Embassy Suites by Hilton Charleston Historic District — Hotel in Charleston

It’s really hard to put into words how disappointed I am with the Embassy Suites Charleston. Let me start with something good. The location is prime. Very close to the Aquarium and the African American Museum. Now onto the issues. First, I don’t know who oversees sales/group reservations, but they did a horrible job relaying information to the kitchen staff. We were a family reunion and there were at least four volleyball teams at the hotel along with other vacationing guest. Someone had to have dropped the ball in letting the kitchen know because the continental breakfast was lackluster on Saturday morning. I woke before my family and decided to head to breakfast. At 7:20 the cook stated the bacon that was out was the last. Breakfast starts at 7. Seriously?! With the number of people that booked this was highly disappointing. I had to go and buy my son something else to eat which of course is a major inconvenience because one of the reasons we had our reunion here is they have breakfast and a bar. Oh, the bar was a major letdown. This was the first Embassy I have stayed at where the bar closes when the complimentary hour is over. So, after 7:30 you had to walk to a bar or wait to have a valet get your car and drive to a bar. Huge disappointment there. Back to breakfast, they also did not have any tomatoes for a veggie omelet, and they ran out of brown sugar for the hot cereal.

Second, the issue is regarding my room. I informed the manager on duty my room was hot and he let me know maintenance would bring a fan in the room. I never received it and I let Mr. Belton Joyner know about it. What’s really aggravating is when I was leaving, they had a fan at the first desk. By this time, I was just ready to go because I didn’t sleep well while here. Third, the conference room we reserved to gather as a family was not set up correctly. Again, sales/group reservation did not communicate well. My sister requested round tables and sweet tea for the room. We got there and there was a mix of round and rectangular tables. There was also unsweetened tea. Horrible! Luckily, we had Mr. Earl and his staff. Mr. Earl apologized several times. He informed us that they would get the tea corrected. We had to wait but he was very nice, even brought some sodas for those that were waiting. I can’t express enough how great Mr. Earl was. I can’t remember the guy’s name that helped pack up the food that night, but he also cooked the grits Sunday morning, and they were so good. They were not watery like Saturday. Mr. Earl also apologized about the mix-up with tables. My sister was really upset because she talked to Reagan and let her know she wanted round tables. Now the major issue with the conference rooms FRUIT FLIES galore. This is something that needs to be addressed with upper management. Someone from Mr. Earl crew did get some coffee filters to cover the appetizers we ordered. Mr. Earl came and adjusted the air in the room because it got too warm. The conference room had a digital thermostat. The room thermostat looked like something out of the 70’s. Just a circle that went from cold to hot.

Also, I don’t whose idea it was to only have one valet working on Saturday morning when you have a hotel full of guests. Really unacceptable. Overall, I’m giving the hotel two stars for location and Mr. Earl’s staff. If it was just location, it would be one star. The sales/group reservation department definitely needs to work on their communications with individuals that are working at the hotel. I would not suggest we book here again. I would rather lose points and books at the Marriot that’s a half...

My wife and I decided to visit Charleston for our 1 year wedding anniversary and had the privilege of being able to stay at this Embassy suites for a weekend. Overall the stay was good.

The best part about this hotel is the location. I loved where it is on King Street because it’s not in the chaos King Street can be down towards the Market and The Charleston place, but is convenient to walk to if wanting to go that way. Also being north of the Market, you’re able to get to some other gems on King Street that you wouldn’t really think about going to if staying closer to the Market/Rainbow Row/Battery (i.e. Welton’s Tiny Bake Shop, Stella’s, Leon’s, etc) if you have visited Charleston before and have done the touristy things and want to just enjoy the city- this is a great option.

Not having any parking besides valet is lame but the Camden Parking Garage across the street is a great option and only $18 max/day. But bc of location, you really don’t need your car unless you want to go to another island for food/shopping/etc.

The building its self needs some updating. Wasn’t bad, the building is historic and that’s cool. But Hilton could put some money into it to make it not feel like you are a student at the Old Citadel College. Simply could just put updated TV’s and better looking furniture and the place would look awesome. Maybe update the carpet too. Overall the place was pretty clean.

The staff for the most part were really nice. Everyone was super helpful and kind except for one employee. The breakfast chef did not seem to like his job and complained about everyone ordering omelettes. Not sure if he was doing a bit and just trying to be funny, but it just wasn’t working for him. People didn’t know how to respond. But his omelette was pretty dang good. When booking the room I mentioned it was our anniversary, the employee on the phone mentioned that they don’t really do anything for stuff like that but he would make a note of it. When we got to our room, housekeeping gave us a free bottle of champagne and snacks (I double checked to make sure they were free, and they were!). They also made towel swans for us as well. Wasn’t expecting that kind of service, but it was a nice touch.

They also had complimentary drinks every night for guests. Greatly appreciated grabbing a free cocktail before hitting the town for dinner!

I would stay here again and do recommend it to anyone who wants a good value on a stay in...

This is written by a Diamond member so I have years and plenty of experience with Hilton properties; world-wide. The Embassy brand is usually a notch up in the Hilton property hierarchy. Unfortunately, this hotel is the worst Hilton property I have ever stayed at. Speaking for the room and assuming others are similar, I can only say this hotel needs some serious renovation. I totally understand that historic properties may not have all the amenities that a newer hotel has but using “historic”as an excuse to not maintain a property is totally inexcusable. What could be a “grand old lady” property is instead a poster child for run down at the heels bag lady. Where do I start? The room: needs painting, the carpet is old, dirty, frayed and separating at the seams, wall outlets are so old that the plugs won’t stay in them. And whoever has installed them needs to learn how to use a level and get them flush to instead of leaning out of the wall. With only one bedside clock to use for USB charging of devices, the solution (as many hotels have done) is to bring in lamps that have this capability. The cabinetry and doors in the living room and bathroom are dismal; beat up and ragged. The bathroom tile is cracking and you can barely operate the components of the shower. They seemed to also have kept the old tub and then painted over the overflow to hide the deterioration of the enamel. It is true that the bar and bathroom have granite countertops but this upgrade doesn’t begin to address that the whole room needs a massive renovation. The light over the bathroom mirror has a huge hole visible where it is mounted on the wall. The bedroom has some kind of plug lash up where the tv has to plug into an outlet on an adjoining wall. A light has to be left on because the living area is so dark that if you shut the overhead light off you can only find the door out by the light outlining the door from the hall even during daytime! The good was the staff we encountered were helpful and courteous. The breakfast area was clean and the food and service in that area was very good. I suggest that someone from Hilton Corporate and the General Manager at a minimum put their eyes on Room 106 that is woefully sub-standard and confirm my comments as being accurate. Charleston is one of my favorite cities but after one night I could not wait to get out of that room. Sadly, just an embarrassment to be...