Hilton Trinidad & Conference Centre — Hotel in Trinidad

Location is great because it's close to restaurants, beaches and shopping. The facility itself was well kept with the exceptions of our bedroom which was very dated. I had dinner at the resturant herbs & spices (pricey) but it was delicious and the waiter was phenomenal. I also bought the breakfast package ahead and got it at a pretty good deal 20US for 2 persons. My brother on the other hand didnt get that option and paid while there at 450TT roughly 60ish Us for for one day and I can stay it definitely was not worth that. Breakfast was very limited on days and catered more to local cuisines. One morning we arrived about 10:15 am it was made very clear we only had another 15 minutes to eat. Let me start with other issues with my stay from start to end and some of my experiences are as follows...... after check in I received a call from my bank advising me that Hilton attempted to charge my card 645.00 US dollars and after calling to the front desk I was told it was done in error as the agent never converted the funds from TT dollars. I complained the next day after we found bugs crawling over the furniture in the room and after speaking with management I was advised it was ants and someone was sent to clean the affected areas. The "ant problem" didnt go away I posted a video and pics of the issues. Towels were never available at the pool and they limited how many towels to your room" such an inconvenience on a pool, beach and gym day". At check out I got another call from my bank about another change hilton was attempting to chage my card and when I called they explained I was initially incorrectly billed " I paid in advance" and because if a room rate change I was responsible for and excess of 27us dollars after showing my confirmation email and breakdown of cost I spoke with Derrick at the front desk who assured me this would be waived..... & since then it has not been.(update since this post a credit was issued to my card) Overall the customer service at the front desk was less then that expected from the hilton brand. This was my 2nd stay here and my 1st stay wasnt any better I decided to give them a try again simply because of location. I will stick with Hyatt next time! My brother and some friends also stayed during my stay and had issues as well. One friend was asked at the pool to have his bags checked to see if he had any beers in it. There were issues with check in from my brother as well, since it was via priceline they claimed they couldn't find it and couldn't reach anyone since it was Christmas day to confirm reservations. He had to pay for a full night plus deposit until the could get it straight the next day. Needless after checking into the room and calling priceline themselves they were able to reach someone and confirm the reservations themselves and get it...

As of March 2018:

Check in -

First off - no cash policy. Not sure if I missed that while booking online. They take no cash, only credit card to hold your deposit (see below) though their little desk notice says debit card accepted too. They didn't want to use my debit.. odd.

Secondly - be ready to add $600-$1200 on top of your reservation cost - per night. This is some deposit that they hold in the event of you breaking anything. Wish I had also known this upfront when booking online.

Thirdly - gave reception my ID card but still pulled up the wrong reservation and asking me for the names of my other 3 party members... I'm checking in solo.. Seems he got my name wrong. Minor literacy issue maybe?

Hotel room - King studio suite

Pros:- Clean room. Great View Comfy bed Comfy chairs.

Cons:- The bedside table draws seems to not stay closed. I thought house keeping just left it open when they finished cleaning so I closed it. But by the time I came back from washing my face, the two draws were out again. I gave the ghosts of room 552 a good telling off and wedged the drawn with paper. Fixed. Toilet area smells No cutlery - not even one spoon for the tea area. Make tea the barberric way. Bathroom door seal doesn't extend to the bottom... Get ready for water outside the bathroom door. It made for a very slippery, death defying journey from the bathroom stall to the sink. I survived. Ironing board was dirty. No lights outside in the balcony. Cost cutting measure?

Hotel grounds:

Great views of the Savannah and Port or Spain. Reggae by the pool... If you're into that.

Food:

Buffett was great. Awesome selections. Kind staff at the dining area. Not really a surprise but everything is subjected to hotel tax and vat. Even that bottle of water you need after you drank your two 12oz complimentary bottles you get upon check in.

In closing - I've been trying to experience different hotels and resorts in my country and found that I'll not return to Hilton.

Not because it was horrible..but, It was just... fine.... Nothing spectacular.

Maybe I need to pay more attention to the check in requirements. - didn't have this issue at...

As a German vegetarian, I was genuinely looking forward to Hilton’s Oktoberfest-themed restaurant week. It is embarrassing that an international hotel brand like Hilton cannot differentiate between vegetarian, vegan, and pescatarian diets. Therefore the experience was frustrating on multiple levels.

Negative:

Several dishes were marked as “vegetarian” but clearly weren’t. I added a video of their Instragram story where they claim fish ect is vegetarian.

Fish dishes were highlighted as vegetarian.

The potato salad contained bacon without being labeled as such on the menu.

The “vegan Maultaschen” label was applied to the Sonntagssuppe, which are two entirely different things.

The Bavarian cream, typically made with gelatin (an animal product), was labeled vegetarian — which it is not.

*The so-called Black Forest cake tasted and looked like a generic store-bought cake, nothing like an authentic Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte

Even the charcuterie board had meat and cheese mixed together rather than separated, making it unusable for vegetarians and risky for people with allergies. Cross-contamination was clearly not considered.

For context: in Germany, cheese and cold cuts are almost always (9/10 times) served on separate platters at buffets, both for presentation and to ensure people with allergies, religious dietary rules, or certain diets can eat safely. Mixing cheese and meat on the same board, as Hilton did, makes little sense in an international hotel. I also take some blame here, since I assumed the buffet layout would reflect the German tradition of keeping things separate for exactly these reasons.

On the positive side:

The staff made a good effort dressing in Oktoberfest outfits, which added to the atmosphere. The normal meat options appeared accurate. There was a live station for Flammkuchen and Käsespätzle, which was a nice touch.

Overall, while the ambiance and some side dishes were enjoyable, the misleading labeling and lack of genuine vegetarian options made the experience disappointing — especially for those with dietary restrictions. For a vegetarian, it was definitely not worth the...