Hilton Garden Inn Little Rock Downtown

The valet situation was the worst part. We paid nearly $30 for overnight parking, then in the morning nobody could drive our manual car. We had to walk around the building to get it from the lot, leave our luggage by the entrance, pull over, and load everything ourselves before starting a long drive. A real mess. Other parts of the stay were disappointing too. I’m a Gold member and a longtime Hilton guest, but nobody acknowledged that, and after a long drive no water was offered at the desk. I’m allergic to feather pillows. The desk clerk was nice, but questioned why the allergy wasn’t in my Hilton app. I showed him there’s no place on my end to enter it; he found it on his side, where it should have been noted. He also made getting a foam pillow for the night sound difficult. I only stay at Hilton hotels, and this was my least favorite experience.

The valet staff were quick, kind, and professional, and knowing the car was in a gated lot accessible only to hotel staff and guests felt safer. There aren’t really free parking options nearby, though, so plan on another $27 a night for valet or setting alarms for the tolls. Getting upstairs also felt secure since you need a keycard to use the elevator. We were there for two nights. The room was spacious and clean, with fresh, comfortable bedding and nice shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. The pool was nice too, though it closed at 9 pm. My only real complaint was that the in-room microwave didn’t work. Staff said maintenance could fix it in the morning, and there was a very clean public microwave in the lobby.

The room has a good-sized fridge and microwave, a roomy desk, a comfortable enough chair, and plenty of outlets. It was clean and quiet, and there seemed to be enough lobby staff to keep things safe. The location works well if you’re working downtown. The closet and bathroom lighting could use improvement. Update: I came back this past week, and the lighting in both spots was adequate this time.

We paid $27 for valet and were told to request the car 30 minutes before an early flight. I called for it at 3:30, but when we got to the lobby at 4:00 nobody was around. The front desk clerk said he’d message the valet, then went to the desk and got our keys about two minutes later. Go downstairs and confirm in person so you don’t end up waiting around like we did.