Tru by Hilton Bryan College Station

Tiny black bugs were crawling all over the sink when I woke up. The whole stay felt like a disaster, and I hope we didn't bring bed bugs home. I'd already paid with points, or I would have turned around as soon as I walked in. I called three times about early check-in before anyone answered. First I was told no rooms were ready and to call again at 2:30; on that second call, they said I could come. When I arrived, the place looked deserted, with what seemed to be only employees' cars in the lot. The outdoor bins were overflowing, and through open blinds I could see bedsheets near some windows. Inside, laundry was piled on the seats, and the lobby was dirty with full trash cans. The front desk woman seemed to be handling cleaning along with desk duties. Our room smelled like dirty towels, and the carpet on every floor we walked through was filthy. I stay in hotels for work all the time, and Hilton has never disappointed me like this. I don't understand how a Hilton could let its hotels get into this state, especially when the lot seemed to have no other vehicles and rooms didn't appear ready. I'll email corporate too. This was unacceptable.

I told the front desk on my second morning that there were several dead roaches on the stairwell, plus a live one had greeted me in the shower that morning. Three days later, when I checked out, the dead ones were still there. I've stayed here for work now and then. Sometimes the desk person is missing or off playing on their phone. My colleague and I once waited more than ten minutes for someone to come check us in, and he didn't apologize for the wait. From what I've seen, they take “casual dress” pretty literally.

I booked this room months ahead for a trip to College Station and had a reasonable rate confirmed before anyone knew how the college football season would end. I was looking forward to the stay. Then the Texas A&M Aggies reached the College Football Playoffs for the first time and hosted a game at Kyle Field. Demand shot up, and the hotel contacted me saying I'd have to pay a much higher price to keep my reservation. When I wouldn't accept the increase, they canceled it outright so they could apparently sell the room again at a premium to playoff fans. I was left scrambling for somewhere else at the last minute on a busy weekend. A confirmed booking should be honored. Trying to hold it for more money because the local team did better than expected is opportunistic and dishonest, and the lack of integrity is shocking. I'll never book here again. I'd steer people away, especially around Aggie games or events. Plenty of other places in the area keep their commitments to guests. Disgraceful.

It's a good place to stay apart from being far from Texas A & M. We arrived around 11:30 pm and nobody was at the desk to welcome or help us. Luckily I got a digital key through the Hilton app and could go straight to my room.