Hampton Inn Freeport/Brunswick

My cousin and I spent a girls’ weekend here on Sept. 27-28th. The pool was great, there were extra towels in the bathroom, and the clean room had comfortable beds. Most of the staff were really friendly, but the woman serving breakfast seemed to be having a bad morning. She kept slamming the chafing dish lids and was snippy with customers. The breakfast was disappointing too, with what seemed like fake eggs, no bacon or sausage, and I ended up having toast. The coffee setup could use an upgrade, since the half-and-half came in little unrefrigerated cups. I’ve had better breakfasts at other Hampton Inns, and the area for serving and eating felt cramped.

We really enjoyed having the pool to ourselves, and the staff were generally friendly. Still, a few things would make me think twice about staying here again. We had two reservations for our three-night visit, so I checked at the desk around 9 or 9:30 on the second morning to make sure housekeeping would come. The woman there kindly arranged it and knew the cleaners were out already. We said they could come anytime while we were gone for a few hours. At about 1, we came back to find the room untouched, with dirty towels on the floor and supplies we needed replaced. The same desk attendant was surprised. By then housekeeping had left, so another employee offered to clean while we stepped out for 20-25 minutes. We returned and nothing had been done. I was upset and gave up on cleaning, asking only for fresh towels. Someone brought towels and trash bags and took away the used towels. I look forward to housekeeping on vacation, so that was frustrating. At breakfast, one attendant hovered while we got food. My husband noticed a mess in his pants and didn’t want to eat more. We could also hear the neighbors through the walls, and there were a few knocks on the wall, so sound travels both ways.

Friendly staff were around to help, and the breakfast team had useful suggestions for what to try. I liked the hard-boiled eggs, and the waffles were delicious, as expected at Hampton. A few more hot vegetarian choices would’ve been nice. The building is showing its age, though the small touches, like the photos on the room-number signs and the old-fashioned elevator bell, gave us a kick. Shaw’s next door was handy too.

We had trouble breathing in the room, which smelled musty, and the strange odor in the lobby and hallways made us turn down an offer to move rooms. Once we’d been outside for 5 or 10 minutes, breathing got easier. The hotel had a smell as soon as we walked in. Management has refused to refund the night, and Hampton customer service couldn’t help. So much for the 100% guarantee.