DoubleTree by Hilton Napa Valley American Canyon — Hotel in American Canyon

As a long-time Hilton Honors Diamond member, I have grown to expect a consistent level of service and recognition when staying at Hilton properties. Unfortunately, my recent visit to the Hilton DoubleTree in Napa was the exact opposite one of the most disappointing hotel experiences I’ve had, and certainly not what I expect from Hilton, especially in a location as renowned as Napa Valley.

From the moment I attempted to check in, the service felt indifferent and dismissive. As a Diamond member, early check-in is one of the most basic perks I’ve come to rely on, especially when planning a special weekend away. Despite multiple attempts to contact the property in advance to confirm accommodations and check-in time, I received no timely response. When I arrived, there was no willingness to accommodate me at all no flexibility, no sense of urgency, and absolutely no recognition of my loyalty status. Instead of feeling valued, I felt brushed aside as if my status meant nothing.

What made this experience worse was the sharp contrast I witnessed with another hotel chain. My father, who is a Marriott member but not even at their top-tier equivalent of Diamond, was staying nearby. His Marriott property not only responded promptly to his requests but also happily accommodated him for an early check-in. Watching him receive better treatment without having the years of loyalty, nights stayed, and money spent that I’ve invested in Hilton was frustrating and frankly embarrassing.

The lack of hospitality at the DoubleTree Napa was more than an inconvenience it truly put a damper on my entire weekend. Napa is a place where service and hospitality should shine; instead, I was met with stonewalling and indifference. Rather than being able to relax and enjoy the trip, I started the weekend stressed, unsettled, and with a bitter taste in my mouth about Hilton as a whole.

Customer service is often about the small things acknowledging loyalty, showing effort to meet a guest halfway, or simply responding to requests with empathy. At this property, I saw none of that. There was no recognition of my Diamond status, no solutions offered, and no genuine attempt to make my experience better. It felt transactional and cold, the opposite of what Hilton promises to its most loyal guests.

In the end, this stay left me questioning my loyalty to Hilton. If a Diamond member cannot rely on basic accommodations like early check-in, timely communication, or even simple recognition, what is the point of maintaining loyalty at all? Hilton touts its Honors program as a way to reward long-standing members, but this property demonstrated the opposite it highlighted just how empty those promises can feel when a hotel chooses not to deliver.

I don’t write this review lightly. I have stayed at Hiltons across the world and have typically felt valued and appreciated. But the Hilton DoubleTree Napa failed at every level of service that matters, leaving me with an experience I wouldn’t recommend to anyone especially fellow Diamond members who expect their loyalty to...

I'd like to be able to give a good review but cannot. I overlooked a few things like a broken iron (they brought a new one), our room was not ready upon check-in, yes, the pool looks murky and I hope the Koi fish live to tell about it but my biggest gripe (and we gave them 3 attempts to rectify it) is: Some guy began playing his guitar at 11:30 pm AND singing (perhaps he was recording his new material in the quiet of a hotel where EVERYONE was sleeping...cheaper than a recording studio). Additionally, there was the singer and I guess his back-up female vocalist; we could hear them through the walls and the guitar was loud enough to 'feel' the chords. After 45 mins, I texted the front desk on the app they have and asked them to please speak to the people so that it would end and we could get sleep (the real reason for hotels in the first place...to sleep and get rest while traveling). They said they'd send security up. They did not. The guy literally played and sang ALL NIGHT long until 6 am. Upon checkout, I mentioned again and that because I got ZERO sleep, it not only affected my night but now I could not share the driving w/my husband as I was exhausted and would be a drowsy driver and that the trip was a bit of a problem now because one person was doing all the driving. I asked why security did not come/stop the person. "I'll look into" and let you know (no discount, no anything...). and no response. I called a few days after we returned to speak to the higher manager..."I'll look into"....he did not. No call, no follow-up, no discount/refund...no sympathy, no customer service. All of the housekeeping staff that we encountered throughout the grounds/place were very friendly and kind; the woman who brought the new iron "Shirl" was a sweetheart. The management and the 'customer service' aspect of the hotel 'doing right' was ZERO. I said to them "Oh, the hotel seems to be fine if there's no problem I guess. But when there is a problem like someone is RUDELY playing the guitar all night long (we weren't the only room that abutted theirs obviously....) and the guests cannot sleep, you do nothing...?! VERY DISAPPOINTED. The place is in need of new everything...including new customer service and management skills so when they're guests encounter an issue or problem, you can SOLVE it. For that one problem, I contacted the night staff that evening on their in-house customer service app, one front desk person, Darwin, upon checking out, and the manager Watkins over the phone the following week....not one of them did anything, nobody called back/followed up, etc. All 3 points of contact IGNORED the problem that was quite able to be solved. POOR service. Stay elsewhere. (The guy might be recording his next album there...).| |If you need no sleep and like being...

We came here to redeem one of those free stays that come with a timeshare presentation and also to celebrate a couple of birthdays in the family. What a tremendous mistake that was. ||As we pulled up to the hotel, we had high hopes as the entrance to the hotel has a unique and beautiful design. Unfortunately, the hopes were short-lived. After checking in, we drove around the building to the entrance where our room was, and upon entering the building we were immediately encountered with a strong whiff of marijuana scent. The card reader in the doors are also slow to respond, so every time we tried to enter a door, we'd have to reinsert it a few times for the doors to unlock. ||Once we entered the room, we knew we were in for a long stay. The smell shifted from marijuana in the hallway to musty in the room. The carpet was so stained, I was afraid to take my shoes off. We then found out the refrigerator wasn't working at all, and after the hotel sent someone to fix it and waiting as we were told, we realized it was completely broken and asked to get a replacement. The toilet flush handle was broken as the water would just keep running unless you readjusted it after each flush; one of the wheels on the chair in the room was broken so you literally had to pick it up to adjust it even in the slightest; the bathroom door would not latch no matter how hard you pushed/pulled; the handle to the bathroom door was also completely broken; the A/C unit was so loud when the heater kicked on that we couldn't sleep with it running; the pool was too cold to swim in; the hot tub was barely hot; the lagoon had oil spots with debris all around, etc. Honestly, I could go on and on, but you get the picture. The property desperately needs a renovation and it sounds like it's happening soon, so maybe things will be better then. ||On the other hand, there are great cookies at check-in and certain staff members were going out of their way to make guests happy. We appreciated Imelda especially for the effort she put in as well as the servers in the restaurant during breakfast. Unfortunately, there were also a couple of staff members that were a bit grouchy and one even made a big deal of us getting a couple of free waters. I appreciated his explanation, but the attitude was unfortunate and unappreciated. Despite this, I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to work at a property with this many issues, so I can't blame the staff either way. If not for staff members like Imelda who thrive despite the difficult conditions, this would absolutely have been a 1-star review.||Anyway, if they can keep the staff and actually give them the tools and hard product to succeed, I'm sure this property will be able to realize...