Hilton Garden Inn Rockford

The breakfast and breakfast staff deserve five stars, but the rest of the stay was awful. We wanted connecting rooms for a wedding group, but after adding a second room for our guests, they canceled our original reservation. I’m still not sure why they didn’t just add the room or whether the connecting-room request had anything to do with it. In the end, our rooms didn’t connect, and we were told none were available. So what was the point? We were also told some of us would need to pay to use the pool, though the website doesn’t mention a swimming fee. The extra guests weren’t registered to the room, which would make sense, but it was just two adults and our two kids. We waited in line a second time to sort it out, then learned it was a misunderstanding and we didn’t have to pay. That wasted my time. Then I asked about breakfast. The original $175 reservation included it, and I wanted that same rate with the Honors discount. I had to argue for the breakfast that was meant to be included. The attendant handling the other room couldn’t update it and said the 7 p.m. staff member would have to help. When I went back, she said she could include breakfast, but the rate had gone up $10-15 in the three hours since check-in. Unacceptable. This was my third trip downstairs to fix simple booking mistakes, from the room setup to the rates, and staff who should have known what they were doing seemed to be trying to charge me more. Was this a scam? Eventually the rates were adjusted and breakfast included, but it would’ve been easier to book on the app and avoid the front desk. At the pool, several groups seemed to target our belongings. Children would “fall,” grab our things, and walk away. Others asked to borrow goggles, then their whole family started packing up, or sat on our chairs and edged toward our bags and clothes. Someone even needed to “charge” a phone in the middle of all our stuff. We had to keep watch instead of enjoying the pool with our kids. I’ve traveled through over 30 states and stayed in so many hotels, and I’ve never experienced this level of poor service or had guests repeatedly try to catch us off guard and steal our things. The place needs security, and the staff need more training. I hope families read this and choose another hotel.

Our room was clean, spacious, and comfortable, and Tim made the check-in experience terrific. I travel for work enough to know things can go wrong. We had no payment method on file for our rooms and the conference room we needed the next day, even though I knew my company had sent a BEO to sales when the reservation was made. The room was paid for, but they still needed a card for incidentals. I understand that. When my team and I arrived, Tim welcomed us with a warm smile, quickly fixed the payment issue, and got us checked in. He didn’t blame me for not paying, which I’ve seen happen elsewhere. He stayed polite, smiled, and thanked me for choosing the hotel while sorting it out. I wish every hotel had someone like Tim. I can tell our company’s owner where to stay or avoid, and because of Tim’s work ethic and commitment to making our visit as good as possible, we’ll book this hotel and other available Hilton properties whenever we can. Thank you for doing your job so well. Highly recommend!

I’d stay again, but they should work on the staff’s attitude and keep the common areas tidier. There was clutter in the halls throughout our visit, and the woman at the front desk around 11 p.m. Friday was snippy with my wife when she asked a simple question about the concession area. We stayed overnight on 10/30 and left early on 10/31. The coffee in the morning was really good. Solid four stars.

The location was perfect for walking over after a concert at the Hard Rock Casino. Our room was a good size.