Homewood Suites by Hilton Baltimore — Hotel in Baltimore

Great staff, great location, room left MUCH to be desired. So to be fair—we booked same day and the thought crossed my mind that we may have ended up with one of the “good enough” rooms that don’t get assigned unless they have to be. Check in was great—Yvonne was super welcoming and helpful—confirmed that we asked for 4 extra pillows (our kids are pillow fiends) and off we went. The pillows never showed up (don’t know whose shoulders that falls on). Had trouble getting to the room as either our key card or the card reader in the elevator was messed up—seemed to be a bit of both. When we got to the room I got the distinct feeling that something was off. For starters, there weren’t 4 towel sets, the hotel-provided body wash was missing, there was missing flatware (which we later found dirty in the dishwasher) and there was coffee and a cup missing. It felt like the room hadn’t been turned over since the last guest had stayed…..except the trash was empty and the beds appeared clean. It was unsettling, I’ll admit. My husband told me I was being paranoid but I’m fairly certain the room hadn’t received the attention it was supposed to. We tried to call down to the front desk but the phone wasn’t working and every time we hit the front desk button on it the line would ring and ring and then hang up on us. There was no binder or info about the hotel in the room with an actual number listed for the front desk so we couldn’t call down either. Not sure if that was because of covid or was just missing. Not a big deal but would have been nice to have at least the TV channels listed so that we could more easily avoid content that wasn’t appropriate for our children. Overall the room was somewhat run down. Chipped furniture, wallpaper peeling, slow draining sink, melted spots on the carpet, linoleum in the kitchen peeling up….The couch was honestly dismal—the cushions so squashed that when you sat on it you ended up sitting on the front lip of the structure (both uncomfortable and made legs fall asleep). The first night (of the 2 we stayed) I cut my foot on a line of exposed carpet tacks between the kitchen and living space. My husband flattened them with a coin and his shoe. I did bring this (and the sink) to the attention of the front desk (after having to go down in person) and they offered to send someone up and we declined as we had fixed the tacks and didn’t care to have anyone working in the room. Oddly there was no dish soap (but there was dishwasher powder)—so we ended up washing dishes with hand soap. Just FYI there was no corkscrew in the room—I suppose you could request one but we were too lazy to fight the elevator (literally—the card reader worked about 50% of the time by the 10th try—we rode up and down almost every time we used it multiple times trying to get to the floor we wanted) to go to the front since we couldn’t call down. Parking is valet for $35 with in and out privileges or self parking for $25/day with no in and out privileges. The garage for self park is attached to the hotel and can be reached from inside. The pool is actually in the Maryland Athletic Club, which is in the building complex. They have an agreement to use the gym and pool. Both are nicely equipped overall from an equipment standpoint—-the pools were clean (have seen better days from a coating standpoint). It’s salt water based instead of chlorine, so not as harsh. The kids are only allowed in the splash pool, which is heated to probably 85 degrees and max depth is 4.5 feet, minimum depth is 3 feet and it’s a stairway entry. There is a lap pool that is much cooler water and a larger pool that has a sloped entry that adults and teens can use. There is also a hot tub. The locker rooms are well equipped with a sauna, showers (with soap and shampoo/conditioner) and a suit spinner. You have to take your hotel key and photo ID with you to gain access and have to have shoes on until the locker room. They provide pool towels. You have to shower before getting in the pool (locker room...

I am not a bougie traveler. My extended family chooses to stay with homewood suites when we are together for family events bc they have always been great and typically offer convenient gathering spaces inside and out (bbq grills, fire pits, nice seating, picnic tables, included breakfasts, etc). Hotels should provide a minimum of safe, private, clean space and HOT WATER. I called the front desk at 8:20pm last night to ask if they were aware of a hot water issue and to report that I have no hot water in my suite. I was told that they didn’t know of any existing water issues and that the type of problem I’m describing would mean that the entire hotel has no hot water. Basically, I was told that suites don’t have private water supply so I can’t be having the issue I’m having. She also told me that no other reports had come into the desk about only cold water but that they’ll ‘look into it.’ After waiting til 8:45 to hear back, I had to call the desk again to ask what happened with the “investigation” into the hot water issue. I was told that “a tech will come by to check on my suite.” He arrived 15 minutes later (9pm) and he confirmed that we indeed had no hot water in our suite and mentioned that it was ‘probably related to the flooding in the hotel the day before’ — ok, so the staff did know of a water issue. {All specifics aside, lying is not ok.} — and he told us that he is aware now that “there is no hot water in a bunch of the hotel’s rooms.” We ask him if we should pack to move rooms and the tech says to ‘give him 15 minutes and he will let us know.’ At 9:30 (30 minutes later) I called the desk a third time and someone who says she is the ‘customer service manager’ answers. I ask about the water situation and can we move rooms. She says they have confirmed that half the hotel has hot water. I ask if we can go to a room there bc our room still has no hot water. She ‘looks into our reservation’ and says she will ‘check on room availability & call us right back.’ At 9:50 (another 20 minutes later) the tech who had been in our suite calls us to say that there is an issue in the boiler, ‘someone is coming to look at it,’ there will be no hot water for another couple hours at least, they don’t know when there will be hot water, and there are no other rooms with hot water available. I should have put my foot down and insisted to be moved to a different suite. Or they should have offered to put us in the Hilton garden inn, which is in the same building! This is by far the worst of my 20+ years of international hotel experiences in terms of customer service. Other than the issue of no hot water, the suite is fine. It badly needs updating, but is adequate. The morning breakfast attendant was the best part of our stay. She seemed to be the only employee interested in helping us enjoy our stay.

[[Posting flyers all over your hotel about how you don’t have daily hotel cleaning services available bc of “staffing shortages” is NOT the problem here. You simply aren’t interested in offering competitive compensation to prospective employees or keeping the ones you already have. If you must address the shortcoming, at least tell us the truth: you aren’t willing to pay what the market is currently demanding for the labor you need to maintain your own standards and would rather sacrifice the customer’s experience than increase pay and benefits to your...

We transferred here from an Airbnb after learning that plans for a family member’s funeral would keep us in town for a more extended stay than originally planned.||I selected this property because it said it offered guest laundry facilities, a business center, a full kitchen, and breakfast. ||After a couple of days on the property, here are some pros and cons:||Pros:|The king suite that we booked is spacious, with a separate living room area, kitchen, bedroom, and large bathroom area (separate sink outside of the tub/toilet). Plenty of storage.||The location is great. Very near the harbor, restaurants, shops, and the top touristy destinations that those unfamiliar with the city would love. (However, being from here originally, that was less of a draw. Plus, we were here for a funeral.)||The staff, from the front desk to the breakfast room to housekeeping, have been very friendly and helpful. A special shoutout to Pablo, who helped us with our luggage and walked us through setting up the app they use to pay for parking. Getting in and out of the garage is easy once you know the details.||The full breakfast is good.||The city view from the 11th floor is nice. I’m enjoying seeing my hometown from this angle. Just don’t expect a harbor view on this side of the building, which is split between Homewood on the left and Hilton Garden Inn on the right. Maybe they get the views. :)||Decent wifi.||Cons:|The property is a little dated and could use a refresh.||Doing laundry today was not easy. First, the machines only take quarters, so we had to hunt down change. There is a room with a single washer and dryer located on three of the floors, but the washer wasn’t working on some floors, and the dryer wasn’t working on another level. So we washed on one level and dried on another. Someone told us that a repair person was sent up when they reported machines out of order, but there still seemed to be a problem. It would be great if the machines were replaced with updated equipment that accepts a wider range of payment methods.||When I went to the business center to print out some files that I needed to proof the funeral program, the computers had signs on them saying they were down for maintenance. A staffer at the front desk gave me an email to send files to the desk for printing, but I decided not to bother. I’ll hit up a FedEx Office tomorrow.||The info about the property that comes up when you scan the QR code in the room is out of date. Fortunately, I have the Hilton app, which has more current information.||*Water pressure in the shower is unstable, and the water doesn’t get very hot.||I’m a retired college professor, so I’ll offer up a grade: B-. A few minor improvements could...