The Hiatus Clearwater Beach, Curio Collection by Hilton — Hotel in Clearwater

Friends and I stayed at this Hilton property due to its semi-good reviews and the ambiance of the place (which happens to be a nice hotel). It is with great disappointment that our only positive experience in this hotel as far as dealing with Staff was on our first day! Upon Check-in we were kindly greeted by a nice lady called Julie, not only she showed exemplary customer service but she made us feel welcomed and valued as guest. Very thoughtful and mindful of our needs and overall a very happy person with lots of dedication to excel enhancing the customer service experience. Friends and I were traveling for a very special occasion as someone in our party was celebrating her Bachelorette. The hotel on day one seemed quite empty and did not feel it was booked to capacity. On the last day of our stay we have called and asked to see if we could extend our Check-out and this is when our sour experiences begin. First of all, there was no hesitation from those employees on deck working to even make a Hilton Honors member feel valued. Immediately we were told we had to leave by noon. We decided to extend our day 1 more night to celebrate our friend and enjoy the beauty of Clearwater Beach. When asked to extend our room the Male staff member said we couldn’t, that another option would be to create a new reservation. No problem, I chose to book through a third party and I was able to book another room. Prior to booking this room the Male staff at the lobby said he couldn’t tell if there where rooms available until I made the booking. Now I am a Marriott Bonvoy customer who prefers Marriott properties over Hilton, and I know for a fact that they know if hotel is booked to capacity even before booking a reservation so I felt he wasn’t being honest and was just being difficult. I made the booking and within minutes he called back and said there was a room ready, little did we knew it was a handicapped room which should’ve been asked if we were okay with in advanced. Also there was another lady staff member whom seemed annoyed and not really helpful. It seemed as she was annoyed that all we wanted was to extend our day and be treated kindly. When I go to get my new room keys, I was then informed by this same male staff member whom I believe his name was Ayden? Had said my credit card declined, I had told him I had more than credit to cover the expenses and he said my card just declined which made no sense, so I had asked him to run it again and it validated with no issue however I was charged another room stay or over $200 when I had already paid for the room when I made the booking with confirmed confirmation. The experience itself was very poor and uninformed employees who make it seem they are unaware of how to do their job. Just overall a huge disappointment! Later that same day we ran into Katie/Katy and Tina, two new staff who where working at the Lobby and whom I shared my frustration with and concerns about my billing issues. I was very pleased that Katy being so young she was truly professional, poised and showed strong conviction of making things right. She assisted me throughout the questions I had without making me feel I’m being a burden with a smile and with good attitude. She had explained everything I needed explained with details and she fixed my reservation that happened to be double charged. Tina also had apologized as she noticed of our bad experience. These 3 ladies deserve to be recognized because they are the only positive experience we encountered in this Hilton facility. Honestly to finish this horrible experience we had informed we would be Checking-out around 5:30 am since we had to work the following morning, when I was as at the lobby, the lobby was completely deserted not 1 employee onsite and I needed my receipt. Valet was trying to contact front desk, calls where coming through and nobody to answer. Kitchen was empty, not a manager onsite or a lobby staff. After 15 minutes a girl seems to have woken up and checked me out. No apology no sense of urgency. I have videos to prove it!...

I arrived on Saturday for a 3 night stay. My 1st impression was exactly what the pictures described: a boutique hotel a short walk from the beach. Check-in was very unique: the lobby is in the top floor along with the pool and restaurant. One is greeted with a beautiful view of the water once the elevator doors open. Check in was very professional and polite; however I was not welcomed me as a Hilton Honors Gold member as per their policy. Not a big deal but small details noticed by the season traveler. We were placed in the partial ocean view room 505 with 2 queen beds & sofabed couch. Bonus points for having 2 TVs in the room and for the huge 'walk in closet sized' shower. Note, small minus for the lack of bath tub (My kids love it) but some may not mind. The room had a balcony with a small lounge chair in the corner as well as table and 4 chairs. The downside was the huge construction next door. They are building a hotel slated for 2025 so having the eyesore took a bit away from the view. I was already aware so not a huge shock for me but could be for others. The pool is not huge but again very beautiful. I did notice the pool capacity sign was 16 people. It was not an issue during my stay but I wonder if that can become an issue when the hotel is at full capacity. Pool is well equipped with cabanas and lounge chairs with umbrellas. There is also a bar at the end with access to adult beverages both regular and frozen. Being on the 7th floor you can easily take in the views of the sunset even from inside the water itself. Lastly, they have 4 loungers in the water where you can lay while being partially submerged.

Some areas of opportunity for the hotel are the following:

1. As a seasoned hilton hotel traveler, there was no access to water bottles. It seemed odd to not be offered water bottles at check-in like in most hilton branded hotels. While they did have water stations with cucumber infused water, it struck me as more of a cost cutting alternative. Also, in the room, there was a sign that read "Warm or Cold with Our Compliments Look in the Refrigerator for a Refill" but the fridge was empty upon arrival.
2. On day 2 of our stay, we had 2 major issues. The 1st was with room service and the 2nd with our TV freezing on 3 separate occasions. Lets start with the room service issue that morning of day 2. We used the room service button on the phone twice and nobody answered on the other end. It rang more than a dozen times on the 1st attempt and 52 times on the 2nd (Yes I did it to prove a point). I hung up and called the front desk for assistance. They apologized, "spoke to someone" and said they would connect me directly. They transferred me over and again no answer for many rings. We hung up again and called front desk a 2nd time to explain again that no one is answering. They apologized again, transferred, and finally someone picked up to take my order. I am not sure if this was a personnel issue or technical issue but something to be aware of. Regarding the 2nd major issue, the LG big screen tv kept freezing. It required us to call a technician and wait for arrival every time. It seemed like it was a connection issue as it required them to restart some components and took some time to resolve. This was in the middle of movies with 2 small kids (IYKYK)
3. The lack of parking options and inability to bring a service dog. Valet parking is $29 per day but there is no self parking option. As someone with 2 kids, we always valet but worth noting for others who prefer to self park.
4. On day 3, we had to request a turn down service as nobody had come to clean the room. We stepped out for lunch and it was cleaned up before we returned but they did not leave fresh towels so we had to call front desk again to request.

Overall, my experience was not consistent with a true 5 star/luxury hotel. However, despite not being a true oceanfront property, this hotel does have a lot of potential with customers who want the boutique hotel experience VS the resort type hotel experience that can be found...

Let me share my experience with you about a hotel I found while on spring break. Now if you know me you already know I have to find the perfect hotels while traveling. I read reviews on Google, Yelp and the hotel website. If you also know me you know that I’m very last minute on booking as well so sometimes it leaves me with settling, but most times end up loving what I found. Now on to the hotel.

I came across a Hilton hotel and yes I’m a Hilton girl. In Clearwater Beach Florida about 40 minutes from Tampa. The hotel is called The Hiatus Clearwater Beach, Curio Collection by Hilton. Now they didn’t have very many reviews but I knew they were a newer hotel. It was located right across from the ocean that’s always a win for me. I booked the morning of arrival because I didn’t know if I wanted to stay on Florida or catch a flight somewhere else. But I’m so glad we stayed.

Arriving to the hotel I was exhausted I was just ready for a night cap. We pulled into valet, we were greeted by two young men they were so polite. The lobby was on the 7th floor. Check in was so smooth. The receptionist by the name of Linda was so kind she just kept saying omg you’re going to love the room. Now pause I stated before I have good luck with hotels but baby I have the worse luck with the room types. So we got our room keys. Let me add with the Hilton app you can get a digital key which is great on those drunk nights when you can’t find your key. Back to the room.

We got our keys. The room was 401 (if you ever book) when I opened the door I was speechless. The floor to ceiling windows on both sides of the walls. I was in love. First thing I did was open the patio door. The view I had was breathtaking. Now the room was a little small but for a few day trip it was perfect. We decided to settle in and go to the pool.

Now if I recall the hotel has 88 rooms so not an extremely huge hotel. The pool was on the 7th floor so you could look off to the ocean and the sunset was impeccable. The hotel even offered a sunset champagne toast to each guest who were at the pool or terrace. The first evening the pool staff replaced towels at each chair or pool bed. At first we thought they were occupied. It made you feel like you were at a 5 star hotel.

The hotel also offers fine dining at their restaurant called Ocean Seven. The empanadas were my favorite appetizers, but the fresh fruit pool side was top tier. I tried a few of their signature drinks one was served in a fresh coconut. I also had a few watermelon margaritas. All of the bartenders were well knowledgeable. JR, Bailey, & Corina were my favorites.

Housekeeping was always on point. Each day our room was cleaned, beds were made with fresh linen, towels restocked. We never had to ask for clean towels.

I didn’t get the general managers name but he took so much pride in the property. Everyday when he seen us he asked how the stay was going and asked for inputs and suggestions. To add to all of this the hotel has only been open for 2 weeks...