The Hampton Inn in Bluffton, SC, near Sun City Hilton Head, is fairly new and seems absolutely clean and spotless. The service was lovely as well. I had room 218 which looked clean and smelled fresh. The only thing out of place was that there were a few small blue/black marks on the sheets that looked like old ink stains. I didn't think anything of it, because when I check the bed it's for dirt, hair, etc.

My paperback book was on the nightstand, and in the morning when I opened to the page with my bookmark I saw something that i thought was dirt. However, upon closer inspection I realized that it was an insect, reddish brown, and oval. It was odd, but again, i didn't realize what it was, so I brushed it off and continued my day.

That was Sunday morning. It's now Wednesday night, and something about that bug made me check the internet. There's no question that the insect was a bedbug and the marks on the sheets were either fresh droppings or old blood stains. I didn't have any bite marks or reactions so I don't know if I was bitten at all.

Needless to say, this evening I am in a frenzy of vacuuming, washing and re-washing the clothing I had on the trip, and praying I didn't bring any home. I vacuumed every surface on my soft suitcase and duffel bag, then reconsidered and just took them outside to go with the trash. (The suitcase sat on the bed at the hotel all night.) I think I washed all of my clothing right after I unpacked, but I'm doing it again in hot water and a hot hot dryer. The problem is that the suitcase and duffel sat in a spare room for about four days so I may be too late.

Yes, I know I sound paranoid after seeing only one bug, but then again, it only takes one. I have no way of knowing how many were in the room because I didn't identify the issue until I came home.

I tried to call a manager tonight, but there will not be one available until 9 am tomorrow. Promptly at 9 I will call and make them aware of the situation.

It bothers me to even make this posting because everything else about the stay was excellent. Again, I may be going overboard with my paranoia, but I have heard that bedbugs are near impossible to eliminate once they have infested a house. I hope that my brief sighting was just that. If you are looking to stay at this Hampton Inn, it's delightful except for this issue. Just do your homework, thoroughly check your room, and take precautions. (probably good advice for any hotel stay.)

I stayed at this hotel for two nights for work. I'd gotten tired of the Comfort Suites down the road, where I've stayed many, many times (I do have a review on that one), and the Hampton Inn was a very welcome change! I have stayed at Hampton Inns before, some of which are brand-new, and this one meets their quality. The bedding is all new, there are pillow choices, and everything is soft and clean. The decor was also prettier, and the rooms seemed much cleaner than the Comfort Suites. The front desk staff was very friendly, too.

The breakfast was nice, but as far as hot food goes, there weren't a lot of choices. Biscuits and gravy, while good, are not my idea of a solid breakfast. I'd also seen somewhere in the room that there was an "express" breakfast bag available for those who wanted breakfast on the go. Expecting to take advantage of that, I took my time getting ready for work my first morning there... only to find no express breakfasts. I didn't bother to ask if there were any, but I didn't see any the next day, either. I would have preferred to take my breakfast and eat while getting work done (we're busy, which is why I'm there at all), but I was ok with sitting and eating there. The breakfast area is nice and wide open, so no big deal.

I did have a little bit of a snafu with the check-in/check-out process in that my stay was supposed to be charged on my company's card, which I don't carry, but because they need an actual card for the stay, I reluctantly gave my credit card and was promised the room would not be charged to my card. What they promised would not happen is exactly what happened. Unfortunately I had to send my boss out there personally to fix the situation or have him fax a copy of his card (God only knows who could get their hands on that, which is why he went in person). They were apologetic, but it was incredibly inconvenient. So if you are traveling on business there, do yourself a favor and ask your company to set up a corporate account so that they can just charge your stay to your company's card. Thankfully we did that, so in the future I won't have that problem again.

Otherwise, it was a very pleasant stay, and I look forward to staying there in the future if I have to be out of town (now that I don't have to worry about the credit card issue).

We love Hampton Inns for their good service and their predictable and solid product. This is no exception. Other reviews have mentioned that there is nowhere to eat close by. Not true. There is a new restaurant right across the parking lot offering pub style food. It was fine. Driving in several miles east toward Hilton Head there are numerous restaurants and shopping areas. This is in a very quiet area about 7 miles off I-95 and is perfect for an overnight stay.

This is a great Hampton Inn. It's bright and clean, has the new Cloud 9 bedding and the staff is helpful and friendly. We've stayed here probably 6 times and have never been disappointed.