The Key Hotel Dubuque, Tapestry Collection by Hilton

As a Gold Hilton Honors member, I expected a decent room at this new hotel attached to the casino. Instead, they seemed to have only rooms near the fitness center available, just like another reviewer said, even though the lot had no more than 20 cars. My second-floor view was a couple of roofs. Any room upgrade cost extra despite the mostly empty parking lot. You'd think a new hotel would want to make a good impression.

We like the Q casino and will probably stay again, but this hotel needs to step things up. It had the feel of opening too soon: the top floor and rooftop bar weren't finished, and our room wasn't ready at 3 pm as expected, only closer to 4. There's no refrigerator in the room, which felt essential with all the good food in town and leftovers we wanted to save. The Hilton Garden Inn next door has them. At breakfast the next morning, the young woman at the counter seemed overwhelmed making coffee, taking orders, and preparing food, while her supervisor just said, “I wish I could help but I’m not a barista.” Maybe they were short staffed; the place still felt unready.

This was insulting, especially at $450 for a room. Hilton Corporation opened before it was ready, with too few staff, and didn't mention when we booked that the rooftop bar was closed. There was no refrigerator or microwave, and the cheap room furnishings felt poorly planned: no chair, just a bench facing the TV, the only place to sit besides the bed. It blocked the screen, and I didn't want to eat on the bed. The shower looked beautiful, but nobody in our room liked the odd-smelling shampoo, conditioner, and lotion. The huge bathroom had no bench, and the cheap toilet seat wasn't suitable for a larger person. I had to ask my friend to leave so I could get dressed sitting on the bench where I'd eaten dinner. There's no bathroom lock either. The breakfast brought from down the hall was pathetic. One worker on Valentine's Day weekend? No tea, no Veterans discount, and no valet or golf carts to help people from the parking lot. My friend, disabled veteran Jane E. Kelly, was treated appallingly. She deserves a free room and an apology, and Hilton owes her that chance to redeem its name. The company has embarrassed itself. We'll go to Treasure Island Resort in Welch, Minnesota next time, where you're catered to regardless of how much money you look like you have. I stand behind every word of my review, and you can look up my Hilton number.

We had a clean, comfortable stay, and the front desk staff were super friendly. The hotel connects to the Q casino. My biggest complaint is that there was no refrigerator in the room.