Hampton Inn Princeton

We used to stay here regularly, but the place is going downhill and I wouldn’t recommend it now. Breakfast is much more limited than it used to be. We arrived 30 minutes early after reserving a month ago, but the room wasn’t ready until almost 4. There was no curtain on the windows, just a broken blind. The shower curtain didn’t keep the water in, so it ran out across the bathroom. I know what that’s like from before, and this time my husband slipped in it and hurt his back.

I’ve booked this hotel about 15 times over the past few months for work, and most of the staff have been excellent. My problems have been limited to Omar at the front desk and General Manager Ron Whitaker, but their treatment overshadowed the good experiences. I’m a Hilton Honors member who travels often, and I work in high-pace sales. I would never speak to a customer the way they spoke to me. I’ve since opened a Marriott account and haven’t had a bad experience there. I first filed two complaints about brief, unprofessional encounters with Omar. Zack, the front desk manager, handled the first, and I thought we could move past it. But on Saturday evening, February 28, Omar made me feel like a thief when I tried to buy drinks from the refrigerator right in front of the desk. He also refused to help with my digital key, even though the app says to go to the front desk. He said he had no access and told me smugly to call customer service. Physical key cards deactivate easily, and the desk has reset my digital key on the spot many times. I complained, but Ron Whitaker closed the complaint without addressing the issue. The next morning I decided to extend my stay, not knowing the complaint had been closed. At 7:20 a.m. I went down to pay so I wouldn’t have to move my belongings, but nobody was at the desk. I waited about 20-25 minutes. The housekeeping staff couldn’t help me because they didn’t speak English. Customer service hung up on me during my first call, and nobody called back. I tried again around 7:50 a.m. and explained I had to leave by 8:00 to get to work on time. They kept calling the hotel without reaching anyone. I went upstairs for my things at 8:40 and ended up late for work. Since it was only my second week, I was written up. Later, Ron called in a degrading manner. When I asked why he had said he contacted me about my first complaint when he hadn’t, he became aggressive and condescending. He told me not to stay there if I had a problem with his staff, then said he would cancel my new reservation and hung up after yelling about my grievance. When I called customer service again to report this, I felt brushed off. They offered 25,000 points as if that would fix things. I was inconvenienced, belittled, and made to feel like a criminal, and I deserved basic respect and empathy. As a Black man, it’s especially disheartening to feel I was treated this way because of who I am. No guest should feel targeted or unwelcome. I appreciate the rest of the staff, but a few bad experiences can overshadow a lot of good ones.

The staff were nice, and I’ll definitely stay here again. The bed was amazing, super fluffy, and the room was very clean with an updated look that I loved. The bathroom matters most to me when it comes to cleanliness, and it was amazing too.

Sameer gave us great service, and we had a quiet, super comfortable night. The rooms were very clean. The only downside was being a little far from the highway.