I decided to try the new Hilton Garden Inn in Midtown during a recent business trip. I had decided to do so based on a former experience staying at a Hilton Garden Inn in New Orleans several years ago. This new property was the office where I was doing business, so it seemed like a good property to try, even with it's higher prices.
I arrived and was greeted by two desk clerks, the male clerk was welcoming and friendly and the female clerk never looked up, said hello or acknowledged my existence. The lobby was cold and uninviting, no seating, just a sterile entryway to a desk. My surprise was when I was told that the $150/night rate didn't include breakfast. It was included at a Hilton Garden Inn during my previous stay, and I had expected it.
I was given a room with a lovely view of the Turner Broadcasting headquarters and Georgia Tech, however, the noisy Interstate (I75 and I85 connector) loamed below. The noise from traffic and horns is a constant. The room is sterile. The entry and bathroom are cold simulated wood, there is no bathtub, only a shower, the lighting is poor. As well, the room is slightly smaller than I am used to at other Hilton properties. The nice amenities were a small refrigerator, a microwave and a Keurig coffee maker in the room. Those things I liked.
Everything about it said cold in feeling and cheap construction. You could tell by the choice of furnishings and fixtures that it was built as a box to make money off of for a few years. Nothing substantial
I also took a look at the Breakfast Room were breakfast is provided each morning for $11.95. It's crammed with the standard fake fireplace turned on in one wall of the room.
The experience wasn't bad, but I won't be back. It reminds me of a millennial property where it's more important to be "hip" than comfortable. It's as though Hilton is trying to provide a property equivalent to Sheraton's W or Marriott's Renaissance.