Homewood Suites by Hilton West Bank Gretna

The room itself seemed clean and smelled freshly cleaned. I’m usually wary of hotel sofas and won’t sit on one without a towel, but this room felt fine. I was glad about that, since the check-in was such a frustrating mess. The Hilton app encourages you to check in the night before and authorizes payment then. Since the point is to bypass the desk and enter with your phone or QR code, I assumed the payment meant my reservation was confirmed and the room would be ready. I didn’t get a ready alert, but with official check-in at 3:00 PM, I figured it might still come. I showed up just before 3 and learned my room and two others weren’t clean. We waited in the lobby. I thought being there would make us a priority, but the desk agent just repeated that check-in was at 3:00 while casually reapplying lip gloss. It felt dismissive. At 3:00, the rooms still weren’t ready. I asked for the manager’s card, but that sent me back to the desk and reservations. There was a handwritten number for the sales manager, who was onsite, so I called her. I got the usual response that they’d look into it. It was about 3:16 by then. I was tired and hungry, and if I’d known the room wouldn’t be ready, I’d have stayed out and done something else. Instead, I waited and was again told check-in was at 3:00, though it was already past that. I asked if I could get a refund and stay next door. I often stay at the neighboring hotel. Its rooms are usually $60 cheaper, consistently clean, and the staff are friendly. They even give welcome bags with water and snacks. I just expected to get what I paid for here, or a refund if they couldn’t provide it. I waited two days for anyone to follow up, but nobody did. I’m in this area often and rotate between the two hotels. I stopped staying here before because vagrants were getting onto the property, which made it uncomfortable. I gave it another try because I love the nearby bridge view, but despite asking for that view several times, I’ve never been given a room with it. It feels like staff don’t know the property layout. My stays at the Marriott have been consistently excellent. This Hilton visit fell short, and nobody followed up to make it right.