Hilton Garden Inn Phoenix North Happy Valley — Hotel in Phoenix

Currently staying here (July 4th weekend). Am disabled, also do in-home tech/IT work, so this review will be centered around these things.

Check in was very easy. Booked from the Hilton app. I chose an 'accessible' room as I'm staying alone and didn't want any issues. Room is surprisingly spacious. 1x king, 32" TV - though unfortunately it seems to be 720 ('high definition') and not 1080 ('full' or 'true' HD). Bummer, but I brought my own tech, so it's no big deal. It's also got a nice amount of inputs (2x hdmi, which I'd imagine most people are wondering about) and one USB port. So you can run an Amazon Fire Stick or Chromecast straight from the TV. You will, however, need your own network to do this, be it a hotspot or a full blown router, unless you want the people in the rooms around you to be able to screw with your device. The TV doesn't remember any settings, so when it powers on it's at the defaults. This is good - no surprise HBO late-night movies for kids to find from the previous user - and bad - if you need to adjust anything, you will have to do it every time you turn on the TV. Be warned, this gets old fast.

The A/C unit is mounted under the window, the controls on its built-in panel are overridden by the thermostat on the wall (so don't bother poking at the unit itself). You can control the temperature and the modes (heat/cool) but not the fan speed (even though it obviously has two speeds on the built-in panel...) so it's either quiet or full-blast. I usually sleep in a room with multiple computers running near or always 24/7, so I have three fans running even during the night. This means that this unit doesn't really bother me, but I'm not the typical guy. Not a make-or-break thing, but something to be aware of.

Now, their network. This, for me, is a make-or-break feature, and it's crippled - at least in my room. The ethernet line (the switch it's connected to, actually, though I can't be totally sure without access to their equipment - but it could be further down the line, too) has failed. This means that, in my room, I could not hook up my mini-desktop via ethernet (wired, hard-line, for all those wondering what I'm on about) and have it share the connection with my other devices via wifi (remember, this is needed for my Chromecast, among other things). I spent literally hours testing, retesting, making sure it wasn't something with my equipment - I even asked the front desk, who called their (outsourced) support people, and I got a level 1 'down at the bottom of your screen...' tech that just asked questions about things I'd done initially, hours ago. I ended up frustrated (this is not the first time a hotel network has been terrible - 4 hotels in recent memory: from spotty wifi, to promises of speeds that were never even approached, to each device needing a separate daily subscription ($$$) for higher speeds (!?)...) and went to a local brick-and-mortar store to purchase a travel router; it connects to their wifi, then rebroadcasts the network under your own settings. But I shouldn't need to do any of this - I'm paying for comfort and convenience. Unfortunately, I'm only getting comfort.

Everything else not mentioned is positive - a bit above what I'm used to, actually.

If the network issue was fixed/non-issue, I'd give another star. It's just - these things should be working, and when they aren't, people on the premises should know how to resolve it. Not just scripted phone support, but actual people who know what to do right then and there for when the situation calls for it. That's a big step from 'we can call support' to 'can you buzz Steve and ask him to go by room...'. It's like asking for help and getting directions on the phone about how to change a tire, when you are way past that and have determined that isn't going to cut it, and you need real help. Above and beyond should be the norm, and it's not.

Oh, and one last thing: there is no whole milk available for purchase in the 'pantry'. Soda and booze to rival full-stocked convenience stores - but whole milk?...

The Good: The room and bed were comfortable. The room was quiet. The staff were friendly and helpful. The grab and go breakfast was exceptionally good. I also received a voucher for a free pantry item each day which was a welcome perk. There was plenty parking available and easy access to the freeway. The gym is currently open 24/7 as well. The AC unit served as a white nose generator, but also made it hard to hear the TV. More in a moment.

The Bad: Neither one of the bedside lamp power outlets worked. Thankfully I travel prepared for this possibility and used my own power outlet. The shower door wasn't properly level making it difficult to close all the way and getting the floor wet. The shower had a handheld unit that didn't work at all. There was a lot of light bleed in the room from under the door, around the curtains, and the clock on the microwave. I was able to cover up all but the light around the curtains. Not optimal, but better than nothing.

The Ugly: I realize that Arizona has lifted the mask requirement, but we are still in a pandemic, and in a public space like a hotel, it should take the position of protecting it's guests. None off the staff were wearing masks, although I did see an attempt of one person to put on a mask when guests were approaching, but sadly that isn't how airborne viruses work. You can't just turn them off and on. The majority of guests were also not wearing masks. For this reason, and because I work in healthcare, I chose to wear a mask when in the public areas. Once the country gets to 70% vaccinated, I'll consider being a less strict. I simply don't want to be responsible for allowing the virus to mutate out to pass it on to others should I get infected.

Edit: I stayed here again the very next week after the above review and here's what I found different in the above areas.

The Good: The shower head and door functioned properly this time. The bedside lamp outlet worked even though it was a bit loose. Be aware that the outlet is in a tight spot, so bulky charging adapters won't fit.

The Bad: The AC unit was extremely loud and drowned out the TV requiring it to be turned up louder. I could tell that my neighbors had similar problems as they had their TVs turned up quite loud as well. Still a lot of light bleed around the door and window.

The Ugly: I found only one staff member wearing a mask during the entire stay. Both staff and guests were maskless. This provides the virus with more opportunities to mutate and spread even if it doesn't cause illness in the host. Since the hotel is filled with travelers from all over, this just increases the chances of never getting out of this pandemic. I wouldn't be bothered with maskless staff and guests if I had assurances that they were all vaccinated, but there are far too many refusing to get vaccinated to make me feel comfortable in...

Would like to start the review with how nice the staff was all around. I do not that to be dismissed by the rest of our thoughts on our accommodations.

Aside from the staff friendliness, we wouldn't elect to stay here again. It wasn't the worst of the worst, but all of the little things add up. As soon as you step out of the elevator onto the 4th floor, you are greeted with a strong urine smell. Not sure what was up with that, but it was hard to miss.

Room was small and to the point. My husband and I aren't huge TV watchers, but since we used our rewards as a very minimalistic staycation to go to a quiet place and disconnect, we were disappointed that our remote control did not pair with the TV (different brands entirely) and we could not even turn it on.

The room floor was damp and the room smelled musty. The bed was comfortable enough.

At check in, we were told breakfast starts at 6:30am. I feel this would have been an ideal time to tell us that breakfast came with a fee of $10/person. If the expectation had been set, we could deal with it and make our choice based on that. In the morning, we went to grab breakfast - nothing fancy, looked like your typical complimentary breakfast buffet, although we've seen better for sure. We ate on the patio outside and as we walked in, a woman was standing at a podium by the buffet and told us that if we would like to eat breakfast it would be $10/person. My husband responded with, "well, since we already ate, I guess we're paying". She apologized that she was not out there when we arrived for breakfast and that since we didn't know, she would only charge us for one of our breakfasts. We were told the cost is because of the on-site restaurant. My husband and I aren't sure what actually made it stand out above complimentary breakfasts, but will do a better job of watching for on-site restaurants in the future. There is a blank "breakfast" blackboard above the buffet. Perfect place to make a note that breakfast comes at a cost. The communication on that whole situation needs to get worked out. This is the thing that didn't settle well with us. Oh well, it was $10, but please work on communicating that more effectively. We definitely both agreed that on site restaurant or not, that breakfast is not worth an added fee and would have gone elsewhere if given the information up front.

Overall, not a terrible stay, but wish I'd held on to my rewards points for another time elsewhere. We didn't expect the most lavish amenities, but it was a bit of a let down for a Hilton to be honest. (We do travel cross country multiple times a year, so we do have many experiences to reference...