DoubleTree by Hilton Fort Worth South

The room wasn’t very clean. There was puke on the carpet, and after I called the front desk, concierge, and even room service, nobody answered. I gave up and covered it with a napkin since we were only there one night. The room was small, and the walk to it was long. There’s not much of a garden or outdoor place to sit and read. The lobby seems to be the focus, but it’s noisy. Check-in was awkward too. The man at the counter was busy and upset at his computer, didn’t greet us, and let us wait while the line grew. When I asked if that was where we checked in, he sighed and said he’d be with us in a minute. He eventually welcomed us, handed over our cards, offered a cookie, and smiled. The parking fee is crazy, and the cookie wasn’t nearly as good as at the usual Hiltons. I prepaid $9 each for breakfast through the app, since it costs $16 at the hotel. It wasn’t worth that price: the food was cold and the French toast was very hard. Coffee was the one good thing. They hadn’t given me a voucher, so the waiter was confused; we had to go back to the desk so they could pull up my bill. I did leave him a cash tip. This was a flop of a stay for a Hilton hotel.

I woke up after the first night covered in bites. I’d taken a video after getting out of bed and saw 10-15 motionless bed bugs that had fed on me overnight. I packed all my stuff and asked for another room, which they gave me, but nobody helped me move, asked if I was okay, or checked if I needed anything. The female supervisor didn’t apologize or offer anything to make up for it, and her unprofessional way of speaking made me think she was the same supervisor mentioned in other one-star reviews. They also refused to handle laundry I’d worn in the infested room. I called Hilton customer service around 9 AM and still hadn’t heard back by 1:23 PM. I had to stay another night for work. The hallways were extremely dirty, with spills and trash in different areas that I walked past several times. It was shocking given how many cleaning staff were around, and they started cleaning rooms as early as 8 AM, so sleeping in was difficult. The lobby gets all the attention, though there were active leaks in the snack area being dealt with using trash cans and wet floor signs. At check-in, the female supervisor glared at me like new guests were her biggest annoyance. I usually stay at the $55-a-night Scottish Inns up the road, with free parking, but thought I’d get a better experience with Hilton. What a mistake. I wish I’d stayed there instead of paying $20 per night for parking and over $100 a night to get bitten by bed bugs, be spoken to like an inmate, and step around trash. 0/10. Hilton should sell this place or step in immediately.

This might do for a night or two, but it doesn’t live up to its name. The lobby is nice enough, although the walk to the elevators is a hassle. Our room was a bit worn, with very dusty walls, and the shower didn’t drain. For a stay costing over $100, charging $3 for a bottle of water that costs 25 cents feels petty. There’s no complimentary coffee at checkout. Instead, the lobby has what looks like a pretend Starbucks, charging Starbucks prices. The workers came out of the kitchen and seemed to be hotel staff. They didn’t speak good English and appeared to know how to make only plain coffee. It looks like they put up the Starbucks name and signs without bringing in the skill. Water and coffee both feel like ways to squeeze extra money out of guests. I once stayed at a much cheaper little hotel in Dumas, north of Amarillo, where coffee and a basic breakfast were free. That says a lot.

We needed a room after storm damage knocked out our power, so we brought our three little kids here. The first non-smoking room reeked of cigarettes. We called the desk right away and switched rooms, but that one stank of smoke too. We gathered our things and left without touching anything. We hadn’t even been there five minutes. I told the front desk we were leaving, and they said I’d get a $239 refund. It’s been over two weeks and I still haven’t received it. What a joke, and a nasty place all around.