The Central Station Memphis, Curio Collection by Hilton — Hotel in Memphis

Our stay: January 18th - January 22nd 2024 Room 527

My boyfriend and I stayed here for our weekend in Memphis. We have stayed at Central Station twice before (May 2022 & November 2022) and had really great experiences, which is why we came back. We also brought 2 friends with us that stayed at this hotel the same days in other rooms because we reccomended it to them.

We arrived to Memphis in the evening time. Upon arrival, the front desk staff was rude to my boyfriend. All the times we have stayed at any Hilton, as AMEX clients, we get benefits for dining credit, room credit, upgrades, etc.

We were not offered any amenities when we checked in and when my boyfriend asked the front desk employee (sassy short black man with short hair and braces) about the amenities we should have received, the employee said since we booked through 3rd party we do not get the benefits.

The whole time the employee was looking at the computer and not even acknowledging my boyfriend. The 3rd party we booked through was AMEX Travel and that's how you're suppose to book to recieve the benefits.

We got to our room around 7pm and I called the Bishop to see if they had room for a party of 4. They did, so we went to the restaurant and there were only a handful of guests in the dining room. We ordered entrées only, because it was late and it took almost 50 minutes for our food to arrive. The servers did refill our water, but gave no explanation as to why the food took so long.

The next night (Friday the 19th), my boyfriend called AMEX Travel about the issue we were having about not receiving the benefits and the AMEX agent we spoke to called Central Station to speak to the front desk employee.

The employee told the AMEX agent that the dining credit could not be used because the hotel's restuarant was closed due to weather. It was snowy in memphis, but we did eat at the restaurant Thursday night and the dining credit could have been used then.

The front desk employee also told AMEX that they upgraded our room for us(which they didn't). WE WERE STILL IN THE ROOM WE PAID FOR. We never got upgraded.

The female employee lied to the AMEX agent. On top of that, the employee told my boyfriend that she would let the manager know and we would be recieving a call from her to address the inconveniences. As of 01/25/24 we still had not received a call from the manager and we followed up with the hotel twice since Friday the 19th.

Saturday morning, we woke up to only cold water coming from the sink/shower. We went on about our day and when we met up with our 2 friends that were staying at the hotel, one of them mentioned how they received a note under their door about a water boil and to not use the faucet water to brush your teeth or drink. WE NEVER RECEIVED THAT NOTE TO OUR ROOM.

The cold water stayed throughout our entire weekend stay. When we asked the hotel about it, they said it was an issue with MLGW and they couldn't do anything, but we went to eat at The Arcade and Little Italy which are directly across the street from the Central Station hotel and both restaurants had hot water.

We also had an insect issue for the entire weekend in our room. Our first night at the hotel, I noticed 2 red lady bugs crawling on the carpet by the curtains when I went to unpack my suitcase. My boyfriend used a tissue to dispose of the bugs.

Friday night when we got back to our room from the day, there was a red lady bug CRAWLING UP THE MATRESS. So I used my UGG boot to wack it off the bed.

We went to dinner at Itta Bena and when we arrived back to our room, there was a weird spider looking insect by the curtain and 2 more lady bugs under the chairs in the room.

My boyfriend disposed of the bugs. The next morning there was a yellow lady bug crawling in the bathroom. For the extent of our stay, there were 8 insects alive in our room that I noticed.

The only polite employee we encountered that weekend was the outside security guard. Upon arrival Thursday, Eugene, helped us with our bags...

Overall this was a really fun hotel to stay in! The decor and design is beautiful and industrial but still cozy. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. My room was spacious, comfortable and fun to look at.

I only had a few complaints, while minor, they did cause some stress to my stay...

My room was an adjoining room which made for a lot of noise transfer from the room next door. Not sure how much of that was because of the door or the people?

I went to the bar downstairs, which was a little tricky to find without a lot of signage. Thankfully the decor and furniture was interesting to look at while I was finding my way! But the staff was very friendly and covid conscious (getting my name and number and forehead temperature). And my G&T was delicious!

I loved the look of the open closet area to put luggage and hang up clothes, but when it came time to sleep I could not figure out how to turn the light off that was on top of the closet. I had to call the front desk and they sent up a maintenance guy who showed me this VERY small knob to turn to dim the light or turn it off completely. I would have NEVER found that myself! So I wished the had been a small sign or something to show me that was to control the light.

The thermostat looked new but I was disappointed to see I could only change the temperature, no fan option to have it on low, high or auto. That would have been helpful to drown out the noise from the guests in the next room.

In the morning I wanted to use the Keurig to make tea. It was on a shelf that pulled out, and when I pulled it as far as possible I realized I would have to lift up the coffee maker because there was not enough space to pour water in the top. Then I found that it was not plugged in yet and it was twisted and awkward to untangle. Thankfully the machine worked fine after that, but it was annoying.

Overall the space was beautiful, mostly comfortable, and I'd definitely love to go back... After I make sure I don't book an adjoining room and remember where all the light switches are!

**The photo is of the beautiful accessible bath tub (which is a big reason of why I chose this hotel and this room... for the tub!) I used the seat to keep a mirror, drink and...

This hotel has changed a lot in a couple of years and it hasn’t been for the better. I stay here frequently for work because of its location and proximity to the bridges into Arkansas. The first year I stayed here it was 5/5. Everything worked in the rooms and they were well maintained, staff was great, Bishop was open and had great food options and the building is awesome. I still do love the aesthetic.

However, there has been an obvious management change since I’ve been staying there and things have gotten worse. Rooms, especially in the bathrooms, no longer seem to be maintained as well. In the past, every room that I can remember had a very nice sliding glass door for the shower, now some seem to have been replaced with a curtain. Still functional and a minor gripe, but a smaller nit pick at larger things that have gone downhill.The music in the lobby can be deafening, especially on Thursdays when it’s no longer Blues being played but loud Hip-Hop for “Ladies Night”. I’ve been told Bishop has been closed for two years for renovations but I think they have left the hotel, which is a shame since they had great breakfast options, (the website still lists it as a dining option). Staff are friendly enough, so no major complaints there. And lastly, I think it could be coincidental and not a fault of the hotel but the last two times I’ve stayed there, I’ve come back sick, with the same type of illness, a pretty persistent cough from chest congestion and a sore throat. Not sure if I’m reacting to something elsewhere or if there’s literally something in the air in the hotel. Another minor detail that has been missed is that there used to be Central Station branded water bottles in the room. A nice Touch if you don’t want tap water. The past few times I’ve been there’s been bottled water but just generic bottles, disappointing but at least they were there. This last trip there was nothing, even after housekeeping came and “cleaned”, which was nothing more than just making the bed.

Not sure if I’ll be staying here anymore, unless everything else in the city is sold out. It’s a shame because this was a great place to stay and...