Tempo By Hilton Raleigh Downtown

The comfortable bed and Bluetooth mirror were highlights. I enjoyed playing music while getting ready, and catching up on shows in bed. The mirror was a great room feature. But a blinking light from the fire detectors kept me awake, and the shower was a letdown: I couldn't figure out the separate handheld control, and the water pressure was very low. I was in downtown Raleigh for one night. The hotel shares a property with Homewood Suites, which confused me when I arrived and saw that sign. Meagan greeted me at check-in with an upbeat, friendly manner. My room on the 11th floor was clean, spacious, and nicely decorated, but less luxurious than the website photos suggested. The bathroom was clean and linens fresh. The view was poor, looking onto a parking deck full of police cars beside Raleigh police headquarters. I liked the modern décor as I walked around looking for content ideas. I asked about late checkout and was offered 2pm for an extra $50. The café had limited daytime hours, so I couldn't get a drink until 4pm. Since I was there on Sunday, the restaurant and rooftop were closed, which was extremely disappointing. I wish the rooftop could at least be open during the day. There was nothing to do or eat during the day until the café and restaurant opened. I wasn't thrilled that pets were allowed either, with dogs everywhere, which wasn't pleasant. Al was talkative and pleasant at the bar that evening, though he didn't have all the ingredients for my espresso martini, so it wasn't very good. The hotel is right in the heart of Raleigh, with everything walkable. The kitchen menu seemed pricey, so I ordered food to my room. Given the rate, I expected more of a luxury experience. I'd come back to dine on the rooftop since I missed it this time, and might stay again if the price were reasonable.

The location makes it easy to walk to the convention center, Red Hat Amphitheater, the capital, and plenty of restaurants. Staff are friendly and make you feel at home. The hotel has modern rooms and lounges with comfortable chairs, plus a bar, café, and rooftop restaurant and bar with indoor and outdoor seating. Valet parking was reasonably priced, and the car came promptly when we needed it. We didn't use the rooftop because an ice storm had things closing early Friday, and most places stayed closed until Monday. We ate there Saturday night, though, and had really good burgers and crispy potato wedges. The café kept to its business hours all weekend.

Everything about our stay was lovely. The hotel was beautiful and immaculately clean, and the staff were friendly, efficient, and knowledgeable. We had a delicious breakfast with plenty of choices. The lobby smelled wonderful and had lots of places to sit and gather with friends.

I'm a longtime diamond member, and this is how it went. I booked one night using points, with a confirmed room for two queen beds. I checked in through the Hilton app 24 hours ahead and selected the available two-bed room I wanted. That was confirmed too, as a room on the 10th floor. When I arrived at 4:30pm, the front desk said my room wasn't available and there wasn't any room with two beds in the whole hotel. I asked how my family was supposed to fit in a king bed, but nobody tried to help. They offered a possible pullout sofa. We left and went home after being told our points would be refunded or we'd be compensated. The desk said to call Hilton and request the refund, then cancelled our reservation two seconds after we left. After our 5pm dinner reservation, we called Hilton on the way home. They said the cancellation meant they couldn't help and told us to call the front desk. Someone else answered, took our number, and promised a callback that never came. We called Hilton again to complain and were promised our points back, though we have no evidence of that yet. Is this normal?