Hilton Columbus Downtown — Hotel in Columbus

It was an adventure to say the least. Elevators in the new building were extremely busy and some made some scary noises. We had an upgraded room with a view in the new building. We only had two bath towels. The room was extremely hot. We turned the air on and left. Came back to it still being hot. Called the front desk they sent a nice person up who got the air working. The problem is you have to keep the air on like 62-66 degrees to keep it cool but it gets to cold. They have like one vent on one side of the room that shoots all the air out so it’s freezing on that part of the room. If you try to turn the air on a normal temperature like 70degrees I stead of getting air it changes to heat. Either you’re freezing or burning up. Complicated system. There is a layer of dust on everything. That includes rooms and everything in the whole hotel. Dust everywhere. For the price you pay you would think someone could dust!!! We booked two nights we were undecided on the third night. We were told it was no problem if we wanted to add another night. We did. We called to add a third night and get told they are shutting down the entire new building the next day for maintenance and everyone had to get out. We were told we would have to change rooms to the older building. We were given a room number told we would be priority to have the room cleaned to move the next day. We were in a conference had to miss our morning session to deal with the move. Then we weren’t priority. We talked to the front desk and she was polite said we could stay in our old room till our new room was ready. She would make sure it was priority cleaned. We were in our first room it was already 1230pm and a housekeeper tried to come in. My husband told them the situation and we were allowed to stay in the room until our new room was ready. Then about a half hour later. We’re laying their in our under garments because it was hot in the room. We had the extra lock on the door. Two Men housekeepers unlocked the door and tried to push on the door several times to open it. Then they were trying to reach in to unlock the extra lock. My husband had to jump up and run them off. We called the front desk on the status of our new room. Of course it hadn’t even been cleaned. They put us in a new room that was cleaned. We moved to it. It was a nice suite but it was dirty. Layer of dust on everything. Body hair on my side table. Body hair on the back of the sink. Boogers wiped on the main bathroom toilet wall. Toilet rolls that were used almost empty. The street had been closed down all weekend for a Halloween bash. They played loud music till midnight every night. Was hard to get sleep until after midnight. Had some very rude staff at the front desk along with some very nice staff. They gave us our new parking garage card and of course after getting all the way out there and trying to leave to get food the card didn’t work. My husband had to walk forever from the garage to the front desk to get the card fixed. Breakfast you have a buffet. They had the same food at the buffet all 3 days. The eggs are super wet and the sausage links are barely cooked. The bagels were hard as a rock, the breads and muffins were dry. The cucumbers were constantly empty. They had workers constantly at the buffet with attitudes and in your way. I got a piece of French toast and sat the utensil in the bowl. I was trying to decide if I wanted another piece. A worker reached right in front of me and grabbed the utensil and slammed it in its spot in front of me. I’m like okay then. Our first waitress didn’t get us coffee for like 15 minutes. She couldn’t do anything. We had to wait forever for everything cutting into our day. Then the next few days the waiters were in your face every few minutes. You couldn’t chew a bite without them in your face. Wasn’t a good balance. The last morning there was a hair baked into my pancake. They gave us free breakfast but said well you don’t know where it came from. Blamed it on people using it. It was baked into. Not a...

Since I prechecked I didn't have to stop at the desk. I didn't see parking around their check in. You would think they would have a sign pointing you to it. I noticed a garage across the street that read Hilton Parking on it, so pulled in there with a ticket. As I was driving I was looking around for obvious signage to the pedway. I pulled to the side, looked at my app and saw a digital key had not been assigned to me yet. Check in is 3:00. That is also the time that I chose for check in during my precheck so I wouldn't have an issue like this. I called the desk. She told me my room wasn't ready. She said it was clean, but still needed to be inspected. She said she has the corner room on the 22nd floor. I told her I was expecting the 25th. She said she would call for housekeeping to inspect it. She told me to park on the 3rd floor, walk down the ramp to the entrance on the right. I am literally walking around the area cars drive up. I get to the elevator and notice it only goes to the 12th floor. I step back out. Another guest told me he had the same problem last week. Nothing is clearly marked! He helped me by telling me to go to the 2nd floor, showing me past a restaurant bar area towards the sky walk. Once I walked through the sky walk I got in the elevator. I pressed the button for the 25th floor. I saw it told me I needed a key to access that floor. I got back off and saw a message sent from the hotel telling me the room I chose was booked by mistake and they are putting me on the 22nd floor after-all. I was a little dissapointed, but more aggrevated due to the time everything was taking. With my digital key I went up the elevator to my room. When I got in my room it was already 4:55. Too late now for what I had planned. I made new dinner plans and remembered I had an actual garage parking ticket and wondered what I do to it to get out. I was going to use my digit key, which would be normally what to do, but I thought I should double check. On my way down I stopped at the desk. She told me it's a good thing I stopped by as so often the digital key doesn't work right. I said, you mean people will get to the gate, not be able to leave using their digital key and have to come all the way back to the desk. She said yes. I then asked her where the hot tub was. She told me it is in the other building. What! That and the market nearby is the ONLY reason I stayed there versus a hotel nearer to where my business obligation was. There is no way I am going all throughout the hotel, past the bar area, through a sky walk over the street and through the other part of that building with a bathing suit and cover up on for the hot tub! I then started out to the garage. Nothing is clearly marked of where to go for the garage. I wound up in the convention area, leaving out the door walking across the street into the garage. I later realized there was one small sign down one hallway saying the skywalk, but no-where else! I left, then got back and wanted to see the view. I opened the curtains on the short side of the room with the two small windows. The long side though with the huge window the curtains wouldn't open. Some of the curtain was hanging off and you couldn't push it much on either side! Dissapointment again! The bathroom sink nozzle had white soap or toothpaste all over it. Did they even clean and inspect this room? That is a high touch area that should be thoroughly cleaned each time, just like door knobs, light switches, phones, and remotes. It made me very concerned of the overall sanitation. When I showered the next morning I noticed long hair all over the shower wall. There is also what looks like black mold on a lot of the shower tiles. I am allergic and it is never...

Okay wow! I was actually completely and happily surprised by our entire trip to Columbus, which can absolutely be attributed to our stay at the Hilton Columbus Downtown. The location is fantastic and convenient. When contemplating where to book our hotel for homecoming weekend at Ohio State, I had a question about room reservations that needed some follow-up. When I called, Margaret from Catering happened to be the person I spoke with (She must wear many hats and does it well!) that day. She was so professional and was unable to provide an immediate answer to my question so she provided her email address to me for follow up, which I feel not everyone would choose to do. I'm so glad she did because we exchanged a few emails, and she was very helpful with my inquiry, which of course led me to booking our stay at this downtown location.

From the moment we stepped onto the property until the time we left (3 night stay), all of the staff were so friendly and accommodating (front desk, restaurant, cleaning staff when in passing in the hallways, and the bell men). The rooms and bathrooms were VERY CLEAN (I am very OCD and usually accept a hotel room is going to be grosser than my standards), and the property overall is very well-kept and maintained. I fully appreciate how thorough the maids are in cleaning the room. The rooms were not dusty, I wasn't finding random pieces of hair in or around the bathroom or room, the drains worked properly, and overall, the room and bathroom felt very and actually clean. I really hope the management and staff are able to keep the rooms and service the way it it was during our visit for years to come. I had the opportunity to use the gym as well, which is well-equipped for a hotel gym. The pool looked dreamy, but I didn't take the opportunity to use it.

We ate at the restaurant, FYR, in the hotel three times: once for dinner, twice for breakfast. We were impressed each time we visited. Again, the service was on point, the ambience was classy but in a non-stuffy way, and the food and flavors were AMAZING. I tried dishes and offerings I've never seen before and was blown away by everything we ordered.

We didn't make it up to the rooftop bar, but hopefully in the future, we will!

One thing I would request to be done differently/better is for there to be real duvet covers on the comforters in the rooms. I know it's become an industry standard to put a flat sheet under and over the duvet to make housekeeping and getting a room ready quicker, but this is something I personally dislike and figured I'd mention in this review. Otherwise, the bedding, pillows, sheets, towels, and toiletries were all very nice and provided for a comfortable stay.

A special shoutout to Jasmine at FYR for managing breakfast on the morning of the homecoming game so calmly, sweetly, and efficiently. Thank you to Hilton Downtown Columbus's staff for the...