Home2 Suites by Hilton Iowa City Coralville — Hotel in Coralville

I have stayed at this Hilton location many times as well as my family, and for extensive stays for years. This last stay may be my very last as it was the most traumatizing hotel stay experience.

I requested my room be cleaned the day before my last night (yesterday 8/1/23). I came back to the hotel after 5pm and they were still in the process of cleaning my room. I told them it was my room and to take their time cleaning. I stood in the hall and waited until they were finished. I got settled in and things felt "off". I got up to get a drink from the fridge as I had drinks, food, and snacks there. The entire fridge was emptied and the counter of any food and even sleep gummies. Then I was horrified to go into the bathroom and literally everything of mine that was there was missing: my makeup bag, deodorant, soaps and shampoo, dental cleaning bag, my partner's toothbrush and hair gel, and looked over at the bed and my sleeping mask, ear plugs, eye drops, and skin moisturizer. Fortunately and oddly enough only the dresser below the TV still had my things.

I called the front desk sobbing, and I believe it was the general manager that picked-up and I couldn't tell if she was yelling at staff or at me because I was hysterical. I went downstairs to the front desk, I'm pretty sure I was told my things were there, and I was visibly upset and crying while the manager was still coordinating efforts to locate my things. I hoped everything would be in one place together waiting for me. The disturbing part was having to remember and describe exactly what my things looked like that were missing. I had items put together in a trash bag, I realized that my snacks were eaten because the container was emptier and there was a bite taken out of one, one of my protein shakes was replaced with a different bottle of milk and they kept finding my things in different places. My sleep mask was the last thing missing and it's a distinct one and they found it on a housekeeping cart.

I am home and discovering some of the things I listed above are still missing, and I know I should know what all I bring with me but who expects to come back to their hotel stay and everything is gone. I have the important things (I believe, again how could I anticipate this happening when I've stayed so many times with only positive experiences), but it doesn't rectify the rest of my belongings that are missing.

I know when I was waiting for housekeeping to finish cleaning my room I had all my bags with me and this gave the impression that I'm a new guest and it's after 5pm, so everything needs to be cleaned out of the room. The reality is, I carry my work things with me and it shouldn't matter how many bags I was hauling. Also, with everything that was left in the room and even sitting out, wouldn't someone question why a guest would leave all of their things in the room if they were not returning? We have to request the room to be cleaned the day before and I would hope that there is a distinction between a request, and preparing a room for a new guest.

I also understand the language barrier with housekeeping; however, it's inexcusable that there isn't a clear process of collecting items left by guests. If there is one, it wasn't followed.

I felt violated, traumatized, and almost like I made a big deal over nothing since no one seemed openly concerned or remotely comforting. The least that could be done is a form of refund for the grief.

I don't enjoy writing anything negative, or scaring people, but this certainly...

My husband and I have stayed at this hotel five or six times, but last Friday night (April 28, 2023) ended up being the proverbial Night from Hell. A little before 10 p.m., we noticed the strong smell of Weed coming through our bathroom vent. Someone, probably next door, was smoking it. My husband went down and told the desk clerk who said she had already had complaints. She told us she walked the 4th floor hallway to determine which room it was coming from but couldn't tell. She said she sprayed something in the hallway, but of course that didn't help our room --and the neighbors continued to smoke. Though kind, she offered no other solutions. The odor of marijuana burned my sinuses throughout the night, even with the bathroom door closed and the fan running. My husband approached a morning clerk at 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning who told him they could not search rooms or remove occupants without evidence. Occupants would be charged extra if residue was found while cleaning--but again that did not help us. She asked if we wanted a refund for both Thursday and Friday nights and we said No, Friday night was the only problem. At check-out (around 8 a.m.), there was a different desk clerk who said she would have to get the Assistant General Manager to talk about a refund. My husband felt the AGM was rude and patronizing; he actually denied that the earlier clerk had offered my husband a refund--basically calling my husband a liar. He offered my husband a reduction in the room rate. My husband pointed to the large sign in the lobby which says, "Make your Stay Right or It's on Us." The AGM asked if my husband had asked the night clerk for a different room. My husband said that a different room was not offered to him. He felt the Assistant General Manager's tone was argumentative and unhelpful, so he said he'd be contacting Hilton about the situation. The AGM said my husband was welcome to do so. In short, if you want to stay at this hotel, realize that the non-smoking signs don't mean a whole lot and that you may not get much sleep. Also, if you have a serious issue it doesn't seem you can expect the Management to make...

This hotel looks good on the website, but the reality is a completely different story.

The website advertises daily housekeeping. In reality, all we got for the first seven days was towel swaps...no vacuuming, no trash removal, no bathroom cleaning. We checked in to find trash from the previous occupants under the bedside table, and the situation only went downhill from there.

We repeatedly asked for cleaning. Each time, we were promised “tomorrow,” and each time, nothing happened. On day 3, the front desk said we were the third room to complain that their room wasn't cleaned. It took until Day 8 before the room was finally cleaned, and even then, the linen wasn’t changed. On Day 5, after days of broken promises, the front desk dropped off a vacuum and my wife had to vacuum the room herself. That says everything about the level of service here.

Other issues:

Expired in-room items: The coffee creamer was two months expired and clumpy.

No replenishment: Conditioner was not refilled until Day 8 (ran out Day 2). Coffee supplies weren’t replaced until Day 8. No facial tissues were ever replenished.

Condition problems: The bathroom sink is literally held up by a wooden dowel from underneath. The kitchen sink drain was clogged, and the garbage disposal didn’t work.

Staff professionalism: At the market, when no clerk was present for me to purchase a drink, a housekeeper told me, “You know what, you’re good, just take it.” I continued to wait and pay anyway. When I explained this to the clerk, she just rolled her eyes.

To top it off, they proudly post a “HOME 2 GUARANTEE” sign that says: “We guarantee an engaging experience and clean, comfortable accommodations. If you aren’t completely satisfied, let us make it right or that night’s on us.” We complained multiple times, and nothing was ever “made right.” Guarantee not honored.

The staff may smile, but the service is broken, the facilities are neglected, the marketing is misleading, and the housekeeping is basically nonexistent. If you care about cleanliness and honesty, stay...