Hilton Garden Inn Bakersfield

The room was clean and fresh, with a nicely sized fridge and a microwave. The onsite restaurant was good, with decent breakfast options. I'd stay here again.

At breakfast the next morning, every utensil we saw in the caddy and on the tables was dirty. The whole restaurant had apparently been using them, including my children, before we realized. Cherina, the host, was just as shocked as I was and said she couldn't believe the night staff hadn't cleaned them. She was kind and very apologetic, but it was completely unacceptable. When I asked for a manager, I was told Melissa only works weekends. The service was horrible, despite the rooms, lobby, and location being decent. Before booking, we called several times to confirm that the hotel had connecting rooms and were assured each time that our reservation was for one king room connecting to a room with two queens. My husband checked again at arrival, explaining the kids would be in one room and we would be in the other. The front desk confirmed it and handed us keys, but on the 4th floor we found that the rooms did not connect. It was after 10 PM, and we were exhausted. We had to return to the lobby and go back and forth for a while before they found us two connecting rooms with queen beds, even though one room was supposed to have a king. I regret booking here and wouldn't recommend it.

The staff were wonderfully friendly, the location was great, and the room was generally comfortable. A broken shower curtain rod and weak water pressure weren't ideal. For the price, I would have given it four or five stars if not for the bugs. There was a large cockroach above a 3rd-floor room door. The pool area was full of earwigs, including in the water itself. I counted at least a dozen dead at the bottom of the pool and another 8-10 alive on the surface, with plenty more scattered around the floor. The kids had been excited to swim, but this was incredibly off-putting. They need to put significant effort into pest control.

The entrance gave a good first impression, but the room changed that quickly. The door was open and unlocked with the deadbolt thrown. Strange, but I figured housekeeping had left it that way. Then there were mystery stains on the carpet, maybe blood, sauce, or something else, but clearly the room hadn't been properly cleaned. When we tried to shower, the tub wouldn't drain, so we were racing to finish before it overflowed and showering in dirty water. I wouldn't recommend staying here. I'm sure they'll reply with a standard line about cleanliness standards being reinforced with the team. I don't expect anything to be done or anyone to actually contact me.