind. She shared that it was her first day training to be a server in this capacity - Hilton? She is a lovely young Latina woman, her first training day was Wednesday, September 5th and this was around noon. She was one of two employees at the hotel that made me feel welcomed. That's it, out of all the others I ran into, so YAY to you, Miss! Thanks so much (my son's name is **, said in Spanish, she may remember us, at least I hope so!) for your kind personality and sweet disposition, let alone actually caring about our order and customer service.

I ordered the seared ahi and avocado salad. The tomatoes are sad, anemic things, but the rest tasted pretty good. My friend who arrived a bit later sat with us and then ordered the same thing - she noticed that she did not get the salad-y parts, like you know, green leafy stuff, like mine had. I didn't really grasp this until later, however, whatever, right? Places have off days, errors occur, life is not perfect and humans make mistakes - none of us are immune. But looking back in retrospect - this was the start. On to the rest...

We check in. Room is fine. Bathroom door opens up to the edge of the counter. Ah, not the best design, but no big deal. The plug for the bathtub? Broken and not attached. Ah, that happens, that's OK.

Housekeeping, while very sweet to arrange my kid's stuffed animals in a totally adorable way on the bed, forgot fresh cups for the coffee maker and gave me all decaf and no more sugars (the following day). The day after that, I told the front desk - please no service in my room, number __, They came anyway. Hmmm… front desk error, or their error? Don't know. The guy at the front said he took care of it, maybe wires got crossed? So they came when I asked them not to, and another time, didn't complete the mission properly. Ah, well things happen, right? Humans... errors... all that again.

Then I began to notice some other things happening... (see the updated review for part 2 - I took up too much space, lol!! As soon as I can update it, part 2 will be here - no luck yet!!!) The wedding party was loud. Late into the night, well past "quiet hours." We, as a group, had been admonished to keep our children quiet, to keep them close to us at all times, to have them in their rooms at 9 pm if under 18 (the ages ranged from baby to young adults in their 20's) & many other things that were quite unusual for the other (lovely!) Hiltons we have had conferences in. The wedding party however, were not chastised as so many of our kids were.

Seems if you are a drunken adult NOT a part of the conference, one can climb & then FALL off the huge, silver statue of a horse there. One can leave cans of Coors about the hotel. One can throw up in the ladies room & outside the elevator - no problem! But kids, skipping, playing, cartwheeling? Oh, no, no... not acceptable. I know I'm biased, but really, we have kids that are respectful, used to being treated with respect & as the equals they are (equal is NOT "same" btw). Some poor conference stepped in the vomit, I hate to say. Others have stories too, about the unbalanced guest care, the hypocrisy. They are telling their own tales, however.

Next night, sitting outside on the patio & my mom is leaving soon, we want to have a dinner together before she leaves. The waiter comes out & asks for her credit card! We were ordering DINNER, as we had before, & never have we had to give over a credit card (here or anywhere else)! These days, we are taught to never do this, it's bad enough that we "have" to for an open tab for just drinks. But who pays for their dinner before they even order it? Was this policy put in place that same day, as it hadn't ever happened before, patio, bar, restaurant or otherwise?

My mom refused & he, with an attitude, said that that was the only way we could order, unless we charged it to a room. My mom had checked out, but I hadn't, so I said to just put in on my room number & be done with it. We ordered. He asks what we'd like to drink, my mom gets a glass of wine & I say, nothing yet, but I'll order something soon. This really became much worse.

He reached over & began taking my daughter's new paper airplane & I stopped him & said, "Oh, that's not trash, that's my daughter's airplane!" He said, "It's our menu." I said, "Now it's a paper airplane." And he said, "This is the second time this has happened, these are our menus, you know!"

Hmm. So the story was out? And the manager said nothing to me at all about not doing this again, they had seen us playing tic tac toe & hangman on other ones, no one had ever said to us that we shouldn't do that, & as I said, they were those flimsy, regular paper ones. No laminate, not cardstock, not thick paper - cheap, paper-paper! The kind that many places actually MAKE kid's menus on that have printing so kids can play on them & whatnot. But had we been asked, of COURSE we wouldn't have used them for play. But you all need to ask & tell us, how can we know otherwise, especially if it had been done before & no one said anything?

Then he says, with a smirk no less (& no, I'm not kidding or over exaggerating) "You know you can't have outside drinks here. What's in your cup?" Really?? OK, here's my mistake, & I will own up to it & own the situation. I had a beer. Yes, my own beer. In a plastic cup. A cup that actually I had been using previously with beer I ordered from the bar. I ordered a lot of drinks & a lot of food there. Was I supposed to have it? No, & yes, I know that. And yes, I broke a rule & for that, I admit to being in the wrong.

But this... person was RUDE. At this point, I'm pissed off. Each thing had been adding up & I just broke & I said, with equal 'tude, "Ginger ale," & smirked right back at him. He said, "That's not ginger ale, ginger ale doesn't foam like that. You are not allowed to have that here." So... I lost it. I said, "Fine, I cancel my order!" & I left. And left I did. I had it with all of this. I checked out a day early & went home.

I will NOT go back there again. I hope the conference is elsewhere next year (it's pretty much an annual event that we REALLY look forward to each year) because I really dread going there again. The 2 wonderful waitresses (both Latinas, & man do I wish I had their names!) were LOVELY - they deserve a raise & respect. The 2 bartenders I dealt with? Sheesh, take some customer service training & learn some respect. Front desk - same with you all. You know? All the women I ran into were GREAT... interesting. Those 2 were just GREAT. But I really will have to consider if I will go back. Both my kids don't want to, & they LOVE the conference(s).

The people in our group were GREAT & we love them to bits - but I'm not sure it'll be enough to have to possibly cope with this kind of rude behavior again. I hope they take a lesson from the AMAZING staff at the Hilton Vancouver, WA. Time to review a few more places, in fact! Happier ones!

Replies
Heartless Gettysburg
By -

GETTYSBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA -- I check into the Hilton Garden Inn in Gettysburg, PA for A quick stay so I could attend church the following morning. I check in with my children, sister, and parents. When I first arrive I was treated with great customer service, no complaints whatsoever. They were very friendly, attention to detail, and just plain pleasant. It was not until the morning that I was shown the true color of the Hilton.

My room was on the first floor close to the pool area so me and my family went back and forth to the pool often. My family's rooms were on the 3rd floor so it was easiest to go to my room for things. Let's just with so many people going back and forth my towels in my room was used up quickly. So in the morning when we took our showers, We need more towels. My sister realized this first (who is an ex-Hilton employee) so she grab a towel for the weight room and took her shower. So when my girls went to take a shower there were no towels and I didn't see any employees so when they got finish I decided I would just run to the pool and grab 3 towels thinking that would be quicker than waiting for staff to come.

In doing this I went to the pool area and retrieved the towels and on my way back to the room I was approached by a very irate looking woman who tried to snatch the towels from my hand. I ask her watch she was doing after I gave her the most bizarre look that my face could show. She said she was housekeeper manager and I cannot have those towels. I am still walking away from her (thinking I got girls in the shower that want out, I have to go to them that are alone) she is still in pursuit trying to rip the towels from my arms. I kindly tell her my dilemma and I have to hurry.

She said that people that take towels from the pool room are stealing but she will go get me some. She said you are not allowed to take a towel from the pool because they are counted and they know who takes the towels and where they go. We are not at my room. I hand her the towels like no big deal just go and get me some, the kids are finished. Now my kids are out of the shower just in the bathroom screaming, "where is the towel?" The housekeeper leaves and comes back with one towel. Remember I gave her three. I said "I need more towels" then, "this one is not enough and please hurry the kids are out of the shower."

She said who do I think I am to give her directions. It is not my place to tell her what to do. This is all in an irate tone with kids screaming in the background. So I tell her in a very strong tone to go get the towels and bring them back right away. She told me where were all the towels for my room and she say my sister take a towel earlier from the weight room where is that towel. She said, “where is all the towels?” I'm so upset that I go in the room get the pile of dirty towels and throw them at her feet including the weight room towel and say "see here is all your towels, I do not steal." And I resent the remark or accusations as if I did or would.

I told her I want to speak to her manager now. Turned around and went back inside the room fuming and told my kids to dry off with a blanket, because she never did come back. After I got them dress I went to the front and the housekeeper was at the front desk telling the front desk clerk she had to stop someone from taking towels. Again she talks as if I wanted to steal.

I go to the front desk and ask to speak to a manager right away. No one comes, instead the front desk person ask what is going on. I give him a quick version while I tell him I need to speak to a manager and the housekeeper then says it is Hilton Official Policy to check towels of every hotel guest. She told me that when I check out they will count my dirty towels and if any towels is missing that the Hilton will call the police and press charges.

I look at the front desk attendant and said "do you hear this?" She continues to accuse me of trying to steal. Now there are other hotel guest in and out the lobby and one woman was leaving the pool area with a towel and nothing is said to her. Did I mention I am AFRICAN-AMERICAN and this lady was white? But the front desk clerk backs the housekeeper play and says "yes we will count the towels."

And to make matters worse the maintenance man comes up front and says what is the problem, meanwhile my father has join in the conversation, and the housekeeper says towels might be missing and he says "yes you people left beer bottles in the swimming pool area and there was no drinking in the pool and you people left the gym room dirty." I called him a flat out liar. He said "yes you people did I have a surveillance camera" that only he can look at and he knows it was us. I told him he lies. I am pregnant and we were not drinking.

I demanded to see this surveillance camera and see us with beer going into the pool area and drinking while there. He said no he was the only one to see it. We saw the night before two couples going into the pool with beers (remember my room is right by the pool) and seem to be having fun, not that it matters to me but they were two white couples, and enjoy the time away for home. So I say back to this maintenance worker that he could not have look at a surveillance tape because if he did he would of saw who went in the drinking, I know I did.

I was getting nowhere this people they were a united front and they would not get me a manager. Finally some woman walk up and tells me that it was just a miscommunication because the housekeeper and maintenance worker for foreigners. I told her to "please stop it and don't insult my intelligence they know exactly what they are saying. They speak clear English." So I walk away and tell them this is not over I will be complaining about my service here. I go back to the room and take the kids to breakfast in the lobby area, come back to my room at like 10 am and my room key was not working. They disconnected my key and closed the weight room.

I was fuming. I went to the front desk to the front desk a few choice words and demanded my key be re-keyed. He did, I grab my stuff and left. A few days later I sent an email to the GM of customer service in which she got back to me right away and apologize for her rude staff and said she spoke to the parties that was there and they told he about the terrible way the housekeeper was acting and she explain to me that she behave this way because she was pregnant and that she is like a golden employee of the hotel.

I told her, her behavior had nothing to do about being pregnant and what about maintenance he is not pregnant. She apologized and said she would refund me my money back since I had a horrible time. This was in February, I need received my refund. In March I went to the PA human relation commission about my treatment believing I was discriminated against. We were the only African-American family there. They took my complaint and contacted the hotel and that is where we are at. See what happens.

Replies
Worst Hilton in The World
By -

SALALAH, OMAN, SOUTH CAROLINA -- This Hotel is by far the worst Hilton I have ever stayed in, and I have stayed in Hiltons all over the world! The staff is rude, curt, they do not listen to their guests, they do not follow up to resolved guest's issues, and one of them actually hung up the phone on me! I checked in on 8 Apr, 2010, and immediately went to work in Thumrait. Upon returning that my room at the hotel later that evening, I tried to connect to the internet - a seemingly simple undertaking. I could not connect, so I called the front desk. I was told to reboot and try it again, which I did to no avail.

I called back, and I was connected to the internet service provider who said it was not their problem and that I should contact the hotel IT staff. I called the front desk back again, and attempted to explain what I had found out, and was hung up on. I called back again, and the person at the front desk said his IT staff said they did not have a problem - it must be a problem with my computer. I told them that I was here on business and that it was absolutely critical that I be able to use the internet at all times!

I was told that the IT staff would be in the next morning, so they made an appointment for them to come to my room @ 11:00 AM. Needless to say, no one showed up. They also did not give me my 8:00 AM wake up call, so I missed the breakfast that is included with my room rate. I made at least 2 calls to the front desk each day, with no resolution, and the person on the phone had only one objective - to get me off the phone as soon as possible!

Finally, on 10 Apr, after being without the necessary service I required for 2 days, I got the front desk manager on the phone. He sent his IT person to my room. These are the same people who had previously told me that there must be a problem with my computer. I told him that I was getting dressed for work, but that they could come anyway, because I needed the situation resolved.

After working on it for 30 minutes, the IT person admitted there was no problem with my computer! I handed him by business card, which has my title - Network Architect, and explained to him that I was already well aware that my computer had no problem because I build networks for a living. I also told him that I tried to tell the previous people I had spoken with the same thing, but none of them were bothering to listen to me.

He finally went back and fixed his switch, which was the problem all along. I told the front desk manager that I wanted a refund for the first 2 days, because I had not had access to the necessary service to perform my work. I then went to work in Thumrait. When I returned, I had a bottle of wine in my room. Nice touch, too bad I don't drink alcohol. I also had a selection of fruit, also a nice touch. Unfortunately, none of it makes up for the fact that I have been denied the ability to perform my function simply because the night staff at this Hilton is totally unprofessional and rude!

I am still not satisfied. My company sends teams to this location on a regular and constant basis. My intentions are to inform my company of the service issue here so that future teams will be directed to another hotel that understands what customer service is. I also intend to lodge a complaint with as many different agencies as I can find, and to post my experience on the various internet web sites that do hotel reviews.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, on 9 Apr, 2010, while taking a shower, all the power went off in my room! Believe me when I tell you, it is quite dark with the curtains closed. I cut my finger trying to feel my way out of the shower in the dark. Fortunately, I did not slip and fall, because I perhaps could have injured myself quite badly! When I got dressed and went outside, the housekeeping person told me that it wasn't just my room, but the whole hotel!

Replies
Advertisement
Poor Quality Services for Hilton Hotel Chain
By -

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA -- My husband & I were traveling to San Diego for my work training conference.

EXCESSIVE ROOM RATES. My conference at the Hilton Bayfront hotel offered a reduced room rate which I initially booked for $220/day for 8 days & our final night was to be $345. When I went to book our flights I found that we could book the entire trip (room & flights) for about $2,100 through Expedia. I then cancelled our conference rate rooms since it was about the same our combined room/flights through Expedia. This was done 4 days before our check-in. One of my classmates said she booked directly her directly with the hotel & she got her room for $99/night M-TH & F-S at $220.

LACK OF AIRPORT TRANSPORTATION. We found out at that time that they do not provide any type of transportation from or to the airport even though it is only about 3 miles from the airport. It cost us almost $14 before for our taxi to the hotel. At check-in they still showed my other reservation & said that I would be charged for it unless I had the cancellation number. I had to open my suitcase in their lobby to provide this information (I was most irritated because I had called the hotel directly to book & cancel).

INTERNET ACCESS. At that time I was informed that my change in reservation no longer entitled me to free internet. If I wanted internet access it would be $13.95/day - who does not offer free internet or at least a room with internet for guests to use while staying at their hotel? Must be a Hilton Hotel!!! I was also informed by a classmate that their internet access is very spotty & will disconnect while in use.

PARKING. We had looked into renting a car for our 9 day stay & we were told that they charge $21/day for parking - $30/valet parking. It would have cost us more to park the car for the week as it would have cost us to rent the car.

NO COMPLIMENTARY BREAKFAST. They do not offer a complimentary breakfast or even a reduced cost at any of the on premises restaurants. You even have to exit the hotel to enter at least 2 of the on-site restaurant. The breakfast buffet in their inside restaurant was $25/person.

HOUSEKEEPING. After our first night we returned to our room the next afternoon to find that our towels had been replaced however no dirty towels or washcloths or dirty glasses had been taken. When I called the front desk their response was that if they were not on the floor the housemaids would assume that we were going to re-use them so they would not remove them. Really, at a place you are paying so much per night you would think that you could count on them just automatically removing obviously used items.

LOUD MUSIC. Our second night about 11:00 pm someone on our floor starting playing music so loud that you could hear it above the TV. I was trying to get to sleep for my 8:00 am meeting. After about 15 minutes, I called the front desk & complained. They said they would send security right up. 20 minutes later it was still going strong. I called the front desk & was given the same response - I did tell them that I had called previously. Another 20 minutes passed with no change. I called the front desk again & told them that I wanted something done now because had an early meeting.

Again I informed them of my previous calls. I told her if they could not stop the noise I wanted another room. "**" apologized again & said they would get right on it after I asked her name. About 10 minutes later the music finally stopped. About 2 hours it started again however it was not as loud. If you are looking for value and great service(s) in San Diego - don't book in at the Hilton Bayfront. They charge too much and provide too little in return... Beware.

Replies
Reservations are Useless!
By -

LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS -- I recently stayed at the Hilton Hotel in Little Rock, AR while I was on my honeymoon. I made a reservation 2 days before my stay. I had reserved a balcony room that was a smoking room. I had been informed the room would come with double queen beds and a refrigerator. When I arrived to claim my room I was not greeted with a smile or a professional attitude. I wasn't given an explanation before a lady handed me a room key and told me the way to my room that was on the main floor. I inquired about my balcony and then was told that the 3rd floor was closed off for the day.

I made sure that my rate had been lowered to the rate of a room without a balcony and was satisfied enough to just take the room that I was assigned. The room was nice even though my balcony view had been traded for a beautiful view of the inclined parking lot. I began to look around and then noticed that the beds were only full size and our room was no smoking. Not to mention, there was no fridge. I went to the front desk to try to resolve the situation. This time, I was greeted with a smile by a different lady, but she had no clue that the 3rd floor was closed.

After she made a few calls, she found that the floor had been closed and no one had a chance to inform her at that time. I asked her if there was a smoking room available and she explained that the only smoking rooms were on the 3rd floor. I explain to her that I had purposely made a reservation in order to find a room with everything that would make my stay more comfortable and by not being able to stay in the that room had costs me everything that I had reserved the room for. She very kindly made the room a smoking room for the night to accommodate me.

So basically I took time while planning my honeymoon to find a room that was everything that I wanted us to stay in and didn't get any of it, but got plenty rude service. The reservation is not the only complaint I have on this hotel. The bartender was very unprofessional. My husband and I ordered a drink each. He asked for a tip before we could give him one. He suggested drink and then couldn't remember how to make them. He didn't know what time the pool closed. He was very rude and unknowledgeable about his place of business.

None of these complaints harmed anyone and they weren't unbearable, but when you go through the trouble of making reservations then you're doing it so you'll get what you want and when a company is unable to give you what you reserved, I feel you should be upgraded to something better and be given the rate for the one you weren't about to get, if possible. Especially for a honeymoon reservation. The lady that took my reservation call was informed that honeymooners would be staying that hotel and the hotel would be told we were coming.

While I was on my honeymoon, I didn't want any special treatment, but I also didn't want any problems with the plans that I had made prior to the event. I have several bad memories of my hotel experience at the Hilton that unfortunately determine the outcome of what I will remember about my honeymoon.

Honestly, If I had known that I was going to have to settle for a standard double bed room, then there were plenty other hotels that I could have stayed at for a lower rate and closer to the activities we had planned for our visit to little rock, but because I was on my honeymoon and everything had been planned previously, I took the room to avoid wasting time that I needed to spend with my new husband.

When I went to check out, I was not able to pay with the method of my choice which was my last inconvenience during my stay. I will never stay at that Hilton again. The Hilton was my top choice of hotel during my honeymoon as long as it was in our budget and close enough to where we needed to be. Staying in the Hilton's Tupelo, MS location was our first plan, but when that changed, I purposely looked for a Hilton in Little Rock first to see if reservations were available. The Hilton in Little Rock let me down. I would not recommend it to anyone.

Replies
Bait & Switch
By -

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- As a new "Hilton Honors" program member I was cold-called about a "getaway package for two" for three days and two nights in a big city. Included in the package was the promise of $100 in "Hilton Dollars" that I could use for any product or service at the hotel and two packages of coupons (each worth $75) that could be used for museums, concerts, plays, etc. In the city. The net price taking into account the value of the "gifts," while not too good to be true, seemed like a great deal.

All I had to do was take a tour of a mock-up of Hilton's newest time share unit. Upon completion of the tour I would get my gifts. That was fine with me. The tour was at the hotel I would be at. Fine with me. The only restriction was that the package could not be used for a Thursday, Friday or Saturday night. That was fine with me, too. I like to vacation in the middle of the week anyway. I was told that I could schedule the tour at my convenience and they would be happy to work around my schedule. But as I spoke to people at Hilton several times as I tried to book the visit more restrictions emerged.

Ultimately the restrictions included I could only use the coupons and Hilton Dollars while I was a registered guest at the hotel, I could not take the tour the day I checked in, and for many months during the year (including the time I wanted to go) there were no tours on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Huh?

Think about it. I couldn't arrive for Sunday-Monday-Tuesday because I would never be able to take the tour and get my gifts. Ditto for Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday. Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday was theoretically possible but I'd have to use all the gifts on Thursday after the tour but before checkout. Wednesday-Thursday-Friday was out because the package was not good on a Thursday Night. Similarly, Friday-Saturday-Sunday and Saturday-Sunday-Monday were out. Sunday-Monday-Tuesday? Nope, see above.

So it went from they will work around my schedule (with just the Thursday-Friday-Saturday restriction) to only one possible option: Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday trying to cram in the use of all the "free gifts" Thursday after the tour and before checkout.

By this time I was so annoyed I didn't want anything to do with Hilton. The person I was dealing with was so perky and cheery and seemed to have no comprehension of the problem that I wanted to scream! But they had already billed my credit card and there were no refunds. But when I told them that I was going to contest the charge with my credit card company and write to the Hilton "Complaint Departments" in Memphis and Beverly Hills with a cc to the Attorneys General and Better Business Bureaus in the state I lived and the state the hotel was in they said they would cancel the package and reverse the charges. It remains to be seen if that will happen.

How they can do stuff like this and not see what bad business it is, is totally beyond my comprehension. Are they that dense? And even if I had taken the Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday option (and managed to use all the gifts before checkout on Thursday) there wasn't a snowball's chance in Hades that I would have bought a timeshare from them after this bait-and-switch. Hilton is forever off my list!

Resolution Update 02/23/2009:

The charges on my credit card were reversed.

Replies
Poor Customer Service At Hilton Dulles
By -

HERNDON, VIRGINIA -- I found this site while doing a Google search for contact information for Hilton Corporate. I decided to post this because of another posting about Hilton Dulles. I have worked in the service industry all my life and have never held a position I would have kept if I mistreated people. The Hilton chain prides itself on meeting the needs of their guests, so I don't think it's unreasonable to expect good service from their chain, no matter what the circumstances. In this case the guests had already been put through the wringer before they arrived, so I feel it is unacceptable and worthy of bringing to their attention and that of people who are choosing accommodations.

My husband is Active Duty Army and recently deployed to Iraq, but was sent back to California for a week due to a death in his family. When I found out he had an overnight layover just a couple hours away I immediately went to work researching hotels so we could make the most of our evening together. I spent several hours on the internet looking for just the right accommodations. I considered booking the Hyatt, but ended up going with the Hilton because we have stayed at other Hiltons several times and have had pleasant experiences.

I didn't skimp on expense and went with an upgraded room. I checked in before picking up my husband to set out roses, candles, champagne and chocolates; and requested champagne flutes, red wine glasses, and robes be brought to our room. They arrived promptly, and the gentleman who delivered them was very friendly, as were the gentlemen at reception. The next day we enjoyed the pool and ordered room service. Again, the service was good, and the food was satisfactory.

My husband explained to the lady who was working at reception that he had a late flight and she was kind enough to say we could stay in the room until 5 pm with no extra charge. Unfortunately our keys stopped working at 2 pm, so we made some purchases at the gift shop and then checked out and headed to the mall. We went back to the airport and I said a tearful goodbye to my husband as he boarded his flight to Kuwait. I was already approaching Richmond when my husband called to tell me there had been a mechanical problem and his flight had been rescheduled for the next evening.

Exhausted but excited to have one more night with him, I headed back to Washington DC and picked him up again at around midnight. I was delighted when he told me the airline had given him a voucher to stay at the Hilton. I waited in the car while he checked in. When he returned to the car he looked displeased and I asked him what was wrong.

He told me he had requested the same room we had stayed in the night before (since the maid had finished with our floor before we checked out and they may not have cleaned it for new guests anyway) but the lady at reception had very coldly told him she had already done him a favor and she didn't grant two favors a day. This was after saying “not with this voucher, you can't”. I asked him why he didn't offer to pay the difference and he said he was so shocked at how she had just treated him and was so tired he wanted to get away from her and get to bed. He also said it was the Hilton and he was sure the accommodations would be fine.

We arrived at the room and upon entering looked at each other in bewilderment. The room looked more like one you would find at a Motel 6, certainly not the Hilton. It was generally shabby in appearance, complete with metallic beer bottle opener on the unfinished bathroom counter. The room was not clean. The glasses had obviously not been washed, only wiped - leaving a greasy film on the inside of them. The bathroom was also dirty, with a previous guest's facial hair on the vanity and inside the sink.

I asked my husband if he would like me to go book us an upgraded room and he responded that if this was how he was going to be treated he wasn't interested in supplying the Hilton with further revenue. The poor service did continue the next day when he ordered breakfast and the server said she needed to explain to him how the meal voucher worked. She went on to explain that the voucher did not cover the service charge, tax, or gratuity; which I found insulting because of the way she said it. It seemed to us that because he had an unfortunate occurrence with the flight the hotel staff assumed we did not have any money and therefore did not deserve good service.

My husband took a sizable cut in pay to enlist - but we do have the financial ability to get by just fine based on prior good decisions and hard work. The other passengers on that flight were made up of a majority of private contractors who make very good money while building the infrastructure of a country whose people are not as fortunate as those of us who were born in this great nation. For the staff at Hilton to assume these people do not have the financial standing to expect good accommodations and service is a miscalculation; not only from a customer service aspect, but from a general business aspect.

I don't believe the Hilton won over any returning customers that evening. I say this with the understanding that many other passengers from that flight felt insulted by the treatment they received as well (they even decided when these guests arrived on a shuttle to stop serving hard liquor at the lounge early, leaving a bunch of male contractors to try to decide what kind of wine to drink).

People were talking, and they weren't saying good things. My husband pointed out that the hotel parking lot was empty that night and it would have been easy enough for the employees to book us into rooms that would have met the expectations of the Hilton clientele. Not suites, just reasonable accommodations. On top of sub-standard rooms they decide to be rude and condescending?

The income of their guests should be irrelevant anyway. Lots of couples save their pennies so they can splurge on a nice hotel for a special occasion. The agreement Hilton has with United Airlines should be used as an opportunity to boost the reputation of their hotels and encourage repeat business. While I have had pleasant stays at other locations, I will certainly not be returning to Hilton Dulles.

Replies
Advertisement
Lack Of Safety For Young Women And Children At The Dulles Hilton
By -

WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA -- I wrote 3 e-mails to the Hilton Hotel Corp. with no response to my complaints or concerns. I feel others traveling to DC should be aware of what could happen if you are not watching your back. Below is one of the e-mails sent to a director of the Hilton Corp. with no response.

I have some disturbing news from my daughter who are staying at the Dulles Hilton until Sunday 8/10/08. I am 3000 miles away and can't protect my kids myself and right now I want to jump on a plane just to make sure the rest of their trip is safe. I can't because I spent all my money on their trip. I don't like the responses I have gotten from your Guest Services as well as the Front Desk Manager. I have yet to hear from the General Manager. I was so glad the girls would be staying at a Hilton, I thought it would be safe. Right now I don't feel that way.

Someone opened their room door (246) at 6 am (bolt was on) couple of days ago. (Not reported right when it happened.) Last night someone opened their room door at 11 pm (bolt on). Reported as soon as it happened, told about #1 at this time. They got up at 5 am this morning and all the gas was taken from their rental car, which was damaged in the process. I informed the Security this morning about the car/gas the girls where leaving at 5 am to catch a train to NY for the day. They had to rush to get gas again so they could get to the train station.

Security said they were checking on these things, but I am one really angry mama bear. I was told by the Desk Manager this morning, J. ** that I could always move my children to another hotel. Wrong answer. That is just the type of customer service I DID NOT EXPECT OR DESERVE. I understand the employees are working on the issue but the excuses they are coming back with are not acceptable. Security said it was housekeeping at 6 am, girls were a sleep when it happened. Housekeeping #2 looking for a fridge. Any employee of a hotel is supposed to knock and announce themselves, that did not happen either time.

Car/gas no response from Security. I spoke with them at 7 am Pacific time. Car parked in garage but no camera in that area. Jessica/Whitney will file a police report Saturday 8/9/08. Jessica is 20, Whitney is 21 and Thai is 12. I took precautions to make sure the girls stayed at the same hotel during Thai's Jr. Leadership Conference at the Dulles Hilton. General Information: Reservation under Jessica ** and Whitney ** Additional guest as of 8/7: Thai **. Check-In/Out: August 2nd through August 10th, 2008. Room # ** (Hilton Dulles). Room being paid by: Nadine **.

I have told the girls that when they return tonight to DC they are to have Security walk them to their room and check the room before they enter it. I will call the police if one more thing happens that disturbs the girls. I have no other recourse. Any questions you can call Nadine, Jessica or Whitney.

Replies
Customer Service Fiasco Rant
By -

My fiance and I booked a block of rooms for our wedding at the Homewood Suites because the location is perfect for our reception. Booking the hotel was quite easy, however things quickly took a downward turn. According to the assistant manager **, the contract that we signed stated that the booking required a block of 15 rooms, and 60% of them were mandatory. We felt that we had been told the booking was for 10 rooms. Unfortunately wedding planning can involve a ton of decision making and stress, so it's hard to say for sure at this point if we were told 10 rooms or 15... but no matter.

We never received a copy of the contract so I can't read it to be sure what the wording is anyway. It was evident a month or so prior to the wedding that we were not going to be able to fill the required space so we began calling to speak with **, who had put our reservation together. She did not call us back. We tried for literally weeks to get her on the phone, but she continued to ignore us.

When the wedding was 10 days away I was finally able to get ** on the phone by acting really friendly with the girl at the front desk, at which point ** told me that there was nothing I could do to change things because it was so close to the wedding. When I asked her why she didn't call us back, she lied and said that she did, and had spoken to my fiancé. She then told me several times in a robot voice implying a scripted response and a well-rehearsed emotional detachment, that if I had the names of additional people who would be staying that she could take their reservations.

I didn't really know what to do at that point because I honestly wasn't sure where the miscommunication was coming from, so I told her my fiancé would call her shortly. I wished her luck with that, and she laughed and said, "Thanks". After hearing her peculiar laugh, I had the thought that she knew something I didn't. In retrospect I think what she knew was that she would be somewhere else for the next couple hours to avoid some phone calls.

Once again, when we called her back a little while later she didn't answer her phone. We left a message, and then called back and asked for the assistant manager **, who also did not answer his phone. After an hour of not receiving a call back, I called back and was transferred to the manager, who also did not answer. I decided at that point that I needed to be a little bit firm in my request to speak to a live person.

I called back for the 6th or so time, and I demanded to speak to a manager, telling them an answering machine was simply not good enough this time. I was finally transferred back to the assistant manager **, who was in his office. I asked ** about the contract, which he said was for 15 rooms. I then asked him why we did not receive calls back earlier, as ** had stated that if we had been able to speak to someone, the block could have been lifted. He told me that their employees are very busy with giving tours (which of course nobody was available to give us when we stopped in originally), and do not sit in their offices all day answering phone calls.

At this point I became rather upset. He then explained to me that he was a new assistant manager, and that he wasn't working there when we signed the contract so he had no responsibility in the matter. I told him that just because he wasn't working there when we signed the contract didn't mean that it wasn't his job as assistant manager to help me. It felt at the time that he was enjoying our conversation, I kid you not.

He sounded content in the knowledge that a contract was a contract, that he didn't have to help us if he didn't want to, and I am entirely convinced that the worst thing about it from his perspective at that point was that I managed somehow to actually get him on the phone. I expressed these views rather sarcastically and he told me he was upset with my language, though I hadn't swore at him at all. I decided to call him on this, and tell him that he was being a jerk. I figured if he's going to criticize my language I might as well be earning it to some degree. He then told me that it was me that was being a jerk.

I don't think that's one of the three sentences he memorized in the customer service manual, but he was trying to think on the fly so you got to give him points for the effort. I figured that if ** is calling me a jerk, our conversation should probably end, so I then asked him if I should speak to his manager if, in fact, his manager had been there when the contract was signed. The idea of the situation getting ran further up the flagpole must have struck a chord, because he then told me that I might as well just cancel everything because it was obvious he wasn't going to be able to help me.

This was the first time anyone had suggested this was an even an option. I said fine, cancel everything... I was starting to get a whole new level of upset and felt the need to get off the phone quickly before I said something horrible. ** verbally agreed to delete our block of rooms, but also said he would delete the reservations of my guests that had booked there and now I must call them and inform them that their hotel reservations have been lost. When I cooled off and called back to check the names of the guests that I would have to do this for, I was informed that the reservations were still active. I guess ** must have taken off for the day before he had a chance to finish deleting my reservation.

Overall, I understand that a contract is a legal binding document and that by signing it we subjected ourselves to the mercy of the hotel in such a case. However, if you do book here for a wedding, do not expect for the staff to care about you. Do not expect the staff to return phone calls. Do not expect the staff to answer their phones if there is a dispute and they are expecting your call, or to call you back. Do not expect them to be pleased when you finally get them on the phone. Do not expect even the lowest common denominator of service from this group, because you will not receive it.

They do not care about customer service, they will ignore you and hope you go away, and if you finally act mad enough to the front desk to actually get someone on the phone... expect it to be somebody who is not only disinterested in helping you, but is annoyed that you demanded so strongly to speak to them that the front desk actually listened to you.

Expect that they will use any excuse they can to avoid responsibility for any problems that exist. Expect them to try to talk over you or through you, in the attempt to "solve" the problem by frustrating you to the point that you give up. All in all, booking these rooms was by far the worst experience I have ever had with any hotel in my entire life, and I've stayed in European hostels. The fact that I won't be staying there is the best thing I can say about it, because these people just simply don't care and at this point I'm pretty sure they'd try to screw me over somehow just for kicks.

If there was any way that the telling of my experience could influence people to choose a different hotel, I would do it... and it's a nice day and I could be at the pool instead. I like to have fun in my free time, but I'd waste an entire summer day of my life to spread the word about how ** and ** treated us 10 days before my wedding. It sucked that bad.

Replies
Top of Page | Next Page >

Hilton Hotels Rating:
Star Half star Empty star Empty star Empty star
1.5 out of 5, based on 23 ratings and
100 reviews & complaints.
Contact Information:
Hilton Hotels
9336 Civic Center Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
310-278-4321 (ph)
www.hilton.com
Product/Services
Compare Hotels/Motels