Hotel Hampton by Hilton di Dobson

Cannot believe that it took me so long to write this negative review for the Dobson North Carolina Hampton Inn! My wife and I, plus 2 close friends booked this hotel in advance, planning to visit the Shelton Vineyards. We arrived in a downpour late evening, got our key card to the room and was greeted in the hallway coming out of the elevator by a maintenance staff member. He asked if that was our car and trailer in the parking lot, mentioning that we were not permitted to park in the hotel parking lot and very politely requested us to see the front desk. We turned around and went to the front desk and we were told that we could not park our car and trailer in the hotel parking lot. The front desk attendant stated that we would have to park off-site. We obliged, went down to the off-site lot, finding that it was a make-shift construction lot at the end of a dead-end road approximately 100 yards away from the hotel. It was still raining quite hard, and dark, un-attended, no lights in a cornfield with loose gravel. We almost got stuck in the loose gravel since our car was front wheel drive. With it raining and conditions were unsafe, I made the decision to go back to the empty hotel parking lot. We stated our concerns, and were told the car would be towed. We just could not believe what we heard!! With that said, we contacted another hotel within a few miles, made a reservation, handed in our room card, and said we would not be staying at their Hampton Inn. We then requested a refund, which was refused. We never received any compensation from the Dobson Hampton Inn. We were treated so poorly and rudely by an unapologetic staff member. The general manager never reached out to us, even though we requested she phone us! Being a Hilton Silver Honors member, my wife and I were just stunned by the threat of being towed. It was a completely unacceptable experience. I have never been treated this poorly by any hotel, and especially a hotel chain that I frequently stay at on business. If we had known that their parking lot for trailers was offsite, unlit and a construction lot, we would never have booked this hotel. Just cannot believe that this type of unprofessionalism is tolerated by Hilton, and Shelton Vineyards. We did end up going to the winery the next day, had a great visit. Oddly enough, we were able to park our car and trailer in the winery’s parking lot. We can only hope that our disappointment with Dobson North Carolina Hampton Inn strikes a nerve with future travelers, especially those travelers that are H-Honors members. Hampton Inn has a 100% Hampton Guarantee™. If you’re not 100% satisfied, we don’t expect you to pay. That’s their promise and their guarantee… “If you are not 100% satisfied with your stay, you will not pay”. So not true. I view the Dobson Hampton Inn management as an embarrassment to the brands they represent.