Hampton Inn & Suites Cashiers-Sapphire Valley — Hotel in Highlands

THE ROOMS WERE SUPER CLEAN...I MEAN SPOTLESS! WE STAY AT HAMPTON INNS QUITE FREQUENTLY DUE TO THEIR CONSISTENCY AND FOR THE MOST PART WE ARE RARELY DISAPPOINTED. BUT, THIS TIME WE WERE BUT NOT DUE TO THIS PARTICULAR HOTEL. OUR DISAPPOINTMENT IS IN HILTON CORPORATE. WE TRAVLED TO FLORIDA AAND DECIDED TO LEAVE A DAY EARLY IN ORDER TO SPEND AN EXTRA DAY IN THE MOUNTAINS. WE CALLED THE 1.800. CORPORATE NUMBER BECAUSE WE WERE USING SOME REWARD POINTS. THEY ALLOWEF US TO CHANGE OUR RESERVATIONS BUT THEY NEVER PUT IT IN THE SYSTEM CORRECTLY. APPARENTLY THE SYSTEMS BETWEEN HOTELS AND CORPORATE ARE NOT AS CONNECTED AS THEY NEED TO BE. WHEN WE GOT TO OUR CASHIERS NC HAMPTON INN THEY HAD NO RESERVATION FOR US. THANKFULLY WE HAD TAKEN A SCREENSHOT OF OUR RESERVATION CHANGE THAT CORPORATE SENT WHEN WE MADE THE CHANGE. HOWEVER, THEY DID NOT HAVE OUR ROOM AVAILABLE....THEY WERE SOLD OUT. THE STAFF CALLED THE 1800 NUMBER AND THEY SAID THEY COULDN'T HELP HIM AND THEY TOLD HIM TO CALL A DIFFERENT 1800 NUMBER. MEANWHILE, PEOPLE ARE BEHIND US WANTING TO CHECK IN AND THIS HAMPTON INN ONLY HAD ONE POOR GUY TO WORK THE FRONT DESK. HE TRIED CALLING HIS MANAGER AND SHE NEVER ANSWERED. HE DIDNT KNOW WHAT TO DO. LONG STORY SHORT, WE GOT A ROOM AND THEY COMPED US FOR THE NIGHT. WE SWITCHED ROOMS TO OUR ORIGINAL RESERVED ROOM THE NEXT DAY. THE STAFF WAS SO VERY KIND!! BUT...HILTON CORPORATE IS JUST STUPID! IF U MAKE A RESERVATION THROUGH THEM THEN YOUR HOTEL HAS ABSOLUTELY NO ABILITY TO ALTER YOUR ROOM OR RATE IF SOMETHING SHOULD HAPPEN. INSTEAD, THEY HAVE TO SEND IN FORMS AFTER YOU CHECK OUT TO TRY AND STRAIGHTEN OUT ANY PROBLEMS THAT OCCUR. WE WANTED OUR 40,000 POINTS BACK FOR THE FIRST NIGHT FOR OUR TROUBLE AND BECAUSE WE DIDNT GET THE ROOM WE RESERVED. HILTON REFUSED AND ONLY GAVE US 10K POINTS. WE HAD TO MAKE SEVERAL CALLS TO THEM, WE HAD TO WAIT 2 MONTHS FOR ALL THE REDICULOUS PAPER WORK TO BE SENT IN....THE MANAGER AT HOTEL YOU STAY IS NO LONGER ABLE TO COMPENSATE YOU FOR YOUR TROUBLES. WE ARE DONE WITH HILTON!! WE HAVE STARTED STAYING AT HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND FINDING THOSE TO BE AS NICE IF NOTT NICER THAN THE HAMPTON INN AND THEIR REWARDS PROGRAM IS USER FRIENDLY. AGAIN, THE CASHIERS NC HAMPTON INN HAS WONDERFUL FRONT DESK CLERKS AND ARE JUST SUPER CLEAN AND NICE AND BENT OVER BACKWARDS TO MAKE OUR STAY OUTSTANDING. UNFORTUNATELY HILTON CORPORATE HAS GONE THE WAY OF CORPORATE FIRST, CUSTOMER LAST. SICK OF THEM...

This is not a short review, but detailed for those who like more than “great, good, nice, enjoyed it, friendly staff, etc.” As an employee in guest services at a hotel and also a big traveler, I appreciate an honest review with additional info. I recently stayed at this beautiful Hampton Inn & Suites in Cashiers and it did not disappoint! The only reason why I didn’t give it 5 stars for location is because there are a lot of curvy roads to get there which adds travel time to your trip when you’re behind a slow driver who isn’t familiar with travel in the mountains. I can’t say enough positive things about the staff (only met front desk and housekeeping)—Stefanie was so kind and helpful to send me a text “chat” and was very welcoming when I checked in. She pointed out the pertinent info about breakfast hours (thank you to the person who set out a great breakfast which included hot items, waffle maker, cereal, yogurt, pastries, breads, juices, coffee and many condiments), location of nearby restaurants, WiFi, fitness center, indoor pool and hot tub, retail area (food and drinks) and even chocolate chip cookies, coffee, tea, hot chocolate and apple cider in the lobby. All rooms (great size!) have been renovated and updated with hardwood flooring, the latest plumbing and bathroom fixtures (excellent lighting around the mirror, ladies!), outlets with plug-ins and USB ports, light colors and bedding, large TV, barn doors on bathrooms/closet, a refrigerator and microwave. There are even hooks on the side of the full length mirror for jackets, jewelry or whatever you need to hang up. So impressed with housekeeping and how clean the bathroom, room, fridge, microwave, etc. was when I walked in the door and got settled. I usually stop to check out, even though it’s unnecessary with my Hilton app, to thank the person at the front desk and give him or her a little feedback. Thank you, Rola (front desk 7a-3p shift) for your kind smile and thoughtfulness when I said I was going to put my luggage in the car then come back to workout in the gym. I walked in and he immediately offered me a Gatorade instead of the bottled water I had in my hand—WOW! I highly recommend this hotel and look forward to staying there...

We are currently staying at this Hampton Inn & Suites, and, overall, the hotel is fine, but I wanted to share a disappointing experience regarding their early check-in policy. After driving nearly 9 hours through the night, we arrived around 6am and were shocked to learn there was a $100 early check-in fee, even though rooms were ready.

My family and I travel frequently and have never encountered an early check-in fee when rooms are available. What upset us about the situation, is the next morning, well before 3PM, other guests were checking in and no mention of a fee in order to access their rooms. As someone who has managed a hotel front office, I understand policies around late check-out or early departures, but charging a guest just to access a clean, empty room early in the morning felt excessive.

I asked if the fee could be waived as a courtesy or even discounted, especially since we were not made aware of this at the time of booking. I was told flatly, “It’s standard company policy,” and that there was nothing they could do. Our options were either to pay the $100 or sit in the car or lobby for 9 hours until standard check-in time, which is 3pm. Even if it’s 1pm or 2pm, you still pay the $100.

If this is truly a company-wide policy, I sincerely hope Hilton/Hampton Inn & Suites reconsiders. We’ve stayed at other Hilton and Hampton locations and have never been charged for checking in before the standard time, especially when rooms were available. Given that many guests are traveling long distances or from out of state, and this particular location is fairly remote in the mountains, a little flexibility would go a long way in improving the overall...