Hilton Garden Inn Portland Airport — Hotel in Portland

I'll start with a disclaimer that the hotel is currently (Feb 2023) undergoing renovations, so experience might be different than mine once this is done.

All in all, the ambient of this Hilton Garden Inn aligns with the chain in terms of room distribution and amenities, however it shows its age fairly well as well as need for better decision making.

To start, this stay happened the weekend after a big snow in Portland. Three days after the snow, the parking lot was still covered with ice and slush, to the point that a big 4x4 pick-up ahead of me actually was having trouble getting out of the property. There was of course piled up snow on each parking slot, which is understandable up to a point, but the fact that the main driving area was in such bad shape was a bad start.

I stayed in a 2 full-size bedroom and both beds had grooves on either side from the mattresses not being turned or replaced in many years. The same situation happened in the bathroom where the bathtub had a groove in the center from use. The sheets and towels were perfectly adequate but when you're paying almost $200 per night you expect better.

It is interesting to add that walking through the 2nd floor corridors, this is one hotel that is very creaky and walls are fairly permeable to sound. Usually, hotels like this have very nice sound isolation, but it wasn't the case during my visit.

The morning after, I had breakfast there, which is mostly a-la-carte, so you expect more freshness. Well, I had the stalest pastry I've ever eaten in my many years of work travel staying in Hilton chain hotels. Adding to it that I had to pay for the same type of breakfast I get at the Hampton Inn, where it is included in the room price is just not nice.

I have to say that the front desk staff was very welcoming and helpful, as well as the restaurant staff. My room was clean and orderly and there were no deal-breaker problems. It's just that for the price you set the bar...

This is a franchise and corporate Hilton does not have much authority. That is probably the reason for the lackadaisical response from the hotel's customer service people and management. There were two charges to my card, one charge was for the price of the room with a security deposit. The second charge was for the price of the room. They were made on different days. I have a screenshot of this. They were supposed to cancel one charge out and keep the actual charge. They chose to wait for the bank to cancel. That meant 1) my money was being held captive and 2) the hotel wasn't pro-active in canceling a charge, they just let the charge fall off. What was really frustrating is how the management repeatedly commented on not understanding how it worked. I understand completely how it works. They were lazy or they were trying to hold onto my money for a little longer.

How they could have avoided this in depth review would have been to not treat me like I didn't understand and take responsibility. They talked in a nice voice, but their words were condescending. I am going to contact agencies, like Oregon Tourism, and write reviews.

They have responded to another review on TripAdvisor about my "not understanding" how charging works. I do understand. They charged me twice, once for the full price of the room, and then the full price of the room with security deposit. They didn't cancel the one charge, instead, allowing my bank to let it fall off. Where they could have just cancelled the charge. They continue to respond to me in a condescending manner. Because of that, I am going to continue to find places where I can leave this review. This hotel has many positive attributes, but not handling a guest's money cancels out all of...

Although the location of Hilton Garden Inn Portland Airport is convenient in proximity to the Portland International Airport, the service I experienced, at all levels, was distasteful.

Typically there are three things I look for prior to making a hotel reservation: location, cleanliness and price. This hotel met my typical three requirements, it was in a convenient location, it was clean and the price was reflectively inexpensive.

As a pretty low-maintenance individual, previously, service didn't rate top priority for me.

While staying at the hotel, I wouldn't say that I was displeased by the minimal service I received, but following my stay, an unauthorized fee of $250 was charged in addition to my reservation fees.

When calling to question and dispute this additional charge, I was informed that it was for smoking in a non-smoking room.

Despite the fact that no smoking took place within the room during my stay and that I had not authorized the fee, they refused reimbursement.

In addition, during the dispute process, I was given the run around and I was not treated in a professional manner by front desk associates and management. In fact, they were quite rude, to say the least.

Hilton Garden Inn claims to offer their guests a Satisfaction Promise/Guarantee, yet in my case they failed to follow through with that promise.

If price is a priority for you, be aware that Hilton Garden Inn may illegitimately charge you an additional $250 fee, claiming that you smoked and then make it practically impossible to be reimbursed without the hassle of a small claims suit. Might as well spend the extra price and stay at a luxury hotel.

Hilton Garden Inn Portland Airport is a perfect example of a large company taking...