Hilton Garden Inn BWI Airport — Hotel in Arbutus

The room smelled like mold. My pillows smelled like mold. If I hadn't been treated so poorly when I (finally) complained, I would be satisfied and happy. That's not what happened though.||I arrived at the Hilton Garden Inn BWI around 9:30pm, plugged in my computer, unpacked a couple of things, and went to the restaurant across the street. I couldn't find anything decent, so I came bad to the hotel, picked up a mediocre salad, and retired to my room. The room (Rm 139) smelled musty. By now it was going on 10pm, and I had to be up at 4am for a 6pm flight. Changing rooms would be a hassle, and maybe it wasn't so bad. I ate my salad and watched a little tv. It still smelled but it wasn't terrible. Eventually, I climbed into bed and layed down. The pillows smelled bad - like really mildewy. I laid in bed for 15 or 20 minutes. It was really bad. Got dressed, packed up, went to the front desk. ||Told the fellow at the front desk that my room smelled terrible - mildewy - and that I couldn't sleep. "I can't move you. I don't have any rooms that aren't more expensive. If you want a different room you'll have to pay more for it" I explained that my room smelled like mildrew and that he needed to move me. "Did you tell anyone at the desk earlier that your room smelled bad?" I was stunned. No - I hadn't; i didn't want to be a problem and moving would be a hassle, but now I couldn't stay there - it was a problem. He repeated that he couldn't move me unless I was willing to pay for a more expensive room. He must have told me I needed to pay for a more expensive room three times. Eventually I said you can't leave me in a room where I'm sleeping on mildewed pillows - that's a health hazard. "There's no health hazard in this hotel. Why didn't you complain earlier?"||Now I'm pretty angry. I say, "Because I didn't. Are you saying I'm lying? Why on earth would I come to the lobby at 12:30 in the morning in advance of a 4am shuttle to the airport making up lies about mildew?" He tells that he doesn't know what I might do and that he can't do anything unless he can have someone come check out my room. "When?" I ask. He can't - won't - tell me. I say, "I can get you a pillow - you can smell the mold for yourself." ||"Fine," he says. I leave to get a pillow, which I bring back to the desk. He sniffs it. "Do all the pillows smell like this? Is this the only one?" I tell him that yes, all the pillows smell like that. I am relieved; a new room is in sight.||Now he just stares at me, unconcerned. "Sooooo?" I say. "I have to get someone to check out your room." ???????????? "When?" He shrugged. "Can you ballpark me? 10 minutes? 15 minutes? an hour?" He shrugged, then, "I called him. When he gets back." ||"Is he on the property?" I ask. His response: "I don't know". I take a seat in the lobby. Five minutes later a different fellow comes over, and we walk to my room. I open the door and he sticks his head in. "It's bad," he says. "Let's go." ||Back at the front desk, the night manager (at this point, I am sure that he is not allowed to help me - must be a bad boss) starts doing something behind the desk. I suppose he's moving me, but he gives me no indication of that, nor does he apologize for the smelly room or the presumption that I am a liar. I am both irritated and uncomfortable and say, "I'm sorry that your managers haven't empowered you to make these decisions on your own." ||Now he yells at me. "Do you think I'm stupid?" No - I didn't, and at this moment I no longer think he's victim of a bad administration. I now think he's a jerk, but I don't say this. I say, "No, I don't think you're stupid. I think you must not have had the authority to move me." ||"Didn't I tell you that people make up all kinds of stories. People come down here telling me all kinds of stuff. I had to have someone check it out."||"But you smelled the pillow. You smelled the mildew...."||"SO you think I'm stupid. I am not stupid. I'm moving you. Do you want to take the room or use the door?"||I am gobsmacked. After having been yelled at, called a liar, and told that I have to pay more for a non-mildew room, I find myself apologizing to the night clerk for making him feel like I thought he was stupid, a thing which I neither thought nor said. Whatever his issue was, and there was an issue, he should not be in a forward-facing, customer service position. It is now 1:30am and I am so wound up I doubt I'll sleep. At least this room smells okay.||TL:DR - stay somewhere else. The mildew smell was the best part of this experience. This Hilton has the worst customer service I have ever...

First and foremost: if you take nothing else from this review, do not stay here. I stayed here twice for a total of 4 nights and both stays were marred by incorrect room types and poor customer service. This extends to Hilton HQ as they were insultingly uninterested in making things right.

I'm a disabled individual who booked one king size bed with roll-in shower for both stays, and had booked several months in advance. When I arrived on day 1 of stay 1, I walked in to check-in as the mobile ability was unavailable, only to be told that check-in wouldn't be available for some time. After dragging my exhausted self back to the car and getting food, I was checked in automatically around an hour later, so I returned to the hotel, got keycards from the front desk, and headed to our room. I was greeted by an incorrect room - an accessible tub instead of a roll-in shower - but my +1 suggested that we try to make it work. Spoiler warning: when you are disabled and are given incorrect accommodations, you are going to have a bad time. It was both difficult and dangerous for me, even with assistance, to shower. But as we had dinner and decided to get some sleep, the two of us crawled into bed; and it collapsed.

So, after being confused and colorful language was exchanged, we decided to investigate what happened and attempt to mend it. Remember now that it's almost 1am, I haven't slept in 25 hours, I'm barely capable of basic daily functions and me and my +1 are trying to, non-destructively, mend a bed. We find that the support slats are woefully inadequate and in short supply, with only 6 on each side of the bed (my cheapo frame at home has double that, and they are better secured as to avoid this problem). After a few minutes we get the bed apart, shift and adjust and reinstall the slats, and reassemble the bed. At checkout I received a survey and detailed these issues, and received an email supposedly from the management apologizing for my troubles, thanking me for being a diamond member, but offering nothing but empty words.

On day 1 of stay 2 a week later, I was again unable to do mobile check-in and was presented with a message to 'simply come to the front desk'. Worried but with a day-long drive ahead of me, I started the road trip. When I arrived at midnight, I was told that they just needed to see my ID (why? I was just here without that requirement) and then they gave me the keycards and off we went. Except, the room I was given this time wasn't even an accessible room. It was a standard corner (read: ikea-tiny sized) and the air was ripe with weed. As a standard room used a shower-tub combo that I cannot get into, my +1 went down to the front desk while I stayed behind (as walking is difficult and slow). When they were gone I surveyed the other customers of the hotel, and while I don't want to make assumptions, I got the feeling that there was illegal adult activities occurring just two rooms away, with people coming and going and some individuals hanging around the door in the hallway.

When my +1 returned a few minutes later they had good news, we've been moved to a different room a few doors down. When we arrived and opened the door, we saw that it was a 'suite' (read: a living room space with couch and TV, alongside the standard basic bedroom and bath). Fine by me, and this room actually has the correct accessible bathroom. Both of us noted how the air was stale and smelled 'dusty', like it hadn't been used in quite some time. As I fell in bed, well past 1 in the morning, my +1 made an announcement.

"There's a hole in the ceiling."

Let's recap: first stay, wrong room, bed collapsed upon sitting on it; second stay, wrong room, room not accessible, replacement room unusually stale, replacement room has hole in the ceiling. We aren't done yet, by the way. Morning came and when we checked out, we alerted the front desk clerk about the (now apparent) water damage, hole, and sagging ceiling, who acted like we were just bothering her lunch break. She also had a tone with a customer who called...

(Part 1 of 2) (Will post addition on new account because I can't rate it twice) I'm so beyond disappointed and disgusted by the behavior by this hotel. I've stayed there twice before this last time, and never again. We've always been so happy with the staff, until now. I'm 18, with a credit and debit card. I've always had my dad under the reservation, but because he only deals in cash, I always pay with my card. I always call to make sure it's ok before booking the room, and they always gjve the green light. We've never had an issue until the last time. The receptionist, named Maggie, was rude and unprofessional, always giving glares from the beginning. She said she can't check me in because I was under 21, I told her she's confused, I'm not the one checking in, I'm just paying. Still, she refused even after I told her that I have checked in this way twice before with no issues. She said "It's hotel policy, my manager said you can'tcheck in", I never saw a manager step out of whatever room she stepped into to "ask". I told her my dad doesn't have a card, but she insisted it be his card. I said that's not possible, so she can give us our money back and we can go elsewhere. She refused, even though it was prepaid through booking.com. Once both my parents were at the front desk, she began to argue with them. She accused me of lying, she claimed I lied about my father staying in the room with me, even though I explicitly clarified to her that the room was for him and I to visit family here in Maryland. Eventually, she gave up and added my mom (who lives in Maryland) as a guest and used her card. She told us that the card would be charged the prepayment from booking.com and incidental. After that, she allowed us to check in. When I went to swipe my card upstairs, it didn't work. So I went downstairs to ask Maggie to remagnetize our cards. She said "No, try them again, you must be doing it wrong". So I reluctantly go back upstairs to try it again, with no avail. I'm convinced that they aren't magnetized at all, so I try the keys on the amenities like the pool, didn't work. Now I knew for sure they weren't magnetized. I go ask Maggie to please magnetize them and explained. She refused, she said "Only your parents can ask, I can't magnetize them for the child". So I called my parents, who had left for lunch, I stayed in the room, and they had to drive half way across town even though she just saw my parents check in not 20 minutes ago. So they arrive, get the cards magnetized, and go up to my room. Immediately, I get on the phone with Hilton customer service, speak to a representative, and she clarified to me that I am in fact allowed to check in this way per Hilton policy and that the receptionist was wrong. I expressed my disappointment and the representative redirected me to corporate for further resolution. I sent corporate Guest correspondence an email about my experience and I'd like a refund. In the mean time, we continue our stay. During my stay, I check my card to make sure all charges were made to my mom's card (I had transferred her back the money). Turns out, Maggie had not charged my mom's card, even though she said she did. She charged my original card on the reservation, as was intended had this all not happened, but she said she couldn't pay with mine because I was "under 21". She caused a serious issue for my family. On the last night, I come back to the hotel and pick up a drink from the concierge. I ask her to please ring it up to my dad's name and room number. She ignores me. So I ask her if I need a parents permission to get the drink (even though I've already, within that stay, purchased twice at the concierge). She proceeded to scream at me aggressively saying "Only the REGISTERED GUEST can purchase from the concierge, not CHILDREN". So I set the drink down back at the counter and...