I recently stayed at the Hilton Doubletree (two weeks ago) and all of the terrible reviews are completely true. I was set to stay at the hotel for two nights while on business. The front-desk staff was fine. There were hotel staff that met me in the lobby that made sure I got to the front-desk and checked-in. After I got my room key, I did get a nice warm chocolate chip cookie.
The check-in process was fine.
The hotel is dated and worn. The elevator floors were dirty, the carpet on each floor is dark (seems new) and the wallpaper is old.
Upon entering the room... WOW, what a smell. Smelled like an old basement.. Extremely musty!!! The room was damp.. The sheets on the bed were damp, to the point that it felt almost wet. Although the days I visited NY was the hotest and humid in July... There is no reason why the room was so damp.
I turned on the AC figuring the room just needed to get cool to act as a dehumidifier. I left and had dinner and walked around New York for 3 hours. When I returned.. the room was still very smelly with the must and the room was just as damp as when I left but now it was also cold.
My view overlooked an adjacent apartment building. Not the best view so I just shut the shades.
I called and complained about the room but they front desk said they were all booked. No rooms to be had. When I told her the room had a very bad odor. She quickly said, we can send someone up to spray. I told her no as the problem was the bathroom and it would take more than spray to fix this.
I turned on the TV and the sound did not work. I turned the volume all the way up and still no sound. I called for a tech, and literally, 5 minutes before he arrived, the sound kicked in.
When the tech arrived, I told him the TV now works and asked if he smelled the bad odor.. He said not really.. He is either very use to the smell or lying. There is no way he could not smell the room.
The bathroom was very old and there was a slimy film on the sink. I had to use a towel to clean it. The tub and shower are very old and the ceiling was peeling. Bathroom had so many chips chips and marks, I actually thought they were bugs when I had my glasses off.
I then checked Tripadvisor.com to see if other people had complained. An YES, almost everything listed in the Terrible/Bad sections was exactly what I was experiencing. I read about bed bugs and quickly check my room and bed for bugs. I did not see any, no signs of any and thank god, that was clean.
I had a bad night sleeping at the smell started to make me sick and the cold damp room made me actually wake up shivering. Before I went to bed, I called the front desk and told them I will not be staying a second night. No way in hell! I checked out at 5:00 AM, went and changed my train tickets and left a day early than planned due to the room. I then sat outside my office building for three hours waiting for the staff to arrive rather than having to spend one more sicking minute in the room .
Horrible, horrible and horrible. If you like rooms that are cold, damp and VERY, VERY smelly like and old basement where water has been sitting for years, then this is the hotel for you.
The staff was fine although the front-desk person responded to my complaint without missing a breath so that leads me to believe they hear about the musty smell all the time. There was no surprise in her voice.
Message to Hilton... Get your act together. Too many hotels in NYC to have to put up with that crap. A formal complaint will be going to Hilton corporate and you just lost a business account. I made sure I passed on my experience with our corporate travel group so other employees do not have to stay in the same accommodations.
Report card..
Staff professionalism, courtesy and friendly attitude – A+
Accommodations – F,F,F,F,F
I wish there were a grade below an F..
Good luck to future guests..
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