Hampton Inn Myrtle Beach-West

The breakfast selection was a real plus, with everything from waffles, eggs, sausage and oatmeal to cereal, muffins, toast, juice and coffee. They even refilled the coffee bar in the evening. Our double queen room was lovely, and the staff were pleasant. The hotel is across from Tanger, with plenty of shops and restaurants along the road. We had a great time.

The night desk clerk was friendly and went out of his way to contact the manager, and there was a beautiful Christmas tree in the lobby. Breakfast is conveniently near the front desk. The location itself is in an unattractive commercial area, about 15 to 20 minutes from the beach. My main concern was the bedding. The general manager told me they don't use mattress casings, just a plain, poorly fitting pad and sheet. The bare mattress was visible, and my leg, probably like other guests' legs, touched its side getting in and out of bed. They also don't use pillow casings, just one pillowcase over each pillow, so the pillow itself may touch guests' faces. That seems far below standard and left me wondering whether all the bedding is laundered between guests. Hampton Inn's policy says all bed linens are laundered between guests, but I still wondered if this location reuses comforters or the pillows against the headboard. Those pillows smelled like someone's head, unlike the freshly laundered pillowcases I asked the front desk for. This hotel has a lot to improve in its housekeeping policies.

After checking out of the West Myrtle Beach Hampton, I realized on the drive back to the airport that I'd left something hanging in the closet. I called but couldn't reach anyone at first. When I finally spoke with someone, they said they'd check the room and call me back. No call came. The next day, I reached the hotel again, but someone was still in the room, so they had to wait until that guest checked out. I still never got a return call. I took the issue to Hilton, but the first customer satisfaction specialist didn't even open a case for the hotel to answer. A few days later, I called again and they did create one. The hotel eventually said housekeeping hadn't seen anything in the room. As a longtime Hilton customer, I found the whole thing frustrating. They acted as if it was simply too bad, and didn't offer a free night or points to keep me as a customer. I'm done with Hilton and going back to Marriott. The entire experience was poor. Hilton and this hotel should be embarrassed by this review. I had been staying there with my daughter while visiting Coastal Carolina University.

The staff were so nice, and our room was spacious and comfortable. The hotel was very clean, and the water pressure and hot water were excellent. I'll stay here again next year.