Hilton Garden Inn Itajai Praia Brava

The room lights didn’t work when I checked in, so I was moved to another room. Then I found the toilet door handle was broken. The AC was noisy, there was no blanket or toilet paper, and the blackout curtain was too small, blocking only about 80% of the light. I couldn’t sleep until late. I really don’t understand how this place got 3 stars.

The Wi-Fi is unbelievably bad. To get online, you have to fill out a form on both your computer and phone, then it disconnects you after an hour. That makes work meetings miserable. It’s an uncomfortable experience, worse than at any nearby hotel, where the Wi-Fi doesn’t cut you off 20 times a day.

For Hilton Honors members: this property seems to have no idea how HH, status, or points work. I stayed several times for business, and the points and stays never posted automatically. There was no recognition of status, and I had to ask for water. I never got an upgrade, and the restaurant was often closed during the week. Parking was ridiculously expensive. Atlantica operates the hotel, and in my experience it’s the worst in Brazil within the Hilton portfolio.

The bathroom was dirty, with lots of black mold spots in the shower, and a previous guest’s floss was left by the shampoo. I asked several times for it to be cleaned, but the bathroom stayed dirty and the floss stayed right where it was. At check-in, the front desk staff were rude and refused my room upgrade request, saying there were no rooms available when I mentioned I was a Diamond member. A few seconds after they turned me down, my coworker, who was a Gold member, got an upgrade. Check-out was rude too, and the employees acted as if they didn’t understand English. They didn’t give me an itemized bill, and I’m still trying to get the paperwork I need for my expense report.