DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel West Edmonton — Hotel in Edmonton

RACIST REMARK BY STAFF MEMBER: I gave this hotel a one star review because of the racist remark by one of their staff member and the lack of follow up by the hotel's manager despite my requesting a conversation with them to address this matter constructively.

I checked in at this hotel with my friends on Thanksgiving weekend. My friend's found their room to have a foul odour. The assistant manager and a cleaning staff member came to investigate. They were both very nice, agreed with us and upgraded our rooms to a large suite and provided us with free breakfast. The cleaning staff member went on to explain that the reason why the rooms were left with a terrible smell is that the 'East Indian* cleaners have body odour so they are not able to smell the room properly'. I told the staff member that I am East Indian. She then apologized and said 'not you, certain East Indian women have body odour'. After she walked away, I turned to the Assistant Manager and said I wanted to speak to the Manager regarding the racist remark that I experienced. The Assistant Manager took what I said very seriously and immediately contacted the Manager and return within an hour to tell me that she told him that despite his being on vacation, he should get in touch with me.

Its been an entire week, no word from the Manager. I was deeply disappointed.

I learned from other friends who checked in to the same hotel a few hours after I did that they had similar issue with the rooms smelling and they believe the same cleaning staff member who made the remark arrived at their rooms. She appeared nervous and was afraid of losing her job as she heard about my complaint. I approached the Assistant Manager and made it clear to her that I do not want that cleaning staff member to be fired, she is a woman who needs her job, and the purpose of my complaint was not to have her fired as this will not help us move forward and break harmful stereotypes. I believe that the Hilton is failing at their ability to provide anti-racism training to their staff and its not a safe environment for people of color, in particular, South Asian, whether they be staff members or guests at the hotel.

Back here in Toronto I consulted with many people regarding this matter, some of whom work in the corporate world. The advice I received is that the Hilton likely will do nothing about it, and if anything they will fire that cleaning staff. I was very conflicted as I do not want that person to get fired. I am writing this review in hope that perhaps someone at the Hilton will take what I am sharing seriously and address this matter more constructively. Or that other guests at the Hilton will make note of this and bring their concerns forward.

Nothing will change if we don't speak up. Our voice is our most powerful tool. Thank you for those of you who took the time to read this and like this message to give it more visibility.

*East Indian is an outdated term that refers to people from India. The term South Asian is...

My experience at this hotel was an absolute nightmare, particularly with the front desk staff. We had booked this venue and a number of hotel rooms for our wedding. I will try to keep this review as succinct as possible within the given character limit. We were provided a honeymoon suite for the evening of our wedding. We also booked a regular room in the morning for wedding preparations (such as hair and makeup). We had asked the front desk for an additional chair/stool and they said they would bring one up but they never did. A minor inconvenience made worse by major compounding problems that followed. Our honeymoon suite wasn't prepared in time for our check-in. By the time it was, our wedding had already begun. We had asked if they were able to transfer rooms for us but instead our maid of honor missed out on our first look (including photos) in order to stay behind to do so. During the rushed room move, one of my personal bags we believe was left behind which contained prescription medications, ID, keys, etc. We are flying out for a week to our honeymoon at 6am the next morning and were told we could not inquire about lost items until 9am the next morning, which was after our flight. We were also told it would be through a third party website (what?) that advertises itself as a revolutionary and convenient service despite a 2 day turnaround time. Despite the urgency and seriousness of the situation, we were met with an extremely condescending and inappropriate tone and attitude from the front desk over the phone. Back when signing the contract we were told that guests who used our code would get a packaged deal which would include a discounted guestroom and breakfast for 2. The morning following our wedding our guests were told they were not offered the complimentary breakfast, so instead of enjoying our next morning as newlyweds in our honeymoon suite, we had to wake up and come down to the front desk to physically show them the contract in order to receive breakfast vouchers for our waiting and irritated guests. Apparently our signed contract we had on hand (luckily) didn't match what they had in their system which was concerning. It took up to just two months before the actual wedding day to finally receive the code for our guests to use to book their rooms for the wedding, which was stressful to us and our guests travelling from out of town. This led to some guests deciding to simply book elsewhere nearby or to uber home that evening - choices they were wise to make. The catering, restaurant, and ballroom staff who supported us directly were wonderful and easy to work with. That being said, I would never stay at this hotel again. If you are considering this space for a wedding, save yourself, your guests, and your vendors the added stress of an already stressful day and the frustration that may follow (which may impact your honeymoon as it has for us) and look somewhere else....

During a recent business trip to Edmonton, I had initially booked and prepaid a reservation at Home 2 Suites by Hilton through Hotels.com. My choice was influenced by Hilton's reputation for newer and well-appointed properties. To my disappointment, upon arrival at Home 2 Suites, I was informed that the hotel was fully occupied, resulting in the transfer of my reservation to DoubleTree.||||I proceeded to DoubleTree with a sense of dissatisfaction regarding Home 2 Suites' decision to give away my prepaid room. However, upon reaching DoubleTree, I was pleasantly surprised by the courteous front desk staff, who extended their apologies for the inconvenience caused by the overbooking at their sister property. They further informed me that my room had been upgraded as a gesture of goodwill.||||Upon entering my room, however, it became evident that this upgrade did not meet my expectations. The room displayed signs of wear and tear, and its dated appearance was not welcoming. Additionally, the room felt uncomfortably warm and stuffy. When I turned on the air conditioning, a musty odor filled the room.||||Accepting the situation, I made the best of it and decided to proceed. In the bathroom, I noticed a notice on the mirror stating that daily cleaning required prior notification to housekeeping. An attempt to use the TV revealed an absence of a working feed, and my efforts to check the source options proved futile.||||I contacted the front desk to report the issue with the TV and also requested daily room cleaning. It was already quite late in the evening (around 10 pm), so I suggested addressing the TV issue when housekeeping arrived the following morning during their routine cleaning. ||||The next morning, as I left for the day, I reminded the front desk of the need for room cleaning and TV repair, receiving assurance that it would be taken care of. Upon my return around 4 pm, I found that the room had not been attended to, although the TV was now functioning. I promptly informed the front desk about the oversight, highlighting my need for daily cleaning.||||Despite my feedback, when I returned to my room at 10 pm, I discovered that it had still not been serviced, though fresh towels had been left. The previous day's used towels remained untouched. I called the front desk to express my disappointment, and they offered their apologies. I requested additional coffee pods, which had also not been replenished, and they promptly sent someone with the requested items.||||In summary, my experience at this property fell significantly short of expectations, and I would hesitate to recommend a stay unless no alternatives...