Hilton Garden Inn Scottsdale Old Town — Hotel in Scottsdale

I have never had the heart to leave a poor review on Trip Advisor so this is a first. I'll try to be fair and fulsome in my review.||My mom and I were traveling to Phoenix for a family celebration and booked a room in this hotel. We booked a room with 2 double beds from a Thursday - Monday. The room reservation was under her name and she is a Hilton Honors member. ||On the upside: the location is good and I enjoy that part of the city. The breakfast room and breakfast were nice. Grab and go food area convenient. Pool area and outdoor seating area nice. Easy parking. Check-in was efficient and easy. The front desk and restaurant staff were professional, kind, and efficient, and helpful. Mach was especially professional and helpful.||Now for the downside, which unfortunately outweighs everything else. I should start by saying that I am a frequent traveler and have stayed in hundreds of hotels from budget to luxury. This is the first time in 50 years that I have ever stayed at a hotel with no daily housekeeping service. I have stayed in hotels where they don't change the bedsheets daily but never not had my trash emptied, bed made, etc. Ever. Until this trip.||We checked in Thursday night. We left Friday morning and when we came back in the evening, the room had not been cleaned, beds unmade, etc. We checked the door to make sure we hadn't left do not disturb on. Nothing. We called the desk to let them know that our room had not been serviced. We were told that "housekeeping comes every other day." After absorbing that news, we requested some clean towels b/c we were out and apparently it was too late to get housekeeping.||Reception sent someone up with the towels. My mom was taken aback b/c the woman they sent was visibly ticked off and had a scowl on her face. Simply she was really rude. We nicely asked if she would take our dirty towels with her and either didn't understand or wouldn't communicate and left. No exaggeration; it was bad.||Saturday, we left in the morning and came back in the evening. No housekeeping service. Room dirtier. Checked the door to make sure we hadn't left the DND sign. Nothing. We called the front desk and were told that "some people get confused by the every second day policy" that in fact it means that housekeeping comes after every 2 days, or every third day. Absorbed that news and reused the towels in a dirty bathroom.||Sunday, we left in the morning, came back in the evening. Speechless that no housekeeping had come for day three. Room is dirty - no clean towels, no toilet paper, no paper cups, no coffee pods, trash overflowing. ||I went down to the front desk to speak with someone personally. Incidentally, waiting for elevator I noticed a half eaten donut on the floor outside of the elevator.||I spoke in person with reception who was apologetic - I was very polite and equally clear about the situation and our dissatisfaction. He was as nice as he could be and gave me a roll of toilet paper, some coffee pods, and a few clean towels. ||Honestly, I felt dirty in the room and it ruined the stay.||I typically send direct feedback to the hotel (which I did in here in the post-stay survey) and avoid posting bad reviews on trip advisor but this experience was exceptional. I should also note that my parents have been Hilton members for decades and we have very good experiences with Hilton brands globally so this is a notable exception. ||I would not stay here again and will further ask about daily housekeeping before booking any HILTON GARDEN INN in the future in case this is some kind of broader trend. I view daily housekeeping as table stakes for any...

Contacted Hilton about these issues. Over a week and no response when it's supposed to be 48 hours. This property simply doesn't care.

Staying at a hotel is supposed to be a treat. This hotel is the opposite and will make you grumpy. It's like staying at some weird relative's house who hasn't purchased any home products or replaced their air conditioner in 30 years and thinks febreeze smells good.

On the positive side, this hotel is relatively quiet. The fire pits are nice. The location is great. That's where the positive side ends.

Upon checking in I did not have a good experience. Even though I was listed on the reservation, the agent made an issue about the reservation not being under my name. I've never encountered this issue at other Hiltons. I checked out of this hotel and directly into another Hilton and did not have this issue. They also held $75 per day for parking even though I was not parking.

This hotel has the slowest elevator in the world. Seriously you must leave extra time because sometimes it can take 10 minutes to arrive. Then it will stop on every floor to pick people up even though it's already full taking almost 20 minutes to get to the lobby. This is not an exaggeration. I timed it. They only have two elevators to service the entire hotel.

Instead of a conveniently located laundry room near the elevator, it is at the far end of the hall. Be prepared for a long journey to the laundry room and that's not including the long wait for the elevator.

I requested a blanket (pictured) for my room. This blanket has not been replaced in 20 plus years. It was old, tattered, and extremely scratchy.

The bigger issues were the hot water (lack thereof), the a/c, the bed, and the toxic scent they have in the hallway. The hot water did not work until 20 minutes into the shower it would suddenly scald you. If you actually need to take a shower then you are stuck with cold water. The mattress has not been replaced in a long time and is lumpy, floppy, and uncomfortable.There is no support.

The a/c unit did not work properly, and the room never fully cooled down. I woke up hot every night of my stay. The lobby was extremely warm. I checked the thermostat, and it was 78°! That is not an acceptable temperature for public places. The lobby also had bright jarring lighting and a horrible cheesy playlist. This was not a comfortable or relaxing environment at all.

Additionally, the table next to the bed (pictured) doesn't hold anything aside from the lamp sitting on it. If you sleep on that side and need to put your stuff on it good luck. Also, the hair dryer (pictured) was full of hair. (I did not use it except to dry a shirt.)

I do not recommend this hotel. The basics such as hot water and air conditioning are not even sufficient let alone anything else. The smell in the hallway is horrific and seeps into your room. Those cheap scents are toxic and not healthy. I could not sleep due to the smell, temperature, and bed quality. If you prefer quality and to be treated like a welcome guest choose...

EDIT 2024: Original review below and star rating has been lowered. My disappointment upon arrival this year is immeasurable. The hotel has inexplicably decided to turn one of the best features of our previous stay into a TikTok/Instagram pandering winter themed event where the menu is limited to a few holiday snacks as well as a few holiday drinks. Gone are the margaritas, hamburgers, fries, and chips and salsa. Now you can have a Santa’s Snowball or Feliz NaviNachos or Jingle Balls. Also gone is the great music and opportunity to meet new people around the fire by the pool. Instead, you need to have a reservation for a table surrounded by blinking lights and loud Christmas music. Oh, and every item on the menu is almost $18. Just to be clear: I don’t care if a place wants to decorate and have themed items on the menu—everyplace seems to do that now. What I have an issue with is making it the only choice and eliminating things for people that are staying at the hotel (most everyone I’ve seen go there are coming from the parking lot, not the elevators). Being solely focused on the holiday menu and eliminating everything else leaves little room for anyone that’s not the least bit interested. While 2 of the fire pits still exist, the music inescapable, and you can only get the drinks and food on the limited menu in the ‘Miracle Bar’ area. All this to say that the experience is no longer what it was. The relaxed evenings on the patio are now expensive, uncomfortable, and not the least bit enjoyable.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: Had a great stay here in November the weekend before thanksgiving. Enjoyed it so much we came back for New Years eve. We were a little worried by some mixed reviews but found the hotel to be clean and comfortable. While the $20 per day parking charge was unexpected it wasn’t necessarily a surprise given the neighborhood and the fact that it is an entertainment district and parking is limited. The staff was friendly and helpful throughout our stay. I was particularly impressed by how well they treated a woman we met while staying here that had limited mobility and spent a great deal of time in the courtyard. One staff member loaned her their own jacket one cool evening so she could stay outside by the fire and enjoy a drink with us before another staff member brought a blanket. The courtyard is the jewel of the hotel in my opinion. 3 fire pits, multiple seating areas, romantic lights, and music make cool desert evenings in Arizona so much more enjoyable. This is our new go-to hotel when visiting Scottsdale. We came back for New Year’s Eve as well and had just as an...