Hilton Garden Inn Columbia Airport — Hotel in West Columbia

I'm Hilton Diamond member so I stay at Hilton properties a fair amount. My stay was in the latter part of March 2022 . This is a newer property & as such all my accommodations were in good CLEAN condition. The furniture in the room was all in good shape and no significant damage/wear. No observable or obvious stains in the carpet. Everything was a modern decor.

I love the fact in the bathrooms they have dedicated stand up showers with modern glass sliding doors in these newer hotels versus the old bathtub style with the cloth curtains. This hotel has dispensing bottles for shampoo, conditioner, and body wash versus bar soap and small bottles....a bit different if you care.

The room I stayed in was a king office suite which provided adequate desk space for work as well as a couch and a TV in a separate room. The bedroom also had a chair for sitting and a little bit of counter space. 2 large Samsung TVs. My room had adequate easily accessible plugs for all your electronics. Closet space was adequate with a mirror and a few closet drawers even. My room had a small fridge, coffee maker and microwave that all worked properly.

I was at the hotel for a meeting and the meeting room space was fairly large and accommodated our group of over 20 very easily with a lot of space to spare.

I also used the fitness center a few times during my stay. BONUS THIS PLACE HAS A DUMBBELL SET THAT GOES UP TO 75 LBS!!** Most fitness centers at hotels just don't have that capability and for those who use them it is super nice. I wish the other Hilton properties would install the bigger dumbbell sets. There were numerous cardio machines & a weight resistance machine for various cable exercises.

I don't often eat at hotel restaurants but I did have dinner the first night I was here and my steak and vegetables were cooked well and tasted great! There is a bar.

I was staying with a co-worker who was in a different room at the same hotel. She reported to me on one morning that she did not have hot water to shower. I would note that when I showered there was hot water but on both mornings of my stay I had to turn it all the way/on FULL HOT & leave it there to get water warm/hot water so I could certainly believe that she ran out or did not have "hot" water which is a MAJOR CONCERN that should be addressed.

This hotel is fairly close to the freeway and has a few restaurants around. The location, depending on where your room is located within the hotel, can mean some freeway noise. There were also a fair amount of police sirens that I could hear nearby the hotel outside my room, so you can take that for what it's worth. Certainly not the hotels fault but something to be aware of as you make a decision.

Front desk staff and kitchen staff were courteous and friendly in my numerous interactions with them.

Parking was free and adequate. There was an outside midsized pool but I did not...

Stayed here January 5-7, room 201. Hotel is convenient to main roads (if heading south, get in left lane on exit ramp - might not get over in time during rush hour). If you don't want breakfast in the hotel, there is a waffle house and Denny's across the street. Starbucks is a little farther (drive to that one). A couple of exits to the north is lots of shopping, one exit to the south is Walmart (if you forgot something).

We did use the bar on Saturday night. A little expensive ($5 per bottle of beer), but convenient. We did not try the restaurant.

Hotel appeared to be kept up well. Plenty of parking. Friendly and Helpful Staff. Like most hotels now, house keeping was on request vs. every day.

There were two issues that I reported to the front desk. Told them it wasn't worth bringing someone in on the weekend, but they should be looked at.

Issue 1 - Light switch by door needed replaced as the rocker would pop out of the switch (meaning it would drop to the floor - photo does not show that). It was usable and, I expect, wasn't reported prior to us reporting it as the rocker would only pop out on occasion. See photo.

Issue 2 - Our room must have been near the hot water tank or there was an issue with the shower valve. Turn the valve on a little (to little to have the shower head to work properly) and the temperature of the water was HOT (almost too hot to stand under). Turn the shower valve midway and the temperature was Very Hot (too hot to stand under). Turn the valve all the way and the temperature was SCALDING (someone would be burned). The sink had plenty of cold water so not sure why it appeared there was little to no cold water in the shower. Hopefully the hotel has looked at this and addressed it. Good advice anytime, but needed here - check the water temp prior to entering the shower. (the only reason for the 4 stars)

We will stay here again. We encourage others to stay here if in the...

UPDATE:: Hilton reached out to apologize for the inconvenience and credited my account with a good amount of points. Great customer service, but just be aware of the shuttle mishap if you decide to stay here.

Unreliable airport shuttle. Was rerouted by the airlines and booked a room at this Hilton Garden Inn due to overnight layover in Columbia, SC. Called the hotel prior to boarding my flight to ensure they had airport shuttle service. Arrived in the evening around 1045pm and the shuttle picked me up within a reasonable time, but was told the shuttle is on demand and that there was a morning shuttle scheduled at 5am to the airport. When I checked in I told the woman at the desk I needed an airport shuttle between 445am and 5am for a 6am flight. She assured me a shuttle driver would arrive by 430am. I was in the lobby at 420am and waiting while the woman scrambled looking for the shuttle driver information. Nearly 30 minutes later, there was still no shuttle and I was left with no other option but to order a car, which cost $32 from the hotel to the airport. Pretty frustrating because I booked this hotel due to the Hilton app and website showing an airport shuttle as an amenity. The room was clean, good water pressure in the shower, but the pillows weren’t great. For an 6 hour overnight stay the room was fine. There was trouble with key/lock which had be going back to the lobby twice, resulting in being assigned a different room. The woman did accompany upstairs for the third attempt, which was appreciated. Bottom line, if you have an early flight be prepared to pay for a taxi or Lyft. Otherwise just book the DoubleTree or a hotel with a reliable shuttle. Definitely inconvenient and frustrating to have to spend additional funds for an amenity listed...