DoubleTree by Hilton Hot Springs

We'd usually had wonderful stays at Hilton hotels as Honors members, but this was our worst customer experience. The biggest frustration came afterward: the hotel held our card for incidentals, which was understandable, and the $80 from two days was refunded in a day or two. But then they charged us $46, claiming our sheets were damaged and we'd used two bottles of water that were complimentary. We hadn't damaged the sheets, and the water was free. When I called, the woman was combative and kept saying it was “policy.” The amount wasn't much, but being accused of something we hadn't done felt wrong. Management also never addressed the fact that our door had been left open for hours, despite the front desk apologizing and asking us to follow up. We did at checkout the next day, but management was unavailable again. There were other problems from the start. At check-in, a sign said people living within 50 miles had to leave a $500 cash deposit, though it didn't apply to us. That requirement wasn't on the website, which seemed odd. On Friday night we asked for a king room with a lake-view balcony and got a room by the second-floor elevator overlooking the parking lot. We returned from brunch and the track on Saturday to find our door wide open. Luckily nothing was missing. We'll never stay there again. Oaklawn will get our business from now on.

We keep coming back for a good night's sleep. The rooms are on the small side, but still quite decent, nice, and clean. The views are beautiful, it feels very safe, and the staff are always nice. Charging my BMW iX overnight with the EV charger is easy, and hooking up my Amazon FireTV stick to watch TV is very easy too.

This property is an exception to what I usually find at Hilton hotels: my room was cleaned every day, everything seemed new and incredibly clean, and the staff were especially pleasant. I stay at similar hotels constantly for work, and they always fall short somehow. Most Hilton properties I've been to seem tired or completely rundown. My one criticism is the lack of a kiosk for free coffee and tea in the morning. You have to sit in the restaurant area and order, which isn't ideal when you're in a rush. Otherwise, it was a fantastic stay.

The place is pretty decent. One employee parks his red truck right across the walkway every single night, though, so I have to walk on the grass or risk tripping over the curb. It's crazy that management lets employees do this.