Hampton Inn Council Bluffs

UPDATE: The general manager contacted me directly, acknowledged the problems, and gave me a full refund. I appreciate the professional follow-up and the effort to address it internally. The room was visibly dirty when we checked in after a nine-hour drive. There was a large stain on the sheets, hair under the comforter, and dirt and debris in the bathroom. When we raised it, the staff member insisted the room was clean and dismissed the bedding as housekeeping having “just missed a spot.” At first she offered a blanket instead of fresh bedding. After we pushed, we got replacement bedding in the wrong size and were told to change it ourselves. We came back to the desk and were told no manager was there and none would be available until Monday. The staff member said she’d pass it on, then walked away without asking our name or room number. Clean bedding is the bare minimum, and this was unacceptable. We stayed one night, checking in Friday, December 19, 2025 and checking out Saturday, December 20, 2025. As a Hilton Honors Silver member, I’ve had many good stays with Hilton, including multiple stays right after this one, none with issues like this. I won’t return and expect appropriate follow-up from management.

The beds and pillows were amazing, and I’d stay here again. I really appreciated that they had breakfast to-go bags for people leaving early on the airport shuttle before breakfast time. That earned a lot of respect from me. The cookie treats at the front desk were a nice idea, but I didn’t like the flavor. All in all, a great experience!

Breakfast was good and most items stayed stocked, and we enjoyed the pool. The rest of the hotel looked well maintained. The location is in the same complex as a large casino, with a parking lot security robot named Chuck that always seemed to be behind me when I was backing out. The beds, though, were atrocious. The website said queens, but I’d bet they were doubles. The sheets and pillows were good, like at every Hampton, but the mattresses were awful. The beds creaked like they might collapse and kept waking us up all night. There was serratia marcesans on the shower head, a pinky orange colored bacteria many people carry naturally, but seeing it in a shower can point to infrequent or insufficient cleaning. Large chunks of grout were missing from the tile floor, big enough that you could lose an earring in them. The curtains couldn’t close all the way because of the air conditioner/heater. There were short sheers over the unit, but the drapes left a gap, so we had to change in the bathroom for privacy. Ick.

UPDATE: Management called, apologized, and was very accommodating. They comped the room and moved us to another floor. I’m very pleased with how they resolved it. At 1:00 AM, someone banged on our door twice within an hour and startled us awake. We have a 3-year-old and didn’t want him woken up. When we went to the front desk, the woman wasn’t there; she was somewhere in the back, and her friend had to get her. She responded, “what do you want me to do about it? No one has been walking these halls.” She hadn’t been at the desk to monitor the halls. When we looked through the door to see who was knocking, she came down the hallway mocking us: “oh yeah someone’s knocking on this door.” We opened the door and asked if she thought it was a joke. She called us creepers for looking through the peephole and again said no one was walking the halls. We know staff can’t fix every problem, but she didn’t offer a solution or even an apology, and seemed annoyed that we needed help. It’s scary to wake up to pounding on your door in the middle of the night. Why would we make that up? The hotel itself is nice, but this was a terrible experience and the customer service was disappointing, especially as a Hilton Honors member. I choose these hotels whenever we travel and have never had this happen before. I hope management addresses it.