Hampton Inn & Suites San Clemente

I knew the property was under renovation when I booked, and a bit of dust or daytime noise wouldn’t have bothered me. I’d stayed at a Fairfield Inn (Marriott) during construction several times in the past year, and they did a much better job setting expectations. Here, construction materials and possibly work vehicles took up a lot of the parking. At check-in, I was told breakfast would be in the lobby because the dining area was being worked on, but nobody mentioned the other disruptions. My second-floor room turned out to be what the elevator now calls the third floor. I figured it out, but at 9:30pm, after a long day, I just wanted to get to my room and relax. The recently renovated room was clearly unfinished. There was tape on the bathroom sprinkler head, missing outlet covers with exposed wires you could touch in a dark room, and quality control that anyone paying for a renovation would be unhappy with. The patio door was covered in plastic on the outside, so I couldn’t use the balcony I’d reserved. The advertised hot breakfast was actually a grab-and-go bag with a bagel, apple, orange, and yogurt. Coffee was available, but nowhere to sit. The disclaimer about renovations should have said that the pool, fitness center, hot breakfast, and balconies were unavailable. I found it misleading, and the stay wasn’t worth the points I redeemed. I told the front desk about the room issues, and he said he’d pass them to the construction team. I hope management heard too, though I assume they didn’t, since I haven’t heard from them in three days.

The rooms are nice, but if the AC doesn’t work while the hotel is under construction, guests should get a heads-up, or the place should close for that period. Update: the AC sort of works in the new room, but there’s no shampoo or body wash in the shower.

I arrived that same night and they had a room available. As a woman staying alone, I felt very safe. The balcony had chairs and a lovely little ocean view, which was amazing, and breakfast was good too. I’ll come back 💛🌊🥥

I booked this property in August 2025, months ahead of a friend’s wedding, then got an email just four days before arrival saying the reservation was canceled because of renovations and a lack of rooms. If the hotel knew it couldn’t honor bookings during the renovation, it shouldn’t have accepted them. Canceling so close to a major event shows poor planning and little regard for customers. I called several times and got conflicting explanations from staff. One employee said the manager, Fernanda, was working from home because of renovations; another said she was on medical leave; later I was told again that she was working from home while dealing with health issues. I called twice a day for three days and left my information, but nobody called back. On the third day, a front desk employee, Stella, said she had passed my information to Fernanda, who replied, "thank you i'll call her". I still haven’t heard from Fernanda. As a loyal Hilton Honors member, this has seriously made me question the customer care at this property and made me consider switching to Marriott or Hyatt. I escalated the issue to Hilton Escalated Customer Service on Wednesday evening and was told the manager had 48 hours to contact me. It’s now Friday, and I still haven’t heard from Fernanda.