DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Columbia, South Carolina — Hotel in West Columbia

I checked in digitally but stopped by the front desk to pick up a key card, my complimentary water, and of course, the signature cookie. The front desk staff was friendly and efficient—no delays or issues. I appreciated the upgrade for being a Hilton Honors Gold member. They gave me Room 501, a corner room with an L-shaped balcony that wrapped around two sides. It may not be the only balcony in the hotel, but it’s certainly a rare feature and was a welcome surprise.||The room itself has character—and some visible signs of wear and tear. Upon entry, there are multiple light switches, though one didn’t seem to control anything. The foyer leads past a standard closet with an iron, ironing board, safe, and clean shelf space. The bathroom area is split: a sink and towel rack between the bedroom and a door separating the toilet and shower. It’s a shower-only setup with great water pressure, although it uses an on-demand water heater that requires a two-minute wait for hot water—a questionable efficiency trade-off. The toilet flushes with a surprising force, and if the lid is up, it splashes—so keep it closed.||The room is furnished with two queen beds and dimmable lights between them—a nice touch. There are plenty of lamps, a desk with a rolling office chair, a Keurig coffee maker, and a cabinet with a fridge and microwave. Oddly, both Keurig pods and drip coffee filter packs were provided, even though there was only a Keurig unit—an oversight that makes no sense. There’s also a cloth chair in the corner, a side table with an ice bucket, a six-drawer dresser, and a luggage rack.||The balcony was the room’s highlight—spacious, private, and a great bonus. However, maintenance and cleanliness were inconsistent. The air conditioning was nearly nonfunctional on arrival back to the room after a hot day (102°F outside, and almost 80°F inside). I called the front desk and informed them about the heat issue and attempted to bring up other concerns, but the woman cut me off, said she'd send maintenance, and ended the call. No apology. I checked the AC unit myself and found the filters caked in nearly an inch of dust—completely unacceptable. Thankfully, the maintenance tech who arrived was clearly experienced—he brought the correct filters as well as backups for other unit types. Once installed, the AC cooled the room perfectly. He was easily the star of the show and deserves recognition.||But more cleaning issues became apparent: dust on the artwork above the beds, trash under the cushion of the cloth chair, thick dust on the shelves near the sink, and grime on the chandelier and the top of the mirror. Above the bathroom door, there’s evidence of past damage—a large ceiling patch, cracks near the sink, and a broken piece of the marble vanity that had been glued back into place. The sink basin itself is also cracked. One of the wall-mounted lights was crooked with a crushed shade.||Towel quality varied wildly. One bath towel was in such poor condition—frayed and falling apart—I wouldn’t use it on a car, let alone offer it to a guest. One hand towel was new, still had the store sticker on it, but also had a visible stain—possibly blood or makeup—and clearly had never been washed. The other bath towels were acceptable, as were the washcloths.||The room was very quiet due to its location in the far corner of the hotel. I only heard someone in the hallway once during my stay. However, light from the hallway flooded under the door due to a large gap. Thankfully, the closet door could be opened to block most of it at night. The bed was very comfortable—felt almost new—and I slept well.||The onsite restaurant was a pleasant surprise. The bartender was managing the entire front of house by himself and did a great job. I had the fried cod sandwich and crispy Brussels sprouts, both of which were excellent. The sprouts were particularly well-prepared—firm, crispy, and not overcooked.||The hotel offers complimentary coffee near the lobby each morning and has a well-stocked snack shop. Unfortunately, checkout was more hassle than it should have been. I received my invoice via email at 3:40 a.m. on the day of checkout—before I had even left. I used that for my expense report, only to be emailed a revised version later showing a Hilton Honors food and beverage credit instead of the meal I had paid for and expensed. My account is set to collect points, not credits. I tried calling the hotel, but every single extension went to a full voicemail. I ended up calling Hilton corporate, who got someone on the line after about 10 minutes. She was friendly and fixed the issue.||I attempted to mention some of the room’s issues to staff in person and over the phone, but they showed little interest and offered no follow-up....

Although I have read several positive reviews of this hotel, it is evident that individual experiences can differ significantly. Our 5-day stay prompted me to provide a detailed review, as these specific issues were apparent during my visit. I don’t usually write feedback of this length but I believe it is warranted under the circumstances. Having stayed at multiple Hilton Hotels, I regret to say that I am unlikely to return to this location.

BUILDING PROS All staff members, including those at the reception desk, housekeeping, and restaurant, demonstrated a strong commitment to customer service. Complimentary breakfast was provided, offering a variety of options such as made-to-order omelets, all of which were of high quality. The service in the restaurant was excellent, with attentive and courteous waitstaff. Warm cookies were available daily, along with complimentary packaged cookies. The conference room offered ample space for meetings and events.

BUILDING CONS Hotel seems outdated. Its proximity to I-20 contributed to noticeable road noise in the mornings. Rooms feature sinks located outside the bathrooms; as a result, using the sink at night may disrupt others due to bright lighting. The B-side elevator lacks floor number displays, so guests must check lit buttons or look outside for room numbers. There is no A/C in the elevators, and hallway A/C units are insufficient to keep the area cool. Staff members frequently wait for available elevators to travel between floors. On July 25, I reported all B-side parking lot lights were out. The front desk noted this ongoing issue but seemed unconcerned about the security risk. Despite several tries until midnight, I couldn't find a luggage cart for checkout. The front desk explained that carts are often left in rooms after guests leave, and with housekeeping not done daily, they stay there until the next service.

OUR ROOM PROS The A/C was really cool, although it generated some noise. The shower was of high quality, offering strong water pressure and multiple spray settings. Body gel, shampoo, and conditioner were provided in wall-mounted dispensers (see photo). Hot water was available on demand after approximately two minutes; while this was sufficient for shower use, it did result in greater water consumption at the sink. A power-flushing toilet was definitely a plus.

OUR ROOM CONS At check-in, we received a room key but found it occupied (the bed was unmade and personal items inside.) The receptionist quickly switched us to another room; however, although we had selected a 2nd floor room earlier, we were reassigned to the 4th floor, which was disappointing.

Several maintenance and amenity concerns were noted during our stay: • The baggage rack was broken, but it was replaced after being reported. • Laundry bags were not provided in the closet as is customary, so we had to ask for them from housekeeping. • The bathroom was notably small, with less than an inch of clearance between the door and toilet. • The entry door was heavy and difficult to open and would shake loudly when the adjacent room’s door closed. • Closet space was limited, requiring clothes to be angled in order to close the door. • The toilet paper holder was broken and, despite reporting it the following morning, remained unfixed during our stay. • The microwave was positioned really low to the floor, making it necessary to kneel for use. • Mini-fridge door shelves were too small to accommodate standard water bottles. • An electrical outlet near the dresser was nonfunctional; this was reported but not fixed. • Dresser drawer handles were found to be extremely dusty and sticky. • Housekeeping did not attend the room on two promised days. • On the final day, face towels were unavailable; housekeeping staff indicated there were no additional towels available at that time.

These matters impacted greatly on our experience and highlight areas for potential improvement in guest services...

My fiancé (who is a Hilton Honor's member) and I had the absolute WORST hotel experience EVER at this double tree hotel. My fiancé and I were in town for a bowling tournament. Our 1st night there, we checked into a cold room with a broken thermostat. The hot knob on the bathroom sink was broken as well. A maintenance man was sent to fix both issues. He assured us that he had fixed the thermostat but he did not address the bathroom sink issue so we assumed both issues were fixed. Needless to say, neither issues were fixed. We reported the issues again to the front desk (by this time it was after midnight), and instead of offering to move us to another room, we were told that someone/another maintenance employee will be by first thing in the morning to fix the issues, so we were subjected to sleeping in a cold room on what was already a cold night. The next day I left our room at about noon and no one had been by to fufill our maintenance requests, nor had housekeeping come by. When we returned to our room later on that night, the thermostat had been fixed, but the hot water knob was still broken. We also did not have any clean washcloths/towels. Upon check out the next day, we expressed our horrific experience to the front desk assistant on duty at the time; who, in an unapologetic manner, relayed our complaints to the manager, whom was sitting in her office. The manager never showed her face, even after we asked to speak with her. The entire situation was handled very unprofessionally. The manager's resolution to our complaints was less than subpar. As if our experience wasn't bad enough, due to unforeseen circumstances, we were forced to spend another night in Columbia. Being that we were visiting Columbia and unfamiliar with the area, we were kind of confined to that double tree hotel. At the time we checked-in it was after midnight. My fiancé and I were exhausted, so we just needed somewhere to lie our heads and get some rest for a few hours before traveling back to Birmingham (which is about a 5 hr drive). As we were checking, we expressed to the front desk assistant who was checking us in what type of experience we have had at that hotel. He checks us in. As we attempt to enter the room, our room key doesn't work. My fiancé went to request another room key as i waited for him outside of our assigned room. The front desk assistant gave him another key to our assigned room which still did not work. Finally a maintenance man with the master key to all of the hotel rooms came to see why our keys didn't work. The front desk assistant had assigned us to an OCCUPIED room! At that point my fiancé and I were COMPLETELY DONE!!!! Now it's 1am in the morning, and we were forced to drive 5 hrs back home to Birmingham, because at that point we didn't feel comfortable staying at that hotel any longer and we were really discouraged from trying any other hotel in that area. We have never been treated with such deplorable customer service. No hotel guest deserves to be treated the way we were treated; especially when I have always known the Hilton brand to pride themselves on top notch customer service. This was a very poor representation/reflection of the Hilton brand. Not to mention, we spent our money like every one else who were lodging in that hotel at the time, and as a valued Hilton Honor's member and loyal guest, we expected to be...