Hampton Inn Lexington/Georgetown

I’ve been loyal to Hilton after working there for 10 years, and I can overlook a lot, but this was one of my worst experiences with Hilton or Hampton. The freshly remodeled rooms were clean, and housekeeping was the only saving grace. They were small and disappointing, though, and the desk staff had an attitude at both check-in and check-out. The website was misleading about the hot tub. It showed one in the pool area on the Hilton Honors listing when I booked, and the hotel services tab in the app still listed it after check-in. In reality, it had been filled with concrete. After we mentioned it in the lobby, the image of the pool showing the hot tub disappeared from the Hilton listing. After a week of hiking and eight hours of straight driving that day, I wouldn’t have paid for two rooms, including one right next to the elevator, if I’d known the hotel clearly wasn’t full. There were only 10 cars in the lot. All around disappointing for a Hilton hotel, and not what I’ve come to expect from Hilton or Hampton.

I’m a Hilton Honors member traveling for work, and I chose this Hampton because it earns 10 points per dollar, compared with 5 at Home 2. But the Home 2 across the street is definitely better. It takes 30 minutes for the shower water to get hot in the morning. I really don’t think I should have to run it that long just to get a hot shower. That’s why I’m giving this hotel 3 stars.

The hotel was packed, and there were rowdy, loud guests all weekend, especially Friday night. I don’t blame the staff for that. Still, I’ll think twice about staying at this particular Hampton Inn again, even though I expect to keep using the brand for future trips. The rooms were clean and comfortable, the staff were very nice, and breakfast was great. We’ve stayed exclusively at Hampton Inn for nearly 30 years, on business and personal trips, and never had a bad room or experience before. But the walls here are incredibly thin. Over our three days and two nights, we could hear every word from other rooms. On Sunday morning, blaring country music from next door woke us. We first thought it was one of our phones, then realized it was the neighbors. The three of us were holding our usual work trip meeting in the room, going over the day’s schedule at a normal volume. The TV was off, and we weren’t shouting. Still, someone next door, who they called a “Karen,” complained to the front desk that we were too loud. A staff member called and told us to whisper. I could understand if it were 11pm or 6 am, but this was after 9am, just before checkout. It was the first time anyone had told me I couldn’t talk in my own paid room. Maybe the staff member should have checked whether we were actually making too much noise before calling. It put a bad ending on what could have been a very pleasant stay.

The hotel is renovated and in good condition overall, but the thermostat in my room didn’t work. It should have been caught on the room-ready checklist. I only noticed late at night, when the temperature had fallen to 59 degrees. At 1am I was too tired to call reception. I mentioned it at checkout, but I’m not sure the women at the desk knew what to do about it.