Hampton Inn & Suites Williamstown Ark Encounter

The hotel was a good fit for an Ark Encounter visit. There’s a gate and clear signs for the walk to the shuttle area, less than five minutes away. This is a larger-than-usual Hampton Inn, and the staff and breakfast crew were great. Our room was spotless, and the heater worked, though it got noisy at times. These units seem to last about five years. The area looked and felt reasonably safe, but it’s a tourism spot, so stay aware of your surroundings. You’ll need to drive to restaurants or convenience stores in Williamstown, since there aren’t practical, safe walking options nearby. We’d stay again.

It took us over four hours to drive to the Ark Encounter in February 2026. We had a wonderful time touring the site, but by the time we finished it was getting dark and we were tired from the drive and walking, so we booked a room at the Hampton Inn Ark Encounter property. We got to the lobby a few minutes before check-in. The front desk started processing our reservation and then told us they couldn’t check us in because we’d booked through a third party that hadn’t released the money to the Hampton Inn. We had actually booked on the Hampton Inn website, and there was no way to tell it had taken us to a third party. I expected Hampton Inn to work with them to fix the issue, but we were left to handle it ourselves. One staff member said this happened quite often. I told them that if it was a recurring problem, management should have addressed it earlier, and customers shouldn’t have to sort it out. The third party was willing to resolve the problem because they wanted our business. They apologized and followed through with actions that showed they meant it. But the Hampton Inn staff member was difficult about helping. The third party said the hotel wasn’t honoring the room rate agreed to in the reservation. It was stressful and frustrating, and my wife and I eventually canceled. Then the staff member said we might not get our money back. After a lot of back and forth, the third party was the only one willing to resolve things, and their representative assured us we’d get a full refund with no penalty or charges. This took about an hour and a half to two hours, with no empathy or understanding from that staff member. They made empty apologies and took no action. Be careful booking this property. It’s best to speak with Hampton Inn representatives directly, or you could end up trying to find last-minute lodging without help, as we did.

There’s a gate from the hotel to the Ark property, which makes this a convenient place to stay when visiting. We had a spacious room, and both the pool and fitness room looked clean and well cared for, though I didn’t use either. Breakfast had a good range of hot and cold choices, and there’s free coffee in the lobby around the clock. I definitely made use of that. The only issue was that the nightstand outlet wasn’t working properly.

We had plenty of room for all six of us, and the price was very reasonable. The hotel was clean, check-in was easy, and walking over to catch the bus for the Ark Encounter was super convenient. Breakfast was about what you’d expect, while the free coffee available 24 hours a day was a nice extra.