When staying in a hotel, I look for three simple things: a clean room, a secure property, and a comfortable night’s sleep. In the past, we have made it a point to stay at Hampton Inns. These properties are often a bit more expensive, but have always provided an excellent experience. Unfortunately, the past two times that I have stayed at a Hilton property, I have “encountered” a new thermostat technology that is installed in new or renovated properties. I believe that the control system is based on motion within the room in order maintain the temperature set on the thermostat display. As long as the room lights are on and there is movement in the room, it appeared that the air conditioning unit maintained the setting temperature. However, at night, the unit would no longer maintain this temperature, and seemed to go to some preset default mode where the target temperature was higher. The target temperature on the display does not change. However, the unit no longer maintains this temperature. I asked the folks at the front desk about the problem. They indicated that it was an inherent characteristic of the new control system that had been installed in a recent renovation and that others had also complained. I ran into the same problem this past summer at another hotel with the same thermostat technology (I recognized the keypad and motion detector).

I am an engineer by profession. I do not know what cost-saving calculation convinced someone at Hilton that this was a good idea for customer relations. A thermostat in a room that does not allow the occupant to set the room temperature to his or her liking, regardless of whether they are awake or asleep, is moronic. I do expect to be able to set the room temperature to a level that is comfortable for me to sleep. In the future, I will be seeking alternatives to Hilton properties simply to avoid this technology.

FYI: The staff at the Hampton Inn in Naples were excellent, professional, and remarkably courteous.

We were in Naples for a golf retreat at a resort nearby so we booked this hotel based on the proximity to the golf course and for the price. Room were spacious, well appointed and clean, and the beds were very comfortable. Pool was nice and uncrowded and the free breakfast in the morning was just what we needed. Also, this was the first time I had seen the curved shower rod and I was so impressed that I went and bought one when I got home. Overall, I was impressed with this hotel and we enjoyed our stay.

This hotel is fine if you need somewhere close to the 75 for a stopover. Clean, but definitely shows some wear and tear. Not really near anything but the freeway. Breakfast was good. I would not recommend for vacations. Stay downtown, or on Tamiami trail.