Tru by Hilton Lancaster East — Hotel in East Lampeter Township

One word for this hotel: fun! On an amenities level, it is about on par with a Hampton Inn or a Holiday Inn Express (and costs about the same, too). But the unique style that starts the moment you drive up to the hotel, hits you full force when you enter the lobby, and even goes with you into the shower, makes your entire stay delightful. We were a party of 3 sort-of-senior adults, staying in 2 double rooms. Normally we like to stay in Hiltons and other full-service, upscale hotels. However, in Lancaster, there’s not a lot of choice, we decided to go at the last minute, and our first choice hotel was full. The Tru Hotel is about 3 or 4 miles east of downtown Lancaster, in the midst of suburban shopping malls. It is brand-new (opened around August 2017). Everything is sparkling clean. When I thanked the housekeeping staffer on our floor for how clean our room was, it was obvious she took great pride in her work. Our room was small, but not really cramped. The beds were comfortable, and the pillows generous. One thing I really appreciated was the plentiful distribution of plugs AND USB ports around the room. We had to move the one table lamp and the desk (really a small table on wheels) to the bedside so we could have softer lighting in bed. The main lighting comes from recessed lights above the beds, and it was pretty bright. I loved the bright colors used as accents in decorating – such a happy feeling! The bathroom was large. I am really picky about showers – they have to be strong and hot – and towels – they have to be pretty thick and soft – and Tru Hotel delivered in both cases. All of us loved having the soap, body wash, etc., available via bright yellow and blue cylinders mounted on the wall – another fun (and environmentally sound) choice by Tru. The lobby is not super-large, but it definitely gives off that “fun” vibe. The front desk is a round kiosk in the middle of the lobby, surrounded by snacks for sale. There is brightly colored, comfortable furniture on which to lounge with friends or eat breakfast. Some special features include: a variety of magazines available for browsing, whiteboards where staff and guests can make restaurant and other recommendations, sound-“proof” booths where one can have more private conversations, and both foosball and video game tables! The self-serve breakfast is included with the room. It’s nothing fancy (like there’s nothing hot except coffee and tea). There are bagels, English muffins, and donuts if you like your carbs; child-friendly cereals; oatmeal, Greek yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, and whole fruit if you want to try to be nutritious. Plus, there are lots of toppings ranging from brown sugar to oreo bits. The staff is attentive and friendly and keeps the supplies refreshed. All in all, we really enjoyed our stay here, and would recommend it to anyone, really. If you want true luxury and lots of amenities, you won’t get that here – but you will get...

I just want to follow up and thank Hilton Corporate Customer Service for their quick and professional response to my recent complaint below. They addressed the issue promptly and made sure I felt heard and valued throughout the process.

It’s clear that Hilton truly cares about guest satisfaction and goes the extra mile to make things right. Thank you to the entire Hilton team for your dedication — it’s service like this that keeps me coming back!

≈================================= Subject: Complaint Regarding Unsatisfactory Stay on July 5, 2025 – Request for Full Hilton Honors Points Refund

I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction with a recent stay at [Hotel Name, City/Location], beginning on July 5, 2025.

Unfortunately, our experience fell well below Hilton’s expected standards for cleanliness, comfort, and quality. Upon checking into our room, we encountered numerous issues, including:

A toilet seat with visible uncleaned wipe stains

Bathroom and floors covered in tiny dust and hairs

Only three bath towels provided, with no hand or face towels

Inadequate toilet paper (one full roll and one empty)

Empty or near-empty bottles of hand soap and lotion

Shampoo and soap dispensers in the tub containing less than one-third of product and covered in black mold and grime around the squeeze openings

Additionally, both elevators smelled unpleasant and were unbearably hot—comparable to a sauna. When I raised this issue with staff and the on-site manager, Ms. Jen Jameson, I was informed the elevators do not have air conditioning, which is simply unacceptable for a Hilton-branded hotel.

While Ms. Jameson did offer a small number of Hilton Honors Points as compensation, this amount was significantly less than the value of the points we paid. It did not reflect the level of discomfort, inconvenience, and the fact that we had to personally clean the toilet and mop the floors using hotel towels just to make the room tolerable.

That said, I do want to highlight that the front desk staff were courteous and responsive. Jessica, along with another older staff member working that evening, greeted us warmly with friendly smiles and quickly provided the missing towels and toilet paper we needed. Their professionalism and kindness were a small bright spot during an otherwise disappointing stay.

Attached are photos taken after we cleaned the room ourselves, which I hope assist with your review.

This property did not reflect the Hilton brand’s promise of luxury, quality, or care. I respectfully request that this matter be escalated to upper management, and that a full refund of our Hilton Honors Points be issued. I also urge Hilton to take corrective action at this location to ensure future guests are not subjected to these conditions.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. I look forward to your prompt response and a...

This hotel is very different than the others in the Hilton brand. It is aimed at 20-30 year olds. There were many families there but it is really kind of too small for families. This is not a complaint, but just something I feel people should know. The rooms are very small and have minimal furniture. There is no closet or drawers but has hooks on the wall instead. There is no desk and one chair. The floor has no rugs. The bathroom has soap dispensers instead of trial size bottles. They are very generous with towels however. The lobby is definitely the highlight of the hotel. They mean for people to spend time there instead of their rooms. It is very colorful and has lot of seating of various kinds. There are foosball tables and drawers full of board games and other goodies. There are even sound proof booths for people who are working. Instead of traditional desktop PC, they have Microsoft surface tablet PC's. They have wireless printing and this can be done anywhere from the hotel as well. They have little safes that you can put your devices in to charge but you need to bring your own cable. They even have a wall of newspapers and magazines to enjoy. The front desk has various snacks and frozen meals to buy. The microwave is here too. The breakfast is also very different. There are no hot food items. They don't have waffles and sausages and things like that. Instead they have bagels, donuts, cereal, yogurt and oatmeal. What makes it unique though, is the many toppings they offer. For example they have mashmallow fluff, strawberry and chocolate glaze for the donuts. And other toppings like cherries, pineapple, M&Ms, chocolate chips, bacon bits, mini marshmallows and more. They also have various kinds of spreads like apple butter and bacon jam. Dispite being so different, my family liked the breakfast. But some others did not. Overall, my family enjoyed this hotel. I wrote this long review to give people an idea what it is like since it is so new and different. It is unlike anything we have ever stayed in before and it has to be experienced to really see what it's like. In the end it was a bit too small for our family of 5 even with 2 rooms. But it was fun for an overnight stay in the Lancaster area. Tldr: my family liked it but guests should be aware it is very different than other Hilton Brands. The rooms are small and minimalist, the breakfast is unique but offers...