Hilton Garden Inn Ocean City Oceanfront — Hotel in Ocean City

My husband and I got married here in September of 2024 and it was the second best decision I've ever made!! (Marrying him being the best decision.) The location was great but the staff is absolutely phenomenal!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

We first toured the destination in June of 2023 and it was breathtakingly beautiful. Beautiful hotel, great decor, and the best location in OCMD. Being two blocks from the boardwalk, the location is great for having things to do, but also much quieter than staying on the actual boardwalk. If you're looking for great food, great staff, beautiful decor, cleanliness, and convenience this is the spot!! Over the last year of wedding planning we traveled here many times to pick out decor, food, etc. we got a chance to visit many times and we always had the best time!

Each time we walked in the door we were greeted with a smile and offered help with whatever we needed.Vince at the door was so helpful, courteous, friendly, and even offered to help me to my room when the computer systems were down. He greeted us all on a first name basis and really got to know our friends and family. I obviously was in and out quite a bit and he treated all the other guests with the same professionalism and friendly demeanor. Vince has the best personality and he is the best guy to greet people as they arrive at the hotel. The Operations Manager, Brian David was also there each time we stopped to visit and made sure everything was running smoothly! Always greeted us with a friendly smile! This was a destination wedding for us. We had about 20-30 people staying here from our wedding. Every single person we had staying here came up to us in awe of how fantastic it was. Some of my guests have very high standards, and were beyond impressed with cleanliness, food, beverages, and of course the staff. A lot of our guests have done a few destination weddings this year and they said this one was hands down the best. When I walked into our guest room the first thing I saw was a gift bag full of all of our favorite things and a hand written note all from the Catering Sales Manager, Jennifer Dunkelberger. She took the time to learn our favorite things and made sure they were waiting for us in our room. I was blown away.

Chef Chris Gibbons, and the Food and Beverage director Larry Wilgus ensured we were happy with all of the food we ate while at the Hilton Garden Inn. They were willing to work with us and give us everything we wanted and more. During the wedding Chris went above and beyond by not only making sure our steaks were cooked to perfect temperature, but also picked out two heart shaped filets just for my husband and I. Those extra details made our wedding even more special. Chris spent a lot of time getting to know us and we had the pleasure of getting to know him! He is an amazing Chef and an amazing, creative guy!

Jennifer Dunkelberger the Catering Sales Manager, went above and beyond our expectations. A girl dreams about her wedding forever and she made my wedding better than what I could've ever imagined! She took the time to meet with me multiple times and really got to know us as a couple. We toured quite a few venues but weren't wowed until we met with Jennifer. She is a warm, caring, heart on her sleeve girl that made all the difference. We obviously loved the venue, but Jennifer was the true selling point for us. The night before our wedding she went out after her long day at work to gather some last minute items I forgot to grab when I was back home. She had all of our favorite things in our hotel room when we arrived. We were greeted with handwritten notes about how happy she was that we chose the Hilton Garden Inn. She loves her job and it shows by how much she cares about our happiness. She is a rare breed and I have NEVER been treated so nicely in my entire life. Not only is she amazing but she makes her coworkers feel great as well. Everyone we spoke with at the Hilton Garden Inn loved working with her and we're willing to go the extra mile just to help her out. She...

The location is the best part of this hotel, followed by the recent (but still ongoing) renovations. My wife and I were just married and decided that ocean city MD would be a nice getaway just for a couple of days as a mini-moon. I stay at hotels frequently, and she does not. We picked this weekend because it was the one that worked for us, and the air show was just a neat added bonus.

The problems started before the trip began. I’ve never had an issue with checking in and getting my room key to my phone. Checked in and picked the room in the morning of the day of, but never got the key, it just said I was checked in. “No problem.” I thought, “We’ll check in when we get there.”

Checkin: We got in late, around midnight, and went up to the front desk. An older woman was there who checked us in but was new. She checked us in but didn’t provide anything other than our keys and made me swipe my card which resulted in a double incidental hold. The night auditor who was likely training her stood and watched, said nothing. We got no parking pass, no water, not even anyone’s name. Just here are your keys and you can figure it out.

Parking: Thank god we didn’t get towed, because I had my car outside the first night with no parking pass, which was $15 a night. This was likely to justify paying the 4-5 parking and door staff standing around during the day. Believe it or not, these were the FRIENDLIEST people we met the entire stay. Older gentleman who was manning the ground floor parking “booth” was incredibly nice and understanding when we informed them that there we took the last available spot in the lot, despite many of the cars not having parking passes.

Rooms and Amenities: The rooms are kind of weird. Very nice aesthetic with a great view of the beach, which was our favorite part. However, there is a massive under-door gap where the sound and light from the hallway radiates into the bedroom. The fan also did not have a “stay-on” function, which is definitely more of a preference of mine than a need, but still worth mentioning. The biggest issue with the room was the fact that the very nice rolling track door for the bathroom offered no privacy and there was no fan. Nothing says honeymoon romantics like listening to your SO going to the bathroom. Thank goodness we didn’t have kids with us either, because the Bathroom door didn’t lock. The shower gel was empty, which is a small thing and we just asked for another one, but it was just overall another missed opportunity to make our stay better.

Service: The service was abysmal. Anything I typically enjoy at a Hilton hotel was completely missing from check-in to check-out. Nobody checked with us to see how our stay was going. Everyone that asked why we were at the hotel asked “are you here for the air show?” Instead of actually asking why we were in town. We felt like second class citizens on our honeymoon and my wife actually asked me if we could leave early. I understand the air show is good business and some events take precedence, but every single interaction barring one was sad and we felt as though any of our needs were invalid. I can’t even thank or name anyone specifically because NOBODY gave us their name at any point from the hotel or restaurant. I never saw anyone that looked like a manager of the hotel present. I hope that this review can be used to improve the service for others that stay at this property in the future, because we will...

Some not-so-great reviews on this nice beachfront hotel, but we took a chance. We booked the King suite Ocean view, in May of 2025, and it was a very large two-room suite with a full size refrigerator.

They didn’t have a drive-through area in front of the hotel to temporarily park and check-in, but they kind-of did have one in the north side underground parking, not the outdoor parking. Between the two undercover parking garages on the north and south side of the building, there was also a relatively large outdoor parking on the west side of the building. Seems to be plenty of parking, although you may have to walk a distance in the busy season.

The luggage carts were the new style, small triangle-shaped carts that don’t hold very much luggage. A poor decision on management’s part for a hotel sitting on the beach in Ocean City, MD. It’s gotta be a family vacation destination. I had to make two trips in those little carts to get our stuff up. On check-out day there was a bell hop on duty that helped us deal with the extra luggage. He just happened to be off the day we arrived.

I ASKED FOR EXTRA TOWELS IN THE HILTON APP WHEN MAKING THE RESERVATION, BUT THEY WERE NOT IN THE ROOM SO I ASKED FOR THEM AT THE DESK. BY THE TIME I GOT BACK TO THE ROOM, HOUSEKEEPING WAS BRINGING THE EXTRA TOWELS. KUDOS FOR SPEEDY SERVICE.

One of the thermostats was showing a low battery icon, so I asked for batteries, but the front desk said they will send maintenance. They weren’t as quick as the housekeeping towels, but the maintenance man arrived within 15 minutes to change the batteries. This was probably 8 PM in the evening, so this hotel obviously has, maybe, 24 hour housekeeping and maintenance service.

The shower was a bathtub style, but had multiple spray patterns to choose from in the shower head. Other than the flow rate being relatively low, the shower was nice.

The soap, shampoo, and conditioner bottles were installed too close to the shower head, and should’ve been placed further back. And the little rack, should’ve been placed closer to the shower head. Just my opinion because I kept bumping my shoulder into the bottles as I was showering.

In this King suite, there are plenty of extra spaces to place your suitcases. A very nice touch. Also plenty of outlets to keep your devices charged.

I thought the sleeper sofa/couch was quite comfortable for sitting on.

We were on the seventh floor, and it was relatively quiet.

The hotel is located just north of the Ocean City boardwalk, so it’s very easy to get to if you’d like to walk the boardwalk. There is also access to the beach, and a wet room where you can rinse off, or rinse your feet off before going back into the hotel. This is a very nice touch.

The entryway lobby is a significant “wow” factor, but check-in is up on the next floor. You either walk up the stairs, or you take the elevator. Just a tad confusing if you’re a first timer.

The ocean view room, is an ocean view room directly facing the Atlantic Ocean. Very nice sitting out on the balcony, listening to the waves and relaxing.

The second floor, besides having the front desk, has the restaurant and a bar, and an outside deck for lounging that is very attractive looking.

My wife wanted to stay another night, but we were already booked and paid for a hotel in Virginia on the following night.

Would we...