Hilton Garden Inn Albany Medical Center — Hotel in City of Albany

BEDBUGS! Absolutely horrible. To begin with as soon as we pulled into the gated lot there was an intrusive and rude security person in the parking lot. He immediately approached the car we were sitting in, while we were waiting for our digital key, and told us if we weren't hotel guests we needed to pay for parking longer than 30 minutes. We told him we were staying in the hotel and were waiting for our digital key. He continued to harass us as we sat in our car waiting: he approached us a number of times and when we told him to leave us alone he approached the front of the car and acted like he was taking down our license plate #. When the digital key was not available we went inside to check in and the lone front desk person (in training) was unable to assist us so she got her (?) supervisor Abby. It took forever to get our room with no explanation. Then when she told us a digital key was not available she placed the plastic room key card in front of us, and Abby publicly announced our room number. We asked for a different room and she told us there were none available. Being a Diamond Hilton rewards customer we were adamant that there must be another room available! After a very long and silent wait, with not a word or explanation of what she was doing, Abby finally gave us a different room and off we went to the room. Abby seemed very unconcerned with the substandard customer service she was providing. We got to our room, and as we always do, we left our luggage in the entrance of the room and went to check the bedframe and surroundings for signs of bedbugs. I went to the bathroom while my companion went to check for bedbugs but before they could check the bed I came out of the bathroom and turned around and on the wall at eye level was a full grown ADULT bedbug! We took a photo and gathered our things and left the room. When we got to the front desk and showed Abby the photo, and she seemed completely undisturbed. She told us there were no other rooms available, and told us we would not be charged for the room. She offered us nothing else. I asked her if she could contact the other Hilton Hotels in the area to get us a room as it was now almost 11 pm. She looked at me blankly and repeated she would not charge us for the room. Completely unhelpful. We left the hotel and when we got to my car, loaded our luggage, and got in the car to find a hotel room for the night, the security person almost immediately came over to us and told us that we needed to pay for parking bc we were not hotel guests. We told him to leave us alone, we had BEDBUGS in our room and we'd leave as soon as we found another hotel room. The lurking and harassment continued until we finally found a room and got ready to drive out of the gated parking lot. My companion walked over to their car and Mr security self-appointed police person came over to my car, insisting I open the window to talk to him, again stating that he would not let us out until I returned to the desk and paid for the parking! I told him to leave me alone, there were bedbugs in our room, and go open the gate and not hold us captive in the parking lot. After some back and forth about him insisting I return inside to pay for parking, and me stating he needed to stop harassing me and making me feel uncomfortable (I'm glad he wasn't armed!) and that he needed to open the gate without any more delay, he finally went over to open the gate but not before he told my companion that I screamed at him and all he was trying to tell me was that he was going to open the gate all along (a total lie). This was the absolute worst hotel experience I've had in the decades I've travelled and dozens of hotels I've stayed, including other Hilton hotels. Hilton Hotels have progressively gotten shabbier and with deteriorating customer services over the last few years. It used to be a high quality hotel chain but from what I can see the quality and corporate care is failing fast (and this is not the only Hilton we've stayed in over the last few years) DO NOT STAY HERE UNLESS YOU...

I am giving the hotel 1 star because of the fraudulent scam they knowingly participate in with Expedia. I called the Hilton Garden number listed. I asked the person who answered if this was the hotel by Albany Med. Unbeknownst to me my call had been redirected to Expedia. My card was charged 150 dollars above the room cost for using the service that I didn't know I was using. I was charged 356 for the room and an additional 100 hold. The room was listed at 171. The manager at the Hilton said this has happened before. The Hilton allows this because Expedia gives them business. At one point he said that even though I called the direct number listed and confirmed it was the hotel, I should have asked if I was really talking to the front desk. He said I would have to take it up with Expedia even though I had called the Hilton number and in no way used Expedia. He said Hilton management knows this occurs, but let's it happen because of the amount of business Expedia does with them. Be very careful when booking. If I loved one is sick, pay close attention to your bill. The additional charges were listed as taxes and handling in a confirmation email. The manager stated he spoke with Expedia to get a refund on charges. Enrique, the general manager assured me I would receive a refund on the additional charges. This did not occur. It is sad to think that families are dealing with the stress of someone in the hospital, and Hilton Garden adds to that. Extremely poor business practices that are only out for monetary gain. In addition to my fraudulent charges, we had to spend 20 minutes with the front desk because my daughter had paid for 1 night to help out. They charged her credit card for 4 nights.The other nights had already been paid for. They did correct this. PLEASE LOOK OVER YOUR BILL AND CHARGES CAREFULLY. The general manager talks a good game, assured us the one Expedia charge was taken care of, and never followed through. If you notice the original post was 6 days ago. The manager has not offered his standard response of we are sorry and here is the customer service number. That is because the hotel knows this occurs, and does not follow through...

If you need to be near the Albany Medical Center, look no further - the Hilton Garden Inn at Albany Medical Center is the place to stay. The hotel has an employee only bridge that connects the hotel to the hospital and the parking garage for the hospital. This employee only footbridge connects you to the first floor of the hospital. ||The hotel registration is located on the second floor. If you want to access the elevators, you would have to go through the parking garage. The door that is on New Scotland Drive doesn’t really have a good loading and unloading zone. ||The room was fine. Some of the bedding has a funky smell - probably from being old. The mattresses felt a little worn. There was a decent size mini-fridge that has a small area where you could use as a freezer - froze two small water bottles. The toiletries are mounted to the bathroom walls. So before you hop in the shower, make sure you have enough of what you need. Even though I left housekeeping a note to replace the body wash, they never did. ||The fitness center is super basic and the machines do not have working entertainment monitors. The one elliptical machine did not work at all. So if you need to be entertained during your workout, bring your device. ||The pool is next to the fitness center. The water was on the chilly side - it didn’t seem like it was heated. ||A plus for the hotel is that there is a laundry room! One washer and one dryer were in the room. There was a dispenser for you to purchase detergent and dryer sheets. The machines all use quarters. You can ask the hotel to exchange quarters for you.||The parking lot is a little on the small side. If the hotel is booked and you return later in the evening, it may be tough to find parking. ||I did want to give a shout out to Abby - she was friendly and helpful.||Overall, the hotel is a little dated and needs to be updated, but it is very convenient if you need access to...