Homewood Suites by Hilton Oak Creek Milwaukee — Hotel in Oak Creek

I am very sad to be making this negative review. I w/h given this hotel 5 stars but it has been made very clear to me that the GMs of this hotel do not understand the meaning of hospitality. The hotel is very nice. We loved the rooms. The staff overall were very pleasant. We are loyal Hilton members and we were planning on making this our new go to hotel whenever we are in WI to visit family and friends. Unfortunately, they have proven they do not want our repeat business. After driving 10hrs we arrived at 8pm to be informed that the hotel did not have hot water. We did NOT receive an email, text or call alerting us of this situation. We were given the choice to take our business elsewhere but honestly, who is going to feel like trying to find a NEW hotel at 8pm after a long drive when you are tired and hungry and wanted a shower AND you need TWO adjoining rooms for SIX adults in that same area? We opted to stay with the assumption Hilton would stand by their brand and offer us reasonable compensation for the inconvenience of not having one of the MAIN services a guest expects of a hotel. Plus Amanda assured us at check-in that management was working on something for the inconvenience. The following afternoon when we now had no water at all, I was sent a text asking me to rate the hotel. I said that it remained TBD based on the comp for the inconvenience for having no hot water for 18hrs at that point. I was told that I misunderstood. So I questioned, “will there not be any compensation?” The reply back was “they checked w/ mgmt and they c/ offer me a pizza”. A pizza for 6 people, 18hrs into STILL not having ANY hot water. This inconvenience ruined my son’s and his two friend’s first full day in what was a celebration weekend for their graduation. We decided to see what would happen at checkout. When we checked out we were offered NOTHING for the inconvenience of not having hot water for 22hrs! (Other than the one lousy pizza AFTER asking - which we never got because we had other plans for meals and it felt like an insult to the business we gave them). Disappointed I replied to the review email explaining my disappointment and NEVER even complained about the loose handle on a drawer, how the bathroom sink drained very slowly, the light in the refrig didn’t always come on, the dishwasher appeared to be broken, bkfst was cold 2 of 3 mornings, no plates one morning and a dirty fork I found in the room. We aren’t complainers. I only mentioned a few of those items when we first were contacted by staff, saying they could be addressed after we checked out. All I wanted was a reasonable showing of appreciation of our business and the inconvenience of having no hot water for 22hrs. BUT the asst. GM responded w/ you were offered a pizza and we will credit you 2,500 Hilton Honor points. So, I messaged corp only to have the hotel’s GM respond again, doubling down on the pizza and the 2,500 points and stating “no other compensation would be given”. We stayed in PA a few years ago and upon arrival we were told their pool was out of commission. THE HOTEL took it upon themselves to communicate with a nearby Hilton hotel so if a guest wanted a pool they could go to that hotel. THEY had us booked into the other Hilton hotel in 15min. My brother who is also a loyal Hilton member was given 20,000 Hilton Honor points for a broken dishwasher and a door that didn’t close properly. 20,000!! We gave this hotel our business. We spent $1500.00 this past weekend! And they couldn’t compensate us ONE NIGHT for the inconvenience of NOT HAVING ANY HOT WATER FOR NEARLY 24 hrs??? I’ve been in the hospitality industry for decades and this GM should know that for every 1 person who voices their dissatisfaction there is at least another 9 that will never say a word. They will simply tell everyone else about their dissatisfaction and never stay their again. I met one of those 9 in the elevator. My next step is a CALL...

We hosted our wedding here on August 3rd, 2024.

Positives:

-So many people told us how amazing the food was! It really was very good and I enjoyed the options for catering. -The venue was absolutely beautiful. Very modern looking, not like the classic hotel wedding. -We had everything that we had asked for (but did need to ask for the arch as the person directing set up did not know about it even though it was on the BEO). -Many people told us how great the seating area was in the bar area. I would highly suggest paying the extra money to rent out the bar for the night. -No one seemed to have issues with rooms and all extra room requests were able to be taken care of easily!

Negatives:

-we went through 3 different catering managers in the 11 months that we were working with the hotel to plan our wedding. The two times that the go to person was no longer working there, we were not informed at all about their absence. It took me reaching out to find out their email was no longer active. In the first switch, they did not have record of our deposit or contract, which caused a lot of unneeded stress. -The bar was open early, before the ceremony even started. In my opinion, the bar should have opened at 4:30, as our cocktail hour started, and given more time for the bartenders to know what we were supposed to have and have the proper information to serve our special event. -We were never given the wristbands for our bridal party to have their free drinks. When we talked to the bartenders about this, for one they did not even know about it. Secondly, when I asked about getting the wristbands they told me not to worry about it and they would know who was part of the bridal party. I am unsure how they were keeping track of this but was not able to follow up as I was socializing with others. My husband inquired about the drinks and they said we had 40 drinks (which should have began at 4:30 when our cocktail hour began). I am not sure how they came up with that number. Our bridal party arrived back from pictures around 4:50 yet they said we went through this number before dinner even which I also find highly unlikely with a bridal party of 14 and 3 being pregnant to have gone through that many drinks within the span of just over an hour. Of our bridal party, we have accounted for 7 free drinks. -We were supposed to have free soda and both Busch and Miller Light complementary for our guests starting at 4:30. This was not the case. When friends/family members, that we have talked to, ordered either Miller or Busch they were not told that tap was complementary. They were immediately handed a bottle and charged for the beer. In speaking to family members with children who were drinking soda, they informed us they were charged $3.50 for each soda they received. This has made us question if any quests were told about the complementary beer and soda when coming to the bar to order a drink. -We had family members with $150, $250, $300, and even $750 bills. So far, we have added up over $2,000 in bar bills for friends and family, obviously having not inquired with everyone. This is outrageous as if they had known about the alcohol we had pre-bought, they would not have had to spend that much money. When they asked to see itemized bills, they noticed that they were charged different prices for each drink when they were the same item. For example, one member paid between $6 and $8 for pineapple High Noon throughout the night.

Overall we loved having our wedding here but were so disappointed to hear about the bar issues. I reached out to the catering and hotel manager about the issue and got no response, which was also disappointing considering how great they were with communication right before...

I come to Milwaukee 4-6 times a year and decided to try out this hotel for a 5 night stay. Stayed in a one bedroom suite with a full kitchen. The room itself was reasonablly clean (except for 2 tennis balls I found under the bedroom AC). The kitchen area was very clean. The dishes and glasses were spotless. It was well appointed with towels, and dish soap and dishwasher soap. The full size fridge was good, although it runs to the warm side even if you set the temp to the highest position. Recycling containers are also in the room. The room was also made hypoallergenic with feather free pillows.||The bedroom has ample space for your belongings. The sink is separate from the toilet/tub area, which I personally do not like. This kind of set up requires someone to open doorknobs before washing their hands after using the toilet, which I find gross. It is also a very inconvenient set up if you are with someone who wants to sleep longer than you. You cannot turn on the lights at the sink or use the vanity area without waking them up. In addition the toilet area light is motion detected, so if you get up during the night a blaring light hits you and disturbs the person you are sharing a room with. A better design would have been a simple night light on the switchplate in the toilet area.||The hotel is new, which is very nice, but it lacks quality insulation you find in older hotels. I could hear everything going on in the rooms above me and next to me.||The outdoor patio is terrific. The grill was immaculately clean and I felt very comfortable using it. Every day of my stay I saw a maintenance man outside cleaning tables etc. Nicely done. The fire pit resides directly next to the grill and is a great place to sit with family. I saw it being used every night of my stay.||There is also a pool and laundry room, which are clean and modern. The gym area is also well equipped. Parking is free, which always factors into where I stay.||The front desk staff are very pleasant and kind. Most especially a woman by the name "Katisha???" (I don't think I spelled this right). She was very engaging and customer service focused.||The one area that could use a kick up is Diamond status perk recognition. The room I received for 5 nights was on the second floor right above the front entrance. (I requested the top floor be assigned in my reservation.) It was a very noisy area with lots of car lights etc. Not very comfortable, especially for 5 nights. Also at check out I requested a 1 hour complimentary check out (moving it from 11am to noon). The person on the front desk called the housekeeping department to ask them if it was OK and they said no. I've had status with Hilton for 20+ years and this was the first time I've ever been denied a 1 hour extension. It was also the first time I've ever seen the front desk not be empowered to make a decision like this...seemed very odd that they had to ask the housekeeper.||If the price is right and I have greater assurance of an improved room location I...