Tru By Hilton Gaylord, MI

We come here for winter snowmobiling because there’s plenty of space for our trailer and the trails are easy to reach. The rooms are decent for what they cost, and breakfast is pretty good, although it opened about 45 minutes late each morning. The staff were friendly and accommodating.

There’s no microwave in the room, and there’s no coffee there either. The coffee in the lobby is cold after 4, which makes me think the machines probably aren’t being cleaned. Management has called this “modern minimalism” in replies to other reviews, but minimalism is supposed to mean giving up excess for simplicity and function. How does a wall-length bench and a 40-inch TV fit that idea when there’s no way to heat or reheat food? The truth is they didn’t want to pay for appliances. I despise a lie more than anything. Just be upfront that it’s cost-cutting.

In the accessible room, the water pressure was so weak I couldn’t rinse the shampoo out of my hair, and the blackout curtains didn’t work. I couldn’t get light into the room, so I checked out a day early. I’m a diamond member who stayed more than 30 days at a Hilton hotel last year, and I’ve never left early because of a problem before. This is the first time.

The location was really confusing to find at night. I couldn’t turn left into the one-way main drive and missed the entrance by the Biggby sign. When I tried to turn around, I ended up on the highway on-ramp after the light. The room was very small, but that was fine for a short stay on my own. The bathroom was less okay: there was ingrained dirt in the shower, footprints on the floor, and visible mold in the sink drain. The staff members I dealt with weren’t friendly or welcoming, and neither my digital key nor mobile check-in worked because nothing had been approved on their end. It was just okay, not bad overall.