I picked this hotel because of the excellent reviews. Having stayed at the Conrad earlier this year, I thought I would check this one out, and I am honestly baffled by how highly rated it is. I’ve stayed in nice hotels as well as nice Hilton hotels around the world, and this is definitely not one of them. I’ve been in nicer Hilton Garden Inns and Hampton Inns. The best thing about this hotel is the location. It’s close to restaurants and shops, and Shawn, the bellman we had, was great—very interactive and kind.
When we first arrived, I needed to use the restroom. There are several individual restrooms immediately to the right once you enter the hotel. All of them were so nasty. I walked into one and the toilet wasn’t flushed. There was trash on the floor, everything was dirty, and it was obvious no one had checked them in a while. I then went to help my son, and the one he was in was just as gross. That was the first impression.
Once we got to the front desk, which is a tiny, unimpressive desk in an equally unimpressive, tacky lobby, I actually asked if I was in the Hotel Maren—the Hilton—because I couldn’t believe this was a Curio property. The woman at the front desk was very nice and went over the amenities. They give you a couple of drink tickets and the standard food credits, which was nice. But the overall condition of the hotel overshadowed all of that.
We didn’t even try to go to the pool because someone had left a review about it being in disrepair, and honestly I could totally believe it based on what I saw. The hallways were dingy, the elevator wasn’t clean, and even where things were technically cleaned, the hotel just wasn’t maintained. Once things start chipping or looking worn, most places repaint or touch up. This place didn’t. Everything just looked neglected.
If I were staying more than one night, I would have left. I’ve left hotels for less. I was originally planning to book this hotel again for another date, and I’m so glad it wasn’t available. I would absolutely have changed it.
The carpet in the room was worn. We did get an ocean view room, which was an upgrade for being Hilton Diamond, and it was nice to have a view, but even the patio was dingy and needed paint. When I grabbed the handle to shut the bathroom door, the handle fell off in my hand. There was a screw in the shower that had fallen out and was just sitting on the floor. The edges of the shower were dirty, the water pressure wasn’t great, and the bed wasn’t very comfortable. I did like the soap—it was moisturizing and smelled good. But the desk in the room had some sort of smudge or damage that looked like someone had spilled nail polish or melted something on it. And this was supposed to be one of their nicer, upgraded rooms.
I struggled between giving this hotel a two-star or a three-star rating, but I couldn’t give it a three. For “average,” I would genuinely rather have stayed in a Hampton or Hilton Garden Inn over this place. This was not good, especially not for a Curio. I did find a Starbucks outside the doors to the left, which was a nice convenience, and again, Shawn was wonderful. But the location and Shawn are where the positives stop.
Hilton needs to divest itself from this property until it is brought up to Curio standards—or they need to downgrade it to a two- or three-star hotel. I hesitate to call it a dump, but it’s only a step above one. So let’s just call it Le Dump.
