DoubleTree by Hilton Charleston Riverview

The food was a pleasant surprise, and breakfast was lovely. Jennifer, the morning chef, made superb grits and great breakfast dishes. At night, the bar staff were busy, but Mark and Renee gave impeccable service. We came for a long weekend and our three-day stay was much nicer than I expected from some earlier reviews. The front office team were professional, compassionate, helpful, and had a sense of humor. Our room was clean, with lots of towels, hot water, and a clean shower. My husband and I care a lot about whether hotel staff are pleasant and accommodating, since that affects whether we return or recommend a place. We'll recommend this DoubleTree to our friends back in NJ. Jennifer is a great, smart chef.

Ask for a room away from the road, or you'll hear traffic constantly. The hotel is nice, well located, and fairly quiet otherwise. Our room was a decent size for two, clean, and had what we needed: a microwave, mini fridge, and iron. Staff were pleasant and helpful, and parking is around back. The hot water was the one real issue. The shower got sort of hot and fluctuated, but never turned cool; the sink stayed tepid no matter how long I ran it. The bar and restaurant music wasn't pleasant or appropriate, and the shared areas need the fingerprints and marks wiped off the elevators and doors.

I checked out after just one night of my planned four-night stay. The place was dirty, the chaise lounges smelled like wet dog, the pillows weren't the usual DoubleTree kind, and the TV had no streaming services. My first room had a Gatorade bottle by the chaise lounge and plastic bits on the bathroom counter. The front desk woman was apologetic and super friendly, so I tried a second room, where there was toothpaste splatter on the mirror and pee dribbles on the toilet seat. The third was dirty too, but I was tired and had to make do. After a shower, I used the floor towel to mop up water since the shower has no door, and the towel showed how filthy the bathroom floor was. This hotel wasn't built as a DoubleTree from the start. It used to be a Cambria owned by Choice, and Hilton took over in August. Cambria had let the appearance slide, and I assume Hilton kept most of the old company's staff, which may be a major part of the problem. If this is someone's first DoubleTree, I'm sorry. The brand as a whole is so much better than this wannabe.

We ended up adding a night because the beds were comfortable and the room was quiet. Renee at the bar and restaurant was fantastic to chat with, and Patti at the front desk was especially friendly and ready with local suggestions. The location was easy to find, parking was simple, and check-in went smoothly. There's a shuttle to downtown, and they kindly drove us to a restaurant and picked us up afterward. I'll stay here whenever I come to Charleston.