Tempo by Hilton Nashville Downtown — Hotel in Nashville-Davidson

My stay was cancelled unannounced prior to my checkin on the 26th. I did not opt for the electronic key through my Hilton Honors app, as we have had issues with that in the past at other Hilton properties, and planned to check in with staff upon our arrival to receive a physical key. We had a later flight in and took an Uber from the airport. The 2 young men at the front desk informed us there was no reso but were courteous and we requested to talk to a supervisor, obviously, we were more than surprised by this statement. We spoke with a woman whom was less than helpful, courteous or accommodating. She stated that I was called multiple times to inform me of the cancellation (I received no message, nor missed calls). When asked why the reso was cancelled or who cancelled it, she could not provide an answer ("I do not know that information, it must have been my boss, he is not here right now"). I received an email at the 7:00 pm hour (while I had no internet and was on the plane flying to Nashville) notifying that the reso had been cancelled. I did not check this email until we were settled in our other hotel (Not the TEMPO). She proceeded to tell us that we were required to e-check in (I NEVER DO THIS with any other Hilton reservation). Not only was our reservation cancelled without proper reasoning or notification- there were no rooms to offer at the Tempo. She stated that there were others who had completed e-check in but had not physically checked into the hotel but refused to cancel their reso to provide us our reserved room, without being to explain why their reservation could not be cancelled unannounced in the way ours was (I hate for that to happen to anyone though). We were obviously frustrated. She did not provide any form of transportation to another hotel (it was 10pm at this time) nor did she assist us in finding another hotel in the area. The woman stated she would look on the Hilton app in the same manner we would to book- I was fully capable of that myself. She was rude and had zero desire to help us. She stated there was availability for check in at Tempo on the 27th but would not book it. My husband and I looked on the HH app to try to find another place to stay at 10 pm on a Friday in downtown Nashville- as we looked on the app there continued to show availability at the Tempo for our desired dates, in fact, we were able to book the Tempo Hilton through the app and when we called Hilton?!?!? I could not understand how we could book via 2 different outlets but were denied a room. When we would book on the app- I would get a cancellation email 15 min later but when my husband booked on the phone- there was never a cancellation. I have NEVER had this problem in all of the Hiltons in the world I have stayed in. We finally spoke with one of the nice young men working the front desk at Tempo and he proceeded to help us find a room at the Tapestry Hilton- the only room for that evening was outrageously expensive but that was our only option, as all other hotels available would have been another Uber ride and inconveniently located. He was kind and respectful. From that point, we had to walk with all of our luggage through the streets of Nashville at 10:30 pm to the Tapestry. The level of disrespect from the woman supervisor that night, in addition to our reservation being cancelled without notification was completely uncalled for, humiliating and unprofessional. I do not understand how your hotel determines bookings/cancellations but I have never had such a poor experience, needless to say in an upscale Hitlon Hotel. It is unacceptable to be able to book a reso, cancel unannounced or confirm the reso not have it cancelled and the front office state there is no availability. I assume you over book and decide those that booked with points will get cancelled since you make no money off of their reservation, I hope this assumption is not true- if so, that is pitiful. I truly hope this does not happen to any of your other patrons.... It began a weekend away for my husband and I in a very...

My wife and I had a room reservation for July 17 at this hotel. We chose this hotel due to its proximity to the Pinnacle event venue on 9th street AND the fact that it was affiliated with Hilton. We arrived in our personal vehicle at the hotel at 3:45 pm. Upon arrival, the head of the valet staff came to our vehicle and said, "The PARKING GARAGE IS FULL. YOU WILL have to find somewhere else to park." I replied, "Can't you find another place for me to park?" Her response was, "that's NOT MY PROBLEM." By that time, rush hour had begun, and Rosa Parks Blvd was COMPLETELY BACKED UP". Seeing this situation, I asked, "When we leave to find other parking, could one of the valets stop traffic long enough for us to exit the hotel?" Her answer was "No". I asked "Well, can we unload our luggage before we leave? The valet said that would be fine.

eeWe unloaded our luggage, locked our car (in the hotel arrival lane), and went to the front desk on 5th floor. At the front desk, I waited in a short line, and when I finally was able to talk to a Tempo desk staff person, I explained the parking/valet situation that was developing. The Tempo person said, "The parking facilities and valets are managed by a completely different company" and there was nothing that he could do. I asked can you arrange for parking for me at a different garage? Can you cancel my reservation so that I can go elsewhere? "No" was his answer. "If I have to go find my own parking, can you give any accommodation on the room rate? Again "No" and he added that the hotel is not required to provide Valet Parking service. I disagreed since Valet Parking is listed as "available services" on both the Hilton/Tempo web sites. Finally, I asked, "Is there ANYTHING at all can you can do to help me?" The answer again was "No".At that point, the front desk staffer asked if I would like to speak to the hotel manager on duty. I emphatically said "Yes".

After a few minutes the manager appeared. He had been given a heads-up regarding my situation and that I was NOT HAPPY. He also explained that parking for the hotel was managed by a different company [PMC], and the hotel had no control over what parking is available for hotel guests. By this time he had seen that my frustration level was at a critical level. He also knew that I was a Hilton diamond member. So, rather than debating what and who went wrong, he offered me an immediate solution: he would allow me to use HIS PARKING SPOT in the garage (as his shift was over soon). I quickly accepted.

I left my wife alone with our luggage in the front desk waiting area and the manager and I went to the ground floor hotel entrance where my car was still parked, and then drove into the garage to where his car was parked. Along the way I noticed several open parking spaces in the garage and asked, "Why are the valets saying that the garage is full?" He replied that "the garage is managed by PMC to serve different functions." He implied [but did not say] that allocations are optimized to maximize revenue. "For example, some spaces are allocated for daily and monthly parking customers." I responded, "the hotel can't use any of these empty spaces?"

By that time we had reached his car (so the conversation stopped). He moved his car to another empty space and parked mine in its place. He wrote down all of the info that the valet would need to retrieve my car upon checkout, and escorted me to my room (where my wife had already moved our luggage).

At checkout, vehicle retrieval was delayed because the valet staff couldn't understand how our car was parked where the ticket said, but they finally found the car.

Reflecting on my unsatisfactory experience:

A guest should never hear or receive an implied message that a guest's issue is, "not my problem."

The parking service provider needs an overflow contingency plan that ensures that hotel guests never hear "Garage is full" even if it means that valet staff must use other non-hotel-adjacent parking capacity that is managed by the parking...

Just a little note about how I write a review. I start with a 4 and if you really wow me, you get a 5. That being said, here's my review and how we wound up at a 3, but was really contemplating a 2.||The really good:|-The hotel is brand new and it shows! Our room was very spacious and it really felt like we were the first ones to stay in it (even though we know we weren't).|-The hotel bar is very big, bright and there's a ton of comfortable seating in the lobby area around the bar.|-There is a beautiful pool right outside the bar/lobby area with plenty of lounges chairs and another bar outside. We didn't bring suits and it was a bit chilly, but it was a great place to sit and relax in between activities.|-The fitness room is very large, well lit and had 3(!!) Peloton bikes!! We are the people who exercise on vacation, so this was huge bonus for us.|-Location, location, location! The hotel is perfectly located just a few blocks from Broadway, but just far enough away that noise and foot traffic wasn't an issue.|-Excellent coffee shop/breakfast place on the first floor.||The not so good:|-our room, 615, is right on the other side of the elevators. You hear the elevator mechanics/motors 24/7. Like, once you are awake in the morning and hear it, there's no going back to sleep.|-no dresser or place to keep your clothes/belongings. I hate living out of my suitcase, even for just 3 nights so we wound up laying our things out on the bench and desk. I thought it was strange but maybe this is a thing in new hotels now?||The very disappointing:|-the person who was working at the front desk when we arrived Wednesday morning, who was the same person who was at the front desk on Thursday morning. We got in at 10:00am and asked for an early check in, which we absolutely knew wasn't guaranteed. She was quite rude about saying no, almost as if we asked to stay in her house. It was strange. She said there was absolutely no way we'd be able to check in before 4:00 because the hotel was fully booked the night before and the housekeeping staff needed time to clean. Well, it turns out our room was ready well before 4:00, I just didn't get the notification on my Hilton app for some reason.|-the same person was at the desk Thursday morning when we had discuss an issue with her. Our room was directly over the bar and the music in the bar was loud and played ALL NIGHT LONG, keeping my husband awake ALL NIGHT LONG. When we spoke to the same front desk person about it, we didn't get an apology and she curtly said she would let the general manager know. She did say it was supposed to be turned off at midnight. Since we were a bit mistrusting after our first experience with her, I asked to have the general manager call me. He did not. (The music did get turned off over night for the rest of our stay)||The "what the heck is happening here??" comment:|-Friday afternoon, it seemed like there were hundreds of college age students checking into the hotel. We asked an employee what was going on and we were told the hotel was basically rented out to college fraternities for the weekend. And it was like we staying in a frat house! Loud parties, kids going down the hall on luggage racks, Taco Bell bags left in the hall. When we left for dinner, the same employee told us that there were already many broken windows and TVs. We paid $483 on Friday night (before taxes) to stay in a frat house.|-Hopefully, this was just a one-off, but it was our last night there and it was just mind blowing that someone who works in this hotel thought turning this brand new, really nice hotel into a frat house was a good idea. The rude front desk person told us two days in a row that the hotel was fully booked, AND THIS WAS DURING THE WEEK, so I can't imagine anyone was concerned that they needed to fill the hotel...