Hilton Guadalajara Midtown — Hotel in Jalisco

My husband and I have stayed at this hotel a few times in the past 2 years. Our most recent trip was a Stay-cation for New Years Eve. We are new to Guadalajara and had no clue what to do for NYE celebrations so we decided to join in hotel events.

My husband has Diamond level status with Hilton so we are booked on the executive floors which offer a private area with snacks, nightly drinks and appetizers and supposedly an additional area in the hotel to relax. We were highly disappointed with the level of standards for this aspect of the benefits and the hotel. When we arrived for the nightly reception, the room was trashed. There is seating and tables outside and inside. All tables were filled with dirty plates, cups, left over junk. The tables where you self-serve food were splattered with tomato sauce and a variety of nasty stuff. There were only sodas available, no water (were in Mexico, please give me a water bottle), and no alcoholic drinks. I personally do not drink soda and the only alcohol I partake in is Prosecco or Champagne. I wouldn’t have expected these to be here and didn’t desire them anyway. I was taken aback that there was no water.

I decided to make myself a coffee with the Nespresso machine. I love Nespresso, but it was a very basic model. Meaning, that there was no dairy option attached. There was no creamer or sugar or coffee condiments available. Black coffee was it. I couldn’t believe that this was how they show love to their most dedicated clientele.

Since I had just a black coffee I thought I’d try a dessert. It looked like flan. Then I realized that there were literally no clean forks, knives, or spoons available to eat the dessert with.

I went back to my room to report the unhygienic room and ask for water and a fork. Well…no one answered the phone.

It’s unfortunate to have to leave these details, but we’ve traveled the world with Hilton and have never experienced something like this. Why there wasn’t at least one worker in attendance baffles me. Typically there is someone to check in the clients to make sure they should gain access. Here you use your keycard for access. There was a desk, but it was unattended. The executive lounge is something we look forward to utilizing on our trips, especially for easy access to water. The fact that we couldn’t even receive water while staying in Mexico where you should NOT drink the water is a travesty.

We were able to get extra waters during breakfast to brink up to the room (2 bottles). We also enjoyed the breakfast buffet as the dishes were delicious and well seasoned. They have an egg/omelet maker for hot eggs if you like. There were plenty of veggies, but perhaps they weren’t vegan and could have been cooked with animal stock. The staff at breakfast were extremely friendly and helpful and I gave them big tips for their service.

The NYE dinner food was delicious. The dessert wasn’t so great other than the donuts. It was difficult to receive butter or cream unless you asked for it and then they’d come back with a super small portion. I guess these things are not normally requested here for some reason.

I’d go back on a weekend for the breakfast buffet and then do some shopping in the mall on the future. Not so sure if we’d stay again after the...

My stay at this hotel was horrible especially the servers at the pool. Our second night of staying there my friends and I decided to go the pool to enjoy and take some fresh air. Upon arrival to the pool the server at the pool was quick to tell us that the pool area was close because it was past 8pm, my friends and I were understanding of that and we decided to just lounge on the chairs as the server said it was okay to do so. Server came up to us and asked if we wanted anything to drink only me and another friend asked for a pińa colada and another friend asked for water. The server ended up bringing everyone water and tried charging us and saying we ordered those waters. When we asked for the check we asked him to remove those water bottles because we did not ask nor drink them and he sort of just said he would and walked away with an attitude. The 3rd day me and another friend decided to go to the pool before our dinner reservation elsewhere from the hotel to relax after a long day. Again, upon arrival we were greeted by the same server as the night before and he was quick to tell us that no food or drinks were allowed unless they were from Hilton or we bought from the bar. Mind you not even water was allowed!! Lastly, on our last day there we all decided to go to the pool and try to relax before our trip came to an end and it turned into a bad experience. Since the server said we couldn’t take anything to the pool area the day before we decided to take coffee from the hotel since that was allowed but when we arrived with our coffee cups the same server came up to us and told us if he could check one of our cups to verify it was coffee !!?!!!?!?????????? I have never heard of such a thing and my friends and I felt as if we were liars and he was out to get us. We decided to go finish our coffee in peace at the room and go back to the pool area but the whole 20-30 minutes we were there another server that was attending the bar/Pool was starring at my group of friends and I. When asked why he was starring at us he said that was part of the service. I’m sorry but I didn’t know starring at people was part of your job ???? We observed many things that they were doing to us and it seemed like we were targets. There was another group of people who brought in water and food from outside the hotel and not once did the server go and tell them anything. When we pointed that out to the server allowing others to bring in food and water he said that they were bought at the hotel when that brand of water bottle we saw wasn’t even sold at that hotel. In conclusion, this server made the experience not enjoyable and made us feel like we were liars and we felt discriminated because we weren’t locals. It seemed like they were very nice and friendly to the locals but if you’re a tourist don’t stay here unless you want to be the target your whole trip. And to MHuerta (the server at the pool) ojalá nunca tenga que pasar por lo que usted los hizo pasar. Personas como usted no deben de trabajar en servicio de cliente si va ser una persona...

My cousin and I were excited to spend two nights at this brand new Hilton over New Years! It didn't end up so well. Let's start with the positives:

PROS: -The hotel is new and clean. -The service is really friendly and warm, especially Carolina, the concierge, Roberto, our bell man, and the bar-tending staff. They were especially caring when we expressed our disappointment with a few things. All in all, service was 5 stars. -Still provided executive lounge amenities, even though the lounge is not open yet. (see below)

CONS: -As a Hilton Diamond, no upgrade was provided, even though suites were available. After a long conversation, I realized that there is NO WAY you will be upgraded to a suite for being a Diamond. At most, you will get a higher floor. After seeing rooms on both high and low floors, they are almost identical, no real view difference, so it doesn't feel like an upgrade. This was the single biggest disappointment, especially having been upgraded to a suite the night before at the Westin for being Platinum. The hotel is only operating 4 of its floors right now, which probably doesn't help (5, 6, 9, 10). -The executive lounge is NOT open, and no one told us that before. -When we went to redeem EL drink coupons at the lobby lounge, there was no wine available. Then we ordered a Dos Equis, and that wasn't available either. We settled on some tequila cocktails...(small appetizers are also included) -The pool bar isn't open, and no one told us that -Jacuzzi temperature was lukewarm, and therefore not useful. It was perfect weather for a hot tub, so that was disappointing. -No bottled water provided in the Gym and the other water ran out. -Hairdryer was missing from room -Rooms are quite small -No maple syrup in the restaurant during breakfast -Screaming baby at night next to us (no one's fault there...but it didn't help our experience) -We thought the location would be prime, but actually it is not. It is next to a mall that is being built, and a 20 minute walk from nearby restaurants in Providencia.

Overall, our expectations were not met being a Diamond member in a new hotel on new years eve. However, I do have to give credit to the staff who really tried to make our stay as comfortable as possible even when we were discontent. They accommodated our vegetarian needs during New Years Eve dinner and sent up a bottle of wine as an apology. It is a new hotel with some kinks to work out. Maybe wait until March to stay here, but otherwise, stay at the Westin, NH, or...