Hilton Garden Inn Albany Airport — Hotel in Town of Colonie

I stayed at the Albany Hilton Garden Inn Airport while traveling for work 11/29/18. The staff (specifically Chris) was very helpful and friendly when I was checking in but things went downhill from there. I wanted to take a bath but there wasn’t a bath plug in the room. Not a big deal, I thought, so I called down to the front desk to request one and asked they cancel my wake up call. The guy at the front desk said maintenance would bring it up shortly and confirmed he would cancel the wake up call. 15 min later I call and ask if maintenance would be coming soon, FD says yes he’s coming. 25 minutes later I call and say that I have an early flight in the morning, I’m trying to go to bed early so if they can’t bring the bath plug in the next 10 minutes don’t bother bringing it. 5 minutes later the FD guy is knocking on my door with the bath plug. Hooray! He apologizes profusely and I said I understand maintenance gets busy, thanks for bringing it up. It’s around 8:30pm, I’m finally settled into my bath, watching a Netflix show on my laptop, just trying to relax and wind down. I hear a knock on my door. (I’m thinking, “great, the FD probably didn’t tell maintanence they fixed the bath plug and now maintanence is here with an extra one.”) I said just a second, pause my show and get out of the tub then I hear my door open and the person tries to enter my room. I’m extremely frightened, start yelling “WAIT WAIT WAIT!” and frantically grab for a towel, which ends up knocking another towel off the rack and drags my laptop into the bathtub. My laptop immediately shuts down, fades to black with a seizing light at one corner of the screen. I grab it out of the tub, get my towel situated and look through the peephole. It’s maintanence! I say through the door, “are you here for the bath plug?” He says, “what’s wrong with the bath?” I said, “nothing, what do you need?” He says, “I’m here to fix the loose hook on the back of the bathroom door.” Very frustrated I say, “I’m taking a bath,” and he leaves. I call down to the front desk, the same guy who brought the bath plug answers, I explain what happened and ask for the hotel to compensate me. He says someone will call my room soon. Someone calls my room to get a brief account of the incident, very dryly apologizes and says she’ll be collecting statements from the front desk and the engineer as well. She says a manager will call me in the morning about this case. I got dressed and went down to the front desk myself to see if they had a small screwdriver so I could open my laptop to let it dry, of course they didn’t. After all of this I went to bed much later than I intended and they DIDN’T cancel the wake up call so that was the cherry on top. Well today is day 4 and no word from the hotel. I called this morning and spoke with Chris, he was helpful and upbeat as usual, he transferred me to the General Manager but she didn’t answer. Still waiting for her to call me back.

My main concerns- -Why did it take almost an hour to get a simple bath plug up to my room? -Why was maintenance coming to an occupied room well into the evening for a very small fix? -Why did he only knock ONCE before entering? It’s hard for me to believe he didn’t hear any activity inside the room because I said “just a second” and my show was playing out loud before I paused it. If it weren’t for the door latch being closed he would have walked right in on me. -Why didn’t the hotel offer any sort of help/advice for savaging my laptop? I’m positive this isn’t the first time they’ve had an issue like this, they didn’t say anything about how to dry it or how they could help with it. -WHY haven’t they contacted me?? It feels like they are simply hoping if they leave it alone it’ll go away. Well it’s not going away considering my MacBook...

I am extremely disappointed with our recent stay at Hilton Garden Inn Albany Airport. We were there for a baseball tournament (four teams), and from the moment we arrived, the experience was unacceptable.||Upon check-in, many families were assigned incorrect rooms with the wrong bed types, and we immediately noticed the poor and unsanitary conditions: bathrooms were dirty, sheets were stained, floors were littered, and many rooms smelled strongly of mold. Our room was clean but did have a strong musty smell, suggesting mold.||Prior to our stay, we called ahead to confirm a rate adjustment — the group rate had been higher and was reduced for several families but not all. However, the next day, I discovered that our rate had been silently increased without any notice or consent. When I approached the front desk, I was informed that Linda Reed, the Director of Sales, had made this change without informing guests and refused to honor the previously confirmed rate. When I asked to speak with her, she declined to come to the front desk.||In an effort to resolve the situation, I contacted Hilton Corporate, and they assured me an investigation would be initiated. To my shock, just an hour later, Linda Reed called my room directly — not to address the complaint or apologize, but simply to assert, “this is the rate that was quoted, and this is the rate that it will stay at.” Her tone was dismissive and unprofessional, showing no interest in resolving the issue or addressing guest concerns.||Beyond the mishandling of rates, the overall condition of the property is unacceptable and reflects severe mismanagement. The hotel is in a state of disrepair: hallways are dim and neglected, carpets are stained, the air smells damp and musty throughout, and common areas appear poorly maintained. The lack of cleanliness, maintenance, and basic hospitality standards is alarming, especially for a Hilton-branded property.||Additionally, the fact that group rates were inexplicably higher than standard rates raises serious ethical concerns. Group bookings are typically offered at a discount — why were baseball families penalized with inflated rates? This practice feels deceptive and exploitative.||All that said, I do want to recognize that the front desk staff for the most part was kind and helpful throughout our stay. Despite the many challenges, they remained courteous and did what they could within their limitations. Housekeeping also did a great job maintaining our room — it was cleaned as requested and well-kept during our time there.||I have stayed at many Hilton properties over the years and have always had positive experiences — until now. This location does not reflect the Hilton brand’s reputation for quality and service.||In short: this hotel is very poorly run, in disrepair, and fails to meet even minimal service expectations. Save yourself the time, money, and frustration — do not stay here. We will never return alone or as a team, and I strongly caution others against booking at...

Extremely Disappointing Stay – Unprofessional Staff, Dirty Rooms, and Mismanagement

As a the event organizer for our baseball travel team who was traveling with four teams and multiple families, I’ve stayed at numerous Hilton properties across the country. Unfortunately, our recent experience at the Hilton Garden Inn Albany Airport was the worst I’ve encountered to date — and deeply disappointing for a brand I’ve long trusted.

Reservation Disaster: Upon arrival, we discovered that our room reservations were completely mismanaged. Families of four were inexplicably placed in rooms with a single king bed despite having booked and confirmed appropriate accommodations. When we attempted to resolve these issues, the front desk staff seemed more annoyed than helpful — as if fixing their own errors was an inconvenience.

Rate Discrepancies and Shocking Management Response: Several parents in our group were quoted higher rates before arrival, only to find out others had been charged significantly less for the same accommodations. When we raised this with the hotel’s sales director, we were told — quite bluntly — that she could refund the night and we were welcome to check out if we weren’t satisfied. That level of indifference from management was astonishing and unacceptable, especially considering we had dozens of people depending on reliable lodging for a weekend tournament.

Cleanliness & Condition of Hotel: The condition of the rooms was completely unacceptable. Bathrooms were dirty upon check-in, sheets were visibly soiled, and a strong musty odor — suggestive of mold — was present in many rooms. The hotel is clearly run down and in dire need of renovation and proper housekeeping protocols.

Customer Service Failure: What was most upsetting wasn’t just the dirty rooms or booking chaos — it was the complete lack of professionalism or empathy from staff and management. At no point did anyone meaningfully try to make the situation right or deliver even a basic level of hospitality. Instead, we were treated like an inconvenience for asking for what we had booked and paid for.

This hotel does not live up to Hilton standards — not even close. Based on conversations with other guests and reading additional reviews since our stay, it’s clear this is not an isolated incident.

To families, coaches, and travelers — run, don’t walk, in the opposite direction. This property is not worth your time or your money. I will never return to this specific hotel, and I sincerely hope Hilton corporate takes swift action to investigate and address what’s...