Hilton Garden Inn Atlanta Marietta

I couldn’t make it through the second night and checked out after just one. Traveling for work, I’d booked two nights at roughly $300 a night as a Hilton Diamond member, expecting a typical Hilton Garden Inn. The construction and water problems hadn’t been disclosed when I booked or checked in, and the premium full-service price felt completely out of place. I was told the hotel was undergoing major renovations and addressing significant water issues. There wasn’t a real lobby. Check-in was through a utility door on the side, marked with makeshift signage, and led into a dirty, hazardous hallway with trash cans, discarded cardboard, paint everywhere, and water actively leaking from the ceiling. The rooms were in similarly poor shape, with paint splatters throughout. The AC barely worked, so the room was stuffy, and the water smelled so awful I couldn’t shower. It was a stressful, deeply disappointing stay. Book somewhere else.

They said all the guest rooms had been renovated, but ours certainly didn’t look that way. The ice machine on the third floor was also broken. We paid $400 and had a terrible stay: the restaurant and bar were unavailable, paint fumes gave me a headache, and the AC kept blowing warm air even when I set it to 65. At 9 a.m., hammering and drilling from the renovations woke us up. Getting to the room meant entering beside the dumpster, with the smell you’d expect, then walking along a back hallway with plastic hanging and cardboard taped to the floor. When we complained, no discount or other compensation was offered. They later said there was no card on file and charged the person who had reserved the rooms for our group event. We’d handed our card to the man checking us in, and he entered it by hand, so I don’t understand what he entered it into if not the room’s computer. This left a very bad impression. The whole experience was horrible.

The location was great, but the service wasn’t. Our AC unit made such a loud noise that neither of us slept all night. We planned to stay two nights and went to the desk the next day to ask about changing rooms. The woman there was unpleasant, apparently annoyed that we’d interrupted her Instagram scrolling. We checked out right then and moved to another hotel.

We arrived around 7:30 in the evening in pouring rain, and check-in was quick and easy. I’d been a little wary after reading mixed reviews, but the stay turned out well. The restaurant stayed open until 9, so we didn’t have to head out again; the menu’s limited, but the burgers were great. Our room was clean and quiet. There was some minor remodeling in the lobby, though it wasn’t a problem. We had a pleasant visit and would come back.