Spark by Hilton Moline Quad Cities

The rooms are good and I appreciated the lower price, though the location isn't very convenient. The room had no added scents, so we were fine once we got there. But the common areas were intensely perfumed, like a cloud of air fresheners, laundry scents, and perfume. I'm not usually very sensitive to fragrances, but I had to hold my breath through the lobby to avoid an instant headache.

The room was tidy and the bed felt comfortable, but the walls let through a lot of sound. Breakfast was just yogurt or bagels, and there wasn't any coffee or ice bucket in the room. It snowed during our stay, and nobody had shoveled the sidewalks.

The staff were professional and accommodating, and the rooms were okay, though nothing special. For a night or two, this place is fine. For a week, I'd look at options like the Doubletree, about 15 minutes away. It was only $10 more per night and much nicer, so I probably won't come back. I booked for a work trip expecting a basic Hilton style building and bed, but it felt more like a Motel 6 with fresh paint. The floors and walls are very thin. The halls and entrance smelled musty, with so much perfume sprayed around to cover it that it was cloying. Older reviews mentioned the smell, and management's replies saying they were working on it made me think it had been fixed. It hadn't. Something, possibly water damage or an HVAC issue, seems to be causing an unhealthy smelling odor. Masking it with heavy air freshener just hides it badly. It was hard to get a deep breath without smelling the mold or whatever was there. Luckily, my room hadn't been treated the same way. I was seriously thinking about switching hotels until I got into the room. The area isn't great, though the whole Quad Cities area seemed that way to me.

The bagel bar was a nice touch, and the room was clean. The pool had no water in it. We were charged for smoking in the room even though we hadn't. Still, it was a nice stay overall.