Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Leominster

The lobby and staff were the nicest parts of the hotel. I work nearby and have a long commute, so I stayed there out of necessity during a snowstorm. If I’d been even moderately happy with the room, I could have come back several times over the next few months, but I’d rather drive farther or brave the weather for somewhere else. The room felt shabby. It seemed to have been cleaned as well as staff could manage, but the furniture was dingy and the whole place smelled strongly of cheap detergent or air freshener. The odor made my skin itchy and my throat dry. You can’t open the windows, and the heating and cooling system is loud. The bathroom looked clean, though starting the hot water brought a stale smell from either the tub or showerhead. The water pressure sometimes cut out briefly, perhaps when someone else started a shower or flushed. The pillows and blankets were well worn, and the walls are thin. Breakfast costs extra, and even with an indoor pool, you need an appointment to use it. The rooms aren’t the worst I’ve stayed in, but the hotel is wildly overpriced. I paid nearly $180 for a Tuesday night as a Hilton Honors member, and saw the next week’s rate was over $600. I don’t know if that was due to an event or holiday travel, but I wouldn’t pay anywhere near that. Corporate needs to update the place or substantially rethink the price.

We had a business group of 18, with colleagues from around the US and Europe meeting in nearby Devens. Michele helped me arrange a great group rate that kept us on budget. The hotel is quiet, clean, classy, and easy to reach right off the exit. I’d recommend it for work or a personal stay. The Deluxe King rooms are especially nice for executives, with a separate living room and wet bar. Breakfast is a buffet with hot options like scrambled eggs, eggs with ham, crispy bacon, sausage and oatmeal, along with toast, English muffins, cereal, yogurt and fresh fruit. There’s also a small lobby restaurant with delicious food, especially the turkey club. The male waiter and bartender was fantastic when our whole group came in for dinner and drinks. Staff were friendly, and the lobby mini store is well stocked and self-service.

We had breakfast one morning, and it was good: the pastries were nice, the eggs weren’t dry, and the sausage was decent. The staff were courteous and very obliging, there’s plenty of parking, and getting in and out was easy. The room itself was clean and surprisingly quiet, even though we were near the elevator during a wedding with lots of drunk people. The mattress was comfortable, but the feather pillows went flat as soon as I put my head down, so I barely slept. The room also looked like it hadn’t been updated in years. They offer warm chocolate chip cookies at check-in, but these had walnuts in them. Why put nuts in chocolate chip cookies? More people may be allergic to nuts, and they didn’t mention the walnuts when offering them. That seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen. There’s a bagel place about a two-minute drive down the street with fantastic bagel sandwiches and excellent iced tea, if you’d rather have that.

The front desk staff were welcoming, quick to respond and genuinely helpful. The rooms are older and small, but clean and fine for a short stay. The bar was where things went wrong. There were about ten of us there at the same time as a wedding party. That group had apparently arranged in advance to keep the bar open later, but nobody told the rest of us. When we tried to order another round, the bartender refused us while letting the other group order, without explaining why. We would have moved along if she’d simply said it was closed except for a reserved group. Instead, she waited until we ordered again to say no, then was rude when we didn’t know the details she should have communicated. Her service had already been slow, with incorrect orders and no check-ins. The way it was handled created unnecessary tension and discomfort for both groups. A friendly explanation upfront would have been enough. I filled out the hotel survey and got a text saying someone would call, but no one followed up. It makes asking for feedback feel performative. Great front desk, but the bar service and communication need serious improvement. If you have a party staying there, apparently call ahead to arrange the bar and ask for a bartender who hopefully isn’t the one we had.