Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa

The hotel was clean and the food was good, except for the banana split, which was practically all banana and had almost no ice cream. The mattress needs replacing too, it sinks so much that our backs hurt in the morning. They charged me $300 for smoking in the room, which is a lie. I don’t smoke cigarettes and didn’t smoke in the room. Maybe the room is old and dated and they think it smells. I wouldn’t recommend driving there either. Parking costs $45 per night, making the hotel 22.5% more expensive. They charged me twice for parking, at $45 a night, though I’d prepaid $40.10, and also charged taxes for 3 nights when I stayed 2. I called over 6 times, spent 20 minutes on hold, and got no help. I had to call Hilton directly. They said they’d look into it, but couldn’t reach anyone at the Costa Mesa hotel either. I was told to call back in 3 days if I heard nothing, but my time is too valuable to spend on hold, so I planned to dispute the charge with my credit card. They clearly don’t respect my time. After many hours of calls and emails, I finally got my $423 refund.

At checkout, the clerk tried to charge me for parking again, even though I’d paid the night before. She seemed puzzled when I told her for the third time that I was checking out and going home. Parking costs $45.00 a night, and when we tried to leave, there was no attendant to raise the gate, so we had to go out the “one way.” We did see an attendant as we left, but he was busy on his phone. The room was loud. Whenever the a/c shut off, it made a crying sound, almost like a ghost was in the room. There was a crusty old washcloth left on the shower curtain bar, and a loud rumbling came from the rooftop, which was our lovely view through the slider window. At $230.00 a night, with pricey parking and breakfast too, I’d try somewhere else.

Location was good, the hotel was clean, and service was fast. But the front desk agent, Mayra, was rude and gave us an attitude when we pointed out that the $45 per night parking fee wasn’t listed on our Agoda app booking. I had to call out her attitude before she realized we were upset. We felt cheated by the fee, which came to almost $300 for our weeklong stay, so I chose a different lot. I’ve now found out she charged us $300 anyway. I’m very upset. Not recommended, and I won’t be back.

Mayra turned an unexpected bathroom issue into a good experience. When I brought a video to the front desk, she took ownership and got it resolved quickly. She made sure our room needs were met and added thoughtful touches that made the stay comfortable. Her care, patience, and professionalism made my son and me feel seen, supported, and valued. Thank you, Mayra, for making the stay memorable. You’re a blessing to the Hilton team.