Hotel berhampiran Rocket City Fair, Huntsville

I was excited to try my first stay at a Hilton Garden Inn in Huntsville. Unfortunately, it will be my only stay at this hotel. Due to my Diamond Member status, I was offered a free upgrade to my room before I arrived! I was excited about it because it never happened before. However, my “upgrade” came with a broken refrigerator and inoperable jacuzzi! And when traveling with items needing to be kept cold, this was unacceptable. The jacuzzi was the “upgrade” but I never got a chance to utilize it. I hoped that by twisting the dials, checking the plugs, and wishing a little bit, that the fridge would be working when I returned from dinner….. it didn’t work. I knew calling the front desk was going to be fun. (Sarcasm!) Approximately 5 minutes earlier, I walked in the front door after dinner and saw the front desk employee sitting on her chair between the office and front desk looking like she couldn’t wait to go home. When I approached the desk, and stood there for a minute, she looked up and I was greeted with a look of “why are you bothering me!” I asked for two waters, which was then met with resentment, because she had to get up (I feel like). I was then met with an interrogation about the waters, and if I had gotten some before at check-in. The whole situation was rude and uncalled for. When I called Michelle at the front desk to talk about the fridge as I now knew it wasn’t working at all, I could tell that I was bothering her (once again). I told her the problem and she stated she would TRY and find someone to fix it. She also asked if it was plugged in… lol. Why would it NOT be plugged in? I then requested a room change, but she said she would find someone first. I told her this was supposed to be an “upgrade” to my original room and that was met with a “whatever sigh” and “I’ll call you back.” I was not pleased with the interaction as I’m sure no one would be. Approximately ten minutes later I received a phone call that no one could be found and I would get a new room. (I believe my original room - No upgrade). “Just come down and I’ll get you new key cards.” When I went to the front desk for the new key cards, I waited patiently off to the side as she dealt with another customer. As she was working she looked over to the side, saw me (and recognized me from the early interaction), rolled her eyes and said “here you go” with an attitude. Again, like I was bothering her. I finally got to my new room, and was able to “relax.” Other issues in this room included the bathroom was dirty, their were reddish-brown stains near the trash can and on the wall (you make up your own mind on that substance), the shower was sub-par with weak pressure, and the light to the thermostat wouldn’t dim. (I finally removed the whole thing from the wall at 0400). The entire stay wasn’t worth it. From the stay itself to the employees, I really expected more from Hilton. Save your points and your money! I’d like mine back!

I spent two nights (a Friday night and a Saturday night) at this DoubleTree with a couple of friends when we were visiting the Huntsville area. Overall, I was not terribly impressed. For starters, my friends and I arrived after the official check-in time, but our room was not ready and we had to wait about 30-45 minutes in the lobby before we could get to our room. However, the room itself was clean and comfortable and a nice arrangement with a bedroom that was separate (with a closed door) from the living area. That was nice. However, aren't guests supposed to be offered a warm cookie whenever they check in at a DoubleTree? I wasn't offered a cookie... not that it mattered all that much, but it's a nice touch that makes DoubleTree special, and it was lacking here. The second problem we had was that I'd specifically requested housekeeping service for our stayover day, and it was not done. Quite annoying. Third, when I went to check out on Sunday morning, I asked for a printed copy of my receipt... but the clerk had to walk to some other room way in the back to grab it for me. I had to wait something like 5 minutes for it before I could leave. I can't speak to the breakfast because my friends and I had breakfast elsewhere... but one thing I noticed was that the bar didn't appear to be open at all during our stay which was disappointing to see. One redeeming quality of the hotel, besides the niceness of the room, was that there was a business center where I could use the computers to surf the net which is what I often like to do during my downtime whenever I'm traveling. This DoubleTree is an older property but it's kept up okay. I was just not impressed at all with the way it seemed to be managed. I'm a diamond-level Hilton Honors member and didn't feel as if I was treated that way. I should have asked to speak with a manager but was so focused on other things that I didn't bother. I considered giving this hotel a Poor (2-star) rating but I opted for an Average rating because the property itself is fairly decent and I slept well. I will never stay at this DoubleTree again.

My fiancé and I stayed 3 nights here and were very pleased with our room; the cleanliness, comfort, and price. We just needed a place to rest our heads at night and a shower; nothing fancy. We were very pleased with the stay, and the staff were very friendly. The room had a decent size fridge and microwave; large bed, and spacious room. We would stay here again.

My stay was ok. The breakfast was good. Coffee was available 24/7. The only complaint I have is the very thin window shade. Light shined directly in my face all night. I got very little if any sleep. That is a deal breaker for me.

Our second stay here. The last time, we had problems at check-in and had to wait for our room, despite checking in online well ahead or arrival. Excuse at that time was that they didn't anticipate so many bookings on New Year's Eve. We didn't understand that, as that is a special evening where a lot of people go out to celebrate and reserve a hotel room. Especially in an area where this Element is located (tourist location, lots of restaurants, a place where people go for special occasions, etc.). We thought that maybe that experience could be chalked up to low staffing and the holiday, so we decided to book again. The check-in experience was MUCH WORSE than last time ! As before, we checked in online 2 days ahead of time. We actually arrived one hour later than our scheduled arrival time. Our room was STILL not ready, along with those of a lot of other disgruntled customers still waiting in the lobby. Excuses from front desk personnel were inconsistent, with some saying that the hotel was ”overbooked” (you have a set number of rooms - how can that be ?) Some customers waited over an hour. After waiting almost 45 minutes, I had to call Bonvoy Customer Service to get any resolution, and only then were we quickly told that a room was ready. The room could've been cleaner and the food offerings at the hotel could've been better, but we could've overlooked some of that, had we not had to endure such mis-management of the check-in process. This hotel is in a great location, and holds such [promise. But, we are not eager to return, unless these management issues are resolved.

Overall, the location was great and the views were appealing. The rooms had some wear to the bathrrom tiles and my chair was dirty, but I could overlook that for the location and pretty good price. I would recommend this place.