Hilton Garden Inn Rochester/University & Medical Center — Hotel in City of Rochester

It's unfortunate that this review has to be written. Especially because I have been coming to this hotel for 4 years and for at least 3 years I really enjoyed coming here each time. However, this year has been the WORSE experience.

Pros: The young lady that was at the desk when I first arrive was polite, helpful, and quick thinking. Upon arrival she checked me in to my room and saw that the room I had originally booked (accessibility room) was not needed (it was what was available when I made the initial reservation) and she put me in one that was suitable. The there were two young men that worked the night shift they too respectful. Both would greet you and converse when you came in. If there was an issue they both handle it with a level of professional urgency that should be acknowledged and rewarded. Staff is dope!

Grappa has good food for reasonable prices.

The gym is well equipped.

The location of the hotel is central to the hospital and school. It's roughly 10 - 15 mins from the airport. Roughly 20 mins from Lake Ontario and downtown Rochester.

Cons: The bathroom counter was not wiped down when I arrived.

The light fixture of the shower did not work.

The shower also took 10+ mins to get hot water (mind you this is when its freezing and raining temperatures outside), literally the knob was turn all the way to hot and it was still lukewarm. The worst part was the toilet.

The toilet would backup and drain slow after 3 usages. I went down stairs to front desk (at this time it was in the early evening like 7:30pm) and I informed him that the toilet was not draining and could maintenance come and fix it. He told me that no one was on staff and I would have to wait until the morning for someone to fix it. I had to explain to him that the toilet was not operable and was over flowing. Additionally, I explained that it was not okay and could he at least send up a plunger so I could unclog it myself. He tried to double down on the weak excuse but then eventually agreed to unclog it and ensured me someone would come the next day to fix it (no one came the next day). Honestly, he gave 80s/90s sitcom dad vibes -- rude and bullheaded. In fact the toilet clogged again during my stay but thankfully the gentleman on staff that night was respectful and without hesitation fixed the issue.

My issue came after I had checked out. Upon returning home I discovered that I had left my fire stick in the hotel. I called that evening to inquire if it had been found and if not could they check and have it sent to me. The young woman I spoke to that night was polite and helpful. She took down my info and said that they could mail it to me. She assured me that she would check the lost & found and would call me back with details. After waiting an hour and some change I called again to follow up and was met by the a rude/condescending man (who I believe was the 80s/90s sitcom dad from the other night with the toilet situation). He tells me they didn't find anything. I asked if they could call up to the room and confirm, he said no because it was too late but I could anticipate a call the next day.

The next day comes and no call, mind you this is now the early afternoon. I call and 80s/90s sitcom dad answers the phone. He tells me housekeeping didn't find anything. I ask again if a courtesy call could be made on my behalf. He raises his voice in an aggressive manner and informs me that he can't enter the room ( cool I don't want him to do that). I informed him that sir I'm not asking you to enter the room I'm asking you to call and confirm if my property is where I left it and at the guest's own discretion of time may you ask if they can bring it down. He continues to speak over me and disregard my request, so I politely hang up a call corporate.

Long story short corporate follows up today and the same man says that it's not there & that they even moved the dresser it was on to check. -__- CAP!

Overall: This is unfortunate that due to 1 person's poor people's skills I no longer feel comfortable returning to...

A couple of important things to note before I even start the review.||Depending on where you are searching, you may find that the hotel is listed as not having an airport shuttle. And if you were to look in the directory of hotel shuttles at baggage claim, you wouldn't find the hotel listed.||But they do indeed have a shuttle that runs at certain hours. Unfortunately for me, that was after a $25-ish Uber ride. So I'm telling you now so you don't have to.||Second is that if you care about your view from your window, then I would recommend that you do not select a room on the north side of the building. If you didn't take note of the area, a north facing room will give you a nice view of... a cemetery.||Anyways, to the review of the hotel. It appears to be a newer hotel as the rooms appear to be more modern and without the look of renovation. It is as one would expect for a HGI - large beds, and a large seat which I think converts into a bed, but since I'm traveling solo is of inconsequence to me. But it was nice to have an additional place to put my backpack and the like. There are enough plugs around for your chargers or a CPAP machine (though I still for some reason am a bit squeamish about using the outlets on the lamps - there were some wall outlets as well so I didn't have to worry about it.||The showers are nice, if not a little narrow on the width (I have a longer reach, so I can bump into things while moving around. You can get a nice hot shower, but the temperature is a bit inconsistent. Sometimes I have it nice and hot, but then it turns just warm instead. It's a small annoyance, and not really a big deal, but something to keep in mind.||The one weird thing was that despite being on the top floor in a corner room, there were some noises coming from what would seem to be roof or the exterior wall. I have no idea what it could have been, but I am not excessively sensitive to noise, so it didn't really bother me. One might also take issue with the noise from the hallway as that does seem to carry a bit.||I finally did make use of a pool in a hotel finally, and for someone like me who is a bit embarrassed by my figure, the pool is actually in the basement, which means no windows outside and such, so I can have some privacy. One thing to possibly note here is that your digital key may not be able to open the pool. The pool and the fitness center are adjacent to each other, and the key kept wanting to open the fitness area, so I had to get a regular key to partake of the pool.||Outside of getting the physical keycard, I had no other interaction with the hotel staff, which is fine as aforementioned earlier I like my privacy. I also didn't partake of the breakfast, so I can't really rate that either.||Since you're near UoR, you have many food options available around you, and there is a CVS nearby if you need some sundries. I was glad to see a Tim Hortons kitty corner from the hotel, but the hours are weird as they close in the early afternoon - so make sure you take an early trip there if you want your double-double.||So overall, it was my standard HGI experience which being a large chain, is what one would hope to expect. I got what I paid for, and that's really what...

Update: just changed my 5 star review because I'm extremely irritated. I just called in because I did Not receive my $20 food and beverage credits off per room. Some girl transferred me to Chris who just told me to talk to Bianca bc it's a deal I made with her. For my first charge, I had both rooms breakfast charged to one room. My second charge I had separate bills, where only one bill had $20 taken off. I told Chris fine, I will talk to Bianca about the first charge bc that's more complicated. But he would not help me with the second room. I asked, did you not tell me it's $20 off per room and he said yes. This means it's just standard. I said I have two separate bills for two separate rooms, I did not get $20 off for one of the bills, why can't you help me with that. That's not "a deal" I made with Bianca (I rarely roll my eyes, this is just their policy) . He just refused to help me and told me to call Bianca tomorrow. He just kept talking over me while I'm trying to explain the situation. At the end of the conversation is when he tells me he can't do anything because he's not the manager, talk to Bianca. I'm going to call other Hilton's now bc I also have billing issues there. Will see if this is something that any associate can help me with, or did I just encounter terrible customer service. Like really , I paid an average of $500 a night for such garbage customer service interaction? This is below Hilton standards.

Excellent stay! We stayed here two nights, first night was $400+tax, second night $650+tax We had an emergency check in at midnight. Sadly there was one guy at the front desk who was so blah. The other guy was very helpful, welcoming and friendly. I should have gone to the friendly guy instead. The rooms are spacious and very clean. They had welcome Bags for graduation week. One side of the hotel is a view of a cemetery, the other side is a view of the parking lot. My relatives woke up seeing the cemetery and I had to request for a room change.

We had two free breakfast per room. But I see that I was charged and did not receive the credit so I have to call the hotel later to have it adjusted. The breakfast buffet was good for the price. It was about $9ish and had the usual eggs, proteins, breads, dairy, and fruits. I really enjoyed breakfast time.

The front desk manager, Bianca was very friendly and accommodating. I got late check out until 2pm, which I really needed because having a baby with me required more naps and more time to pack and organize.

The pool was nice, the water was clean and there was not too much chlorine. My baby enjoyed her first time being in a pool. It was quiet there, only one other...