Hilton Garden Inn Charleston Airport

The room was otherwise fairly clean and nice, but I wouldn't choose this hotel if a hot shower matters to you. At 9:30 p.m. the water still wasn't hot, and the front desk attendant suggested other guests had taken long showers. I kept checking every 30 minutes until 1 a.m., with no change, and there was no hot water in the morning either. Looking at other reviews, this seems to happen repeatedly.

The meeting rooms had plenty of space, the staff looked after us, and my room was clean. I was there over the weekend for a class and stayed at this location for the first time. Brett from sales made sure I had what I needed, and it was nice to see him again after meeting him at another location. Fred greeted me on arrival, and thanks as well to Ryan and the driver who took me to the airport Sunday morning. The 7 a.m. driver hadn't arrived, and the overnight driver had already left, but he came back around 7:30 even though he was off duty. He was so kind about it. Mikayla in the restaurant and hostess area was wonderful both evening and morning, and a great breakfast hostess. Shayla was friendly and pleasant too. I misplaced some other staff names, but I'm grateful to the whole team. There was also a nice dinner selection.

Shopping and food are easy to reach from here: the outlet mall is about a 20-minute walk, with Walmart, Topgolf, and plenty of bars and restaurants nearby. It's also one of the closest hotels to the airport. What stood out most, though, was the staff. Everyone I met was warm and welcoming, some of the friendliest hotel people I've encountered in years of work travel. There's a bar, restaurant, fire pit, and a small convenience shop in the lobby. The gym is especially good, probably among my top five hotel gyms. I'd love to stay here again.

UPDATE 2: Hilton contacted my husband, who made the reservation, apologized a lot, and cut our bill in half. That felt like a solid fix, so I'm bringing this back up to three stars. They also caught that we'd been charged twice for the pet fee and corrected it during the call. I do wish the front desk had checked the bill before charging us twice. The room itself was pretty nice, if a little bland, with a good layout and modern, clean, updated feel. But the shower was a mess. The door was screwed shut on the valve side, so I had to get soaked in cold water just to turn it on. The water never got hot, and when I asked about it, I was told nothing could be done because the maintenance guy had gone home. Other guests were complaining at the same time. For $250 a night after the pet fee, at a HILTON, I expected someone to be available for maintenance. Spending more to upgrade shouldn't mean dealing with a problem I never had at cheap motels. The next morning, I saw why the shower door may have been screwed shut: there's a big gap under the glass, water splashes onto the floor, and the wall is rusting or rotting. The pillows were terrible too, as other reviews have said. That's why I originally knocked off another star. Good points: room layout, modern look, and cleanliness. Bad ones: no hot water, no help available, a costly stay, and a shower setup that left me soaked just to start it.