Hilton Garden Inn Dallas/Richardson — Hotel in Richardson

I was going to give this place 5 stars ...... but here's why I didn't

we just had our wedding there last weekend, and everything was peachy until the bill part.

we first started talking to the event coordinator A (let's not name names) in Jan 2010 and got a menu/pricing done for space rental, 2 rounds of champagne for all, snacks, food, setup/break down, service charge, and 2 nights stay at the hotel in a set package.....and we determined to have full stocked cash bar from the start.

in July Coordinator B stepped in and informed us Coordinator A is no longer with them, which we have no issue with b/c we've signed a contract already and was happy with the pricing (knowing we'll have to pay some extra for rehearsal at the very end) we made sure again we wanted a full cash bar and notes were written down by coordinator B at the end of July.

comes event day........the servers was rude to some of my guest booting them out of the ball room when they were sneaking a peek it took longer b/c they were setting an extra table that we didn't want..... (the 12th table was left un-decorated!!!!!!) also they were rude to the DJ crew........and we never even got any champagne at all that day for toasting people.

the food didn't taste like it did from the food tasting.....the chicken was dry and had bones in them this made it difficult for kids and older people (no bone was in the chicken at tasting.)

the servers were given instructions before hand that the bride's cake was only for decor and photo purposes only the real cake was square shape and ready for cutting in the back......they had no clue what was going on until my cake person came up again to tell them do not destroy the bridal cake display, go to the back to bring out the real cake.....which they did (NOT CUT!!! nor served they only started serving when people crowded around the cake table)

on top of this mess....I found out no one was paying for the bar....b/c they changed our full stocked cash bar to a beer/wine open tab bar....and stick us with a $1,200 bill at the end.

their excuse was.......

we were given a hosted bar price in Jan this must mean you wanted a hosted bar.

we were given a total bill at the night before (rehearsal) to make sure we wanted a hosted bar that we were supposed to sign........which we didn't even SIGN the same thing......the only thing presented to us was the seating chart that night and the coordinator said she was interrupted by our wedding rehearsal and the revered ..... so her not doing her job completely and not getting our signature was supposed to be our fault and we have to pay..........after all the blah blah blah they said we did had a great time and people did drank the drinks.....they do want to work with us and let us pay only $600 we were extremely not happy but we end up paying just to be over with it....(this puts us over the budget)

I mean isn't the coordinator supposed to input the data in when she said she will? ... and not getting our sign off having a host bar is our fault? we're supposed to stop people from drinking and not paying while we're the GROOM and BRIDE on the day of the event???????? this was bunch of BS in my opinion

so instead of the nice 15% tip that coordinator will get.....she got nothing b/c the hotel's and her managers mistake and we will not recommand this hotel to anyone else for events.

the only thing good we can say is their original intention was good and the room was great! the view is ok .....road noises were not bad.....the elevator however takes forever and it's annoyingly loud, but the unwilling to admit their own staff's mistakes and we being charged $600 after the fact was really really bad customer service.......

we will not visit this place again until the management and staff has been removed, replaced or re-trained about customer...

Please reconsider staying at this hotel:

Late arrival, was greeted by a man, who clearly HATES his job. Didn’t explain anything about the hotel, and when I asked about breakfast, he goes “I’m getting to that, just relax and breath”….. was very demeaning, and gave me key and that was it. The first night was rough, bed was so FIRM, I woke up with back pain.

Showered and sat in the handicap chair which is what its intent is for, and the entire seat collapsed. I could have been injured! The blinds also didn’t work, and had to have maintenance come and fix it and they ended up giving us another room, so had to move everything over.

We weren’t told that we had to REQUEST room service, since the front desk guy upon check in pushed me away so quickly to get me away from him, had no clue and threw all the towels on the floor, only to learn that it’s too late to have the room cleaned. Luckily I was able to request some clean towels at least. Later found the little writing on the keycard piece of paper that says you have to request it, but would have been nice to have been told upon check in as I missed it completely. So heads up to others!

There is no complimentary breakfast, and the assistant manager didn’t give me any free complimentary breakfast cards like other reviews had said….. I even spoke to the assistant manager about it and it was never offered to me by him. The following day mentioned it to another worker and he gave my two for my mom and I. So, the following morning we decided to get breakfast and I grabbed a pastry and smelled it and it was ROTTEN. I told the worker there and they grab it out of my hands and tell me “I know I’m sorry”. Uhm excuse me?!?! Where is management? Why is there expired food being served and you want to charge people $15 for the buffet breakfast?? Luckily we had the free coupons.

Had ridiculously loud next door neighbors that I ended up having to get front desk involved at 3:30am as they were screaming, yelling, and slamming doors, hysterically crying, and swearing for over an hour…..

Staff aren’t very nice, except for Michael. He was the only worker who provided me comfort. Thank GOD for him.

The entire experience was horrific. I am so unbelievably disappointed as this was supposed to be a nice trip for my mom and I and it had to be like this for the first time showing her around. Please go some where else. There’s nothing special about this hotel, rooms are outdated, the towels have stains, beds...

I stayed at this hotel for a few days in October, and overall, it was a very good experience. The room was clean, and it had plenty of supplies (clean towels, TP, shampoo, etc.) The morning coffee was hot and strong, and the restaurant food was delicious. The staff themselves were very friendly and always professional. I really enjoyed my stay at this hotel, and I would rate my stay as 5 stars if it weren’t for their issue with short staffing. ||I attempted to check into the hotel a little after 5 pm on a Saturday evening. The person working the front desk had to assist another guest with an issue in their room. There was no one else around to assist newly arriving guests. Two more ladies wandered in after me, each looking confused as there was no other staff to seen. I found someone setting up in the bar and was informed that they only have 3 people on staff tonight: the bartender, the chef, and the front desk person. No one was available to check-in the guests at a foreseeably busy time of day. Overall, my wait time was probably only about 15 minutes, but I was first one in line. By the time the front desk personnel had returned to start checking us in, there were 5 other people in the lobby, all waiting to check into their rooms and wondering why we’re being ignored. To be clear, the staff were all very polite and professional, and even provided service with a warm smile. But that must be especially difficult when you’re the only desk person and are looking at a line of angry/impatient guests.||Over the course of my stay, I witnessed many occurrences of customers waiting in line for extended periods of time just to purchase something from the store or to ask a question. The staff should be cross trained on the front desk and for making store purchases. It would save a lot of frustration for guests, and I suspect for the staff as well. ||This property owner is cutting corners which puts undue pressure on the tiny staff they do have. Customers get impatient and frustrated, yet the staff is doing their best. They are a barebone team of 3 on a Saturday night in a hotel with at least 100 rooms. It’s just not enough staff. Do better, Hilton property owner. You can afford at LEAST one more employee per shift – train that person as a floater, someone able to assist in several areas of the...