I am a fan of Hilton hotels, having stayed at their properties for years; especially the perks you can receive through the HHonors program...

Being able to use your points for upgrades at certain properties, in the restaurants, and otherways, has always been nice.

Being able to link with credit cards and airlines that give HHonors points has also been great.

Learning that being an HHonors member, I can contact HHonors customer service if a property is sold out and they can get a reservation in at that property for me since HHonors members receive priority over non-members, has been a plus...

not to mention the fact that I can use my points on Amazon?! Yes please!

Anyway, Hampton Inn Convention Baltimore was a pleasant experience; my mother, sister and I stayed here couple of weekends ago while in town for a memorial for my mother's sister-in-law/our aunt.

This is a great place to go if you're in town for a ball game since the hotel sits directly behind the ballpark and you merely need to walk across the street to get to it.

Breakfast was nice, with a nice variety of the usual hot and cold items, breads for toasting, milk and juice, eggs, meat, fresh fruit and hard-boiled eggs, waffles, coffee, etc.

Their "Go Bag" for guests on the run are great; an apple, a couple of little breakfast bars, a water, and a napkin.

Unfortunately, they have one person working and she did not appear to understand requests made for items that were out. Additionally, she seemed put out to be asked about those items' availability, then would say she'd get whatever you asked for in a minute, then would go back to things like wiping down the coffee station or the Hilton emblem on the wall next to the toaster. Definitely not really a Hilton standard.

Having been a guest at Hilton hotels for a number of years, I was a little nonplussed at the $150 per day incidental hold at this property. If they had a restaurant, it would make sense, but it has nothing more than a Marketplace with small incidental items, some cold/frozen items and some adult beverages like beers and wine. Maybe a $50 a day incidental hold would be more appropriate, then up that if the guest gets close to the $50 (since I'm sure there are those who have a few beers at a ball game and come back ready to party it up from the Marketplace beverages).

That said, the room was a nice size and, although the decor was a little dated, everything was comfortable and clean...

If you are sensitive to scented sprays, beware that housekeeping apparently sprays something in each room upon cleaning to deodorize, but it's really just a very strong, very perfumey, pretty unpleasant fog when you walk in.

Mad respect and special props to the valets; they were super responsive and quick to help my mother, who is not steady on her feet. Having been in the hotel business 30 years ago, and now part time, I get that they work for tips, but these guys were just super nice above and beyond.

Be aware, H.I. offers only valet parking at almost $40 a day. There is other parking around that you can walk to if you want, but the only street parking is metered.

Their pool is in the basement, clearly having been eked in at some point long after the building was built, so it is very small and it is an "L" shape.

Unfortunately, because of its size, if there're any children in the pool, you may as well resign yourself to staying in one corner so as not to be jumped on or splashed. This is not the fault of the hotel, though...

SO PARENTS, PLEASE WATCH YOUR KIDS AND DON'T LET THEM ROUGHHOUSE AND CANNONBALL ON TOP OF ADULTS IN THE POOL

The chlorine level in the pool is pretty high, too, it's all I could smell for the rest of the day, so be aware.

Again, all in all, a nice experience and will definitely be back.