Hampton Inn & Suites Atlanta-Downtown — Hotel in Atlanta

May 25-27, 2019 stay- Let me preference this review with a note that this hotel is UNDER RENOVATION. I asked the desk agent when it is expected to be complete and she stated there is a Grand ReOpening July 4th weekend. I have to return to the area for the next few months, so we shall see how everything goes for those visit.

The parking lot is public and for guest. Yup, it was full our first night (which was a Saturday and many events going on in the area) but the agent said it was okay for us to park in the Manager spot. The second night the lot was not as full. I made plans to take Marta where I needed so I would not need to move my car and risk parking elsewhere when I already paid for parking for the hotel.

The gym is nestled in the basement, nice but hot. I did not see an AC unit to adjust while there. Same equipment as all other Hampton Inns- dumbbells, stability ball, treadmills, few TVs, towels, water cooler. Love the treadmills, no plywood or hardboard underneath so it’s good on my legs- ran both nights of my stay. Even enjoyed a bit of TV while running.

Sunday morning the fire alarm goes off and we must evacuate. No problem (I’ll just be sure to request a 1st Floor when traveling with my twin infant cousins- totally my fault). Better safe than sorry. Well, upon returning into the hotel after a while in the hot GA sun, the one elevator for guests does not work. We wait (because...twin infants in carriers and baby bag). And wait. And wait. All of the attendants were so nice and even offered to help us up the stairs. We finally went up because we needed to take care of them and get ourselves ready for our (now delayed) day.

A nice attendant came and knocked on the door to check on us when one baby had a hissy fit. I think a neighboring room called the front desk (never confirmed, but, you know, babies cry and this isn’t a baby less hotel).

Breakfast was the usual and since they are under construction it takes place in one of the conference rooms. Hot and cold food, Waffle maker, fruit, juices, friendly attendants to assist.

Room 805- (It is a joint room. I hate those, so the stroller went right in front of the locked door). The beds are comfortable, enough pillows to lounge and get comfortable, great sized TV, decent view of the area from the window, plenty of lighting in the room, and curtains to hide the outside light when needed. Quaint closet space near bathroom. Bathroom is clean, but I always have a problem with the coffee make being in the bathroom, especially with the humidity and splashing water and those tea bags. Enough towels for the visit and housekeeping as kind enough to replace towels when requested and was okay with us not wanting service. Bathtub is comfy and the shower head has different settings. The door from the room to the hotel hallway was a bit funky- you really had to push/pull to make sure it was closed properly.

Only one elevator was for guests. The other was for the maintenance crew. The one working elevator went out Saturday and Sunday (after the fire alarm). I don’t mind stairs, but, as I said before, this weighted carry with the twins was not expected and I will modify my HH accommodations accordingly.

All attendants, workers, and front desk folks are friendly. Shoutout to Jason for trying to fix the elevator and the lady on the other end of the walkie by us telling him what was happening on her end.

Hotel is near everything downtown. Easy walk to Centennial Park, CNN, Aquarium, Peachtree Street, Marta, and more. I’m from Atlanta, but recently moved and come back regularly. I would like for this to be my usual downtown hotel when needed. Eager to stay in the HI Decatur area, too. But not during construction.

Two star rating due to elevators being down, stuffy workout room in a basement, shared parking lot with not enough spaces for guest, and no explanation of the fire alarm (maybe that’s...

I visited Atlanta over the holidays (December 30-January 5), and stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites Atlanta-Downtown. I confirmed my reservation in October for two queen beds and a bathroom with a tub, as I would be traveling with my mother to visit family. When I arrived at the hotel, the staff was very friendly but I found that they had put me in a room with only a king bed and a shower. Apparently there was a conference coming to the hotel at the same time and so this Hampton Inn had moved me to a room with only one bed. Of course, there were now no other rooms with two beds. So, for my entire six night stay my mother was on a king bed and I had the pull out couch. I paid over $291 a night for a room where I had to pull out my bed every night. If I had stayed in a less expensive room or had booked at the last moment I would completely understand, but the fact that I had booked the room months prior and was bumped for the sake of this convention really irked me. The staff at the front desk was kind, but said that the best they could do to compensate me was to take $50 off the room every night and award me 20,000 Hilton points. They did offer to move me mid-stay into a room with two beds, but with a six-night stay and lots of luggage, the idea of moving was unappealing.

On the upside, the pull out bed and king bed were comfortable. The WIFI in the hotel is good, and parking is close and convenient. Note, however, that the cost for parking is $25 per night (AAA was running a deal, so this was included in the price of our room). The location of the hotel is also convenient if you are having to run all over Atlanta. But this ends the pros of staying at the Hampton Inn and Suites Atlanta-Downtown.

The downsides of our room start with the basic configuration. The hotel cut the size of the bathroom in half in order to create the outside living area. The size of the bathroom was so tiny it was laughable. As you can see from the photos, the door barely opens because of the toilet in the middle of the room. Also, note that there aren’t enough towel rods and no toilet paper holder. The lack of attention to detail is further illustrated by the fact that the outlets have been installed upside down. The bad layout of the room extends into the living area. If you are supposed to pull out the bed every night, then you have to move the desk from one corner of the room to the other because the location of the desk doesn’t give you enough room to extend the bed. But moving the desk means that the full length mirror is covered. Since we were going to be in the room for six nights and I didn’t want to have to move the desk every night, we kept the desk in the opposite corner.

There were a myriad of other issues with the room as well. Let’s start with how long it took for hot water to arrive in both the bathroom sink and shower. It got to be such an issue that I began washing my face in the kitchen sink (adjacent to the bathroom) because miraculously the hot water came in much quicker from this faucet. And while the bathroom and the rest of the room were ostensibly clean, upon unrolling a bath towel I found a super long brown hair curled up in the folded towel. Needless to say, we said no to housekeeping for the rest of our stay. Finally, the room was incredibly dark. There is no overhead light, so you have to rely on side lights that are either blindingly bright up close or not bright enough to light the entire room. On a personal note, I really wish they had recycling at the hotel and in the rooms.

Bottom line, don’t stay at this Hampton Inn. My trip throughout the Southeast US with my family lasted nearly a month, and we stayed at Hampton Inns all along the way (Chattanooga, Charleston, Savannah). This was by far the worst hotel we visited. Don’t stay here unless you need to be in the downtown area, and even then, find...

Lobby/Common Area The Lobby area is a little tight and not as open as other hotels, but this hotel has an old "apartment" feel. The hotel is in a building on the National Register of Historic Places.

Both the Business Center and Lobby bathrooms need door card access to enter.

Men's Lobby restroom has 2 stalls, urinals and sinks. Pretty roomy.

Outside perimeter Downtown location. Area around the hotel is as clean as possible. Every entrance way into the hotel is locked. You must use your key to enter.

Staff Front Desk Staff FD very helpful. I arrived a few hours early and they said I could sit in the breakfast area to work. They were able to home my bag for me.

The NA looked a bit tired the first morning I was there

Housekeeping Staff

Food Staff Greeted in the morning. Friendly. The woman, Ms. Carolyn, working there was wonderful and friendly.

Shuttle Driver N/A

Room 208 No microwave in room; there is a microwave in the dining area in the lobby. The only problem is that the dial on the microwave does not have mark to set the time (see pic)

This room is CLEAN. No dust, no smudges and no streaks.

Room is pretty spacious.

The exterior side of the windows needed to be clean.

The room gets A LOT of traffic noises and urban sounds. On Friday night/Saturday morning (1130PM - 230AM) there were cars stopped at the corner light blasting their music.

You must use the black out curtains on the 2 windows otherwise the spotlights mounted just outside and above the windows will be shining into the room.

2 of the 5 rollers on the office chair in the room are damaged and can be a safety hazard if you are not wearing shoes (see 2 pics)

Note the bathtub is about 6" higher than the floor. So you will be stepping up into the tub and stepping down to get out of the tub.

Food Waffle Maker Hard Boil Eggs (shelled) Oatmeal

SAT- country style potato hash brown, scrambled eggs, Maple smoked sausage. Not bad.

SUN- scrambled eggs, Turkey Sausage Links, Yukon Gold Potatoes; the sign for the potatoes is wrong (see pic). They were red potatoes not Yukon Gold. The sausage links lacked flavor.

MON- scrambled eggs, pork sausage patty, Yukon Gold Potatoes; I really love their sausage patty. The oatmeal today was a bit runny.

TUE- scrambled eggs, Maple smoked sausage and red skin potatoes.

Gym/Pool The Fitness Center is located in the Basement. The room is pretty large and clean. Lots of Floor space 3 Treadmills 1 Stationary Bike 1 Recumbent Bike 1 Elliptical Inclined Bench with full Dumb Bell set Water and Towels available Bathrooms across the hall - need door card to access

Guest Laundry **Note the sign on the wall regarding the time per machine is wrong Located in the Basement - 6AM to Midnight Only Quarters Only. 1 stacked unit only Wash $3.50 / 33 minutes Dry $3.50 / 45 minutes

Ice makers located in an open alcove near the elevator bank.

There is a sign that says "Ice & Vending" identifying where it's located. When you get there it's more like Ice and trash can... no vending machine, at least none on the 2nd floor

Guest Elevators 2 Centrally located Guest Elevators. No elevator lobbies on the guest floors. Need a keycard to activate the elevator.

Notes: Every access point, elevator floor button requires your...