Hilton Garden Inn Erzincan

The mountain views, especially the snow-covered peaks, were my favorite thing about this town. There’s a restaurant in the same parking lot, and breakfast had a big selection, though they don’t cook eggs, which seemed odd to me since I won’t eat them raw. The bed was comfortable, the bath was great, and most of the staff tried hard to help even though they didn’t speak English. With so many languages and visitors in Türkiye, a little patience is needed. My main concern was smoking. The first room marked non-smoking smelled strongly of cigarettes, so I switched rooms. The replacement was better, though a neighbor smoked later. I learned that the hotel doesn’t enforce its non-smoking policy, and staff seemed to shrug that guests will do as they like instead of charging a possible $500 fee or asking at check-in and assigning the right room. If someone complains, they should check the room and move the guest. I discussed it with the manager, who said he’d work on this difficult issue across Turkiye. I hope he does, since smoke smells awful and badly irritates breathing. The other serious problem was being woken at 11 and 11:20 pm by the phone and persistent knocking from a man asking for ID they hadn’t collected at check-in. I’d already spoken with a man at 10 pm, while still awake finishing work, and said I’d bring a copy down in the morning; he agreed. I’d checked in at 4:30 pm, gone for a drive and dinner, and returned at 7. I’d also stayed at 10 other Hiltons in Türkiye, so they should have my ID in their system. As a woman traveling alone, this felt unsafe. He wouldn’t leave and even threatened to call the police. I knew that was fake, but it was still unacceptable. I kept saying no, go away, in the morning, nobody is dying, at least 20 times, then finally screamed. The lights were off and I was in bed. I left the phone off the hook for the rest of the night. Good luck sleeping. My body clock is still 13 hours off, so sleep matters even more. The manager spoke with me in the morning, agreed it was unnecessary, and refunded the night. Nothing would have changed in those eight hours. He said he’d train staff at all Hilton locations in Turkiye so this never happens to anyone again. If the smoking and late-night incident hadn’t happened, and the no-smoking rules were enforced, this would have been a four-star review.

The pool and sauna were closed during our stay, even though I’d expected to use them. I was told they’ve been shut for five years, so this really should be explained before booking. Apart from that disappointment, we had a good stay. The staff were attentive and helpful, and breakfast offered plenty of choice.

The corridors were dim, darkly decorated, and creepy, with a cigarette smell so bad that the installed diffuser did nothing. Our room smelled like people had regularly smoked in it too. The bed was uncomfortable, and I’d rather not know what the mattress looked like. We barely slept, maybe five hours across two nights. We skipped breakfast. If the room was in such poor shape and smelled that bad, we wondered what the kitchen was like, and Erzincan has much more authentic breakfast options anyway. I also waited 15 minutes for coffee in the morning, which didn’t feel normal or attentive, especially since Europeans drink coffee in the morning. I would never book this place again. Never ever.

The room was spacious, clean, comfortable, and everything was in order. The desk worked as well as the ones in other Hilton hotels. I did wait around 20 minutes while it was being cleaned, but spent that time drinking Turkish Coffee from the bar and taking in the surroundings. The view was lovely, with beautiful mountains around this relatively small city and snow still on the peaks in May. Most of the staff weren’t very used to English, though one receptionist spoke it decently. Big like.