Hilton Pasadena — Hotel in Pasadena

My most recent stay, which was also my third stay, was not a good experience.

Upon entering my room, I noticed that the wooden piece underneath the television was broken. It was a safety hazard. Seeing as though I was there for a conference, I did not have the time to go back and forth to have my room switched. There were scuffs all over the wall in the closet, and hair in the sink and shower. Two days into my stay, I received a text asking me to rate my stay from 1-10. I rated it an 8. When asked about my rating, I responded with "The overall stay is fine. It's just that there were a few things either broken or off when I got my room". I never received a response or follow-up.

There was a strike happening during my stay. Hilton, from my understanding based on what the individuals on strike informed me, knew about the strike and the dates they would occur. Hilton refused to inform any of their guests of the strike. I was unable to use the front entrance and retriving my vehicle from valet proved difficult as there were less individuals available to work the valet. I booked this hotel last year. There was no reason for them to refuse to tell guests of the strike, considering such an occurrence would definitely disrupt one's stay. I was never given the right to make an informed decision about my stay, because Hilton took that away from me.

On my last night there, a bedbug bit my friend. We took the dead bedbug down to the front desk. We were told by the manager that they'd have a team investigate the issue and get back to us. I received a call the next day from the manager who informed me that the bedbug didn't come from them, and then attempted to brush off and dismiss any thing else I had of concern. When I attempted to voice my concern, he asked me about booking my stay through the "family and friends" rate. When I told him I did, but did not understand how that had any relationship to the issues I experienced with my stay, he immediately told me that they don't normally refund stays booked under that because it's already at a very discouned rate. Never did I request a refund or hint towards wanting a refund. I simply wanted to have my concerns listened to and addressed. However, this manager found it acceptable to assume I was only expressing my concern because I wanted a refund and continued to be dismissive and to talk to me in a condescending tone. The thing that sucks about micoraggressions is that, they are difficult to prove, because they are neither direct nor blatant. But as a Black woman who has experienced her share of microagressions, I can attest to you that this manager's asinine attempt to shut me up, was indeed a microaggression. The manager used the "family and friends" discount to justify why it's ok to provide poor service and experiences to individuals staying with them.

A few days after my stay, I noticed that there were deposits and withdraws from my account from Hilton. None of the charges made sense, and I never received an invoice or explanation. I had to call Hilton to receive an explanation as to why they were playing games with my money. Apparently, the manager made a mistake in the amount of money to return for my deposit. The fact that I had to call to understand why they were making UNAUTHORIZED deductions from my account is completely unprofessional and unethical. I received an invoice AFTER I called to ask what as going on.

I reaced out to Hilton to express my concerns with how my stay was sub par and to express the poor treatment I received from their management. 7 days ago, I was told by Hilton that I would receive a follow-up to my case in 3 days. Hilton has been refusing to address this issue.

When I initially wished to express my concerns over my stay, I simply wanted to be heard and validated, however, I can see now that Hilton does not care to listen to anyone that does not sing them praises, and now I do...

The valet staff were super friendly - even though they were SUPER busy.

Check-in- front desk staff nice.

My room was decent but pointless to pay for a nice balcony when I was looking at the roof- it was so noisy I couldn't have the slider open.

The toilet started making weird noises around 5 am my first night. Gurgling etc. I checked on it after a few times. I didn't notice anything at first so I went back to bed. Then it started again. I got up and saw foam/bubbles in the bottom of the toilet. That's when it started making even more odd gurgling noises. The bubbles started to rise so I watched.. it started making more noise and the bubbles got to the top. Then suddenly it started overflowing bubbles and water all over the bathroom. I recorded it on my phone and also called the front desk. They were going to send someone up right away. While waiting I went to get coffee-- it still took a while for them to come.

The whole room SMELLED like some sort of chemical or ammonia or cleaning agent. It gagged me and I opened the balcony door and stood over there- ( After I put my shoes on to step into the bathroom to collect my things.)

Meanwhile- I called the front desk and asked for another room since not only did it smell horrible but I was now running late to pick up my daughter.

Front desk wasn't very sympathetic in tone and said we are sold out, we don't have any rooms. I ask again and he said there was nothing he could do.

My daughter and I were supposed to meet by 8am ( I haven't seen her in a year and we had two days to get together) I wasn't able to shower or get ready until after the maintenance man left. Then had to wait for towels and someone to clean the bathroom

I didn't get to her house until around 11 or so.

The maintenance man was VERY nice and had no idea what happened.

Not one person followed up with me to see if everything was okl, offered me nothing, no apology, no cocktail, nothing. They didn't seem to care. The night staff on Sunday weren't very friendly either,

I was pretty disappointed in my stay. Waste of money and time.

I even tagged Hilton Pasadena in my Facebook post with the videos. No one has even commented or reached out.

Oh, the bartender lady was SUPER nice also.

You get a 7 only because of the valet, maintenance man...

New visit June18 2023: Manager Eli was outstanding, and set out to make sure we had a nice visit. He was organized, helpful and went the extra mile for us. He is the reason we will be back. The hotel rooms, though, are still a little dated. Also, like many hotels, they cut back cleaning staff and daily service under the guise of Covid-19, but the Hilton chain decided to be cheap and didn't bring back the staff. Unfortunately, it affects service. Now check-in is at 4 instead of 3!!! Also, our room weirdly only had ONE towel. I noticed this at 9 PM. I called housekeeping and ordered towels, but an hour later, still no towels. So, I called the front desk. After another 20 minutes, the front desk called to see if we got our towels. Nope. By this time it was very late and I decided to shower and use the hand towel while my husband went to track down towels for the morning. The towels finally showed up. Bottom line: They need more support staff. That seems to be a Hilton corporate cheap-arse decision, and that is why many of our friends have changed to boutique hotels. We hang in there with Hilton because we travel a lot and do points; otherwise, we'd make the change to cute rooms with good service, too. This visit is upgraded to 3 stars because of manager Eli, but corporate decisions are bogging down the Hilton brand.

April 16, 2023 visit: My rate was for room and valet parking, but they sneaked on an extra valet charge. Beverly Hills Hilton is the WORST at this, and I was so disappointed that an extra $25 was tacked on at the last minute after confirming rate and parking. The rooms still look a little dated even after their remodel--still browns and yellows--but it was comfortable and quiet. The breakfast restaurant was updated and nice, but I really feel Diamond level members should get free coffee when you use the breakfast credit. It's a little thing, but they should reward loyalty. It was a little way off Colorado Blvd. I like to browse Vromans at night or walk after dinner, but I'm not sure I would do that at night. The cleaning staff was great. Everyone was helpful and friendly, but it's really hard to get past 2 stars with me if the bill is incorrect....