Hampton Inn Suites San Clemente

Room was a nicely appointed suite with a separate living room. There was a large TV in each room as well as ice counter area in all rooms including the bathroom. Housekeeping services were sporadic. Sometimes they showed up and sometimes they didn’t. The shower doors were not properly installed and keep rolling to one side all the time. The breakfast was decent.

I checked into this hotel using the Hilton app and was assigned a digital key. When I arrived at the room, the digital key didn’t work. I went down to the front desk, but no one was there. My husband had to call out and look around before someone finally appeared. I explained that I would prefer a different room because I didn’t want to be located next to the gym. The employee immediately told me the hotel was sold out and that there were no other rooms available. What struck me as odd was that after I gave her my room number, she informed me that I wasn’t actually in the room listed in the Hilton app and that my room was a completely different number. She then handed me a physical room key without asking for my ID, confirming my name, or verifying any information. As a guest, that was concerning from a security standpoint. The fact that the room assignment in the Hilton app didn’t match the actual room I was given was also confusing and frustrating. When I got to the room and looked out from the balcony, the atmosphere around the property made me uncomfortable and unsafe. At that point, I told my husband I didn’t want to stay, and we decided to check out. Unfortunately, the checkout experience was no better. Once again, there was nobody at the front desk, and my husband had to go find the same employee. Throughout both interactions, she seemed annoyed and uninterested in helping. No one asked why we were leaving, apologized for the issues, or made any effort to address our concerns. To make matters worse, I used one of my Hilton free night certificates for this stay. We spent less than 10 minutes at the hotel before deciding we did not feel comfortable staying and checking out. I am currently waiting to hear back regarding a resolution because I do not believe it is reasonable to lose a free night certificate over an experience like this. Between the confusion with the room assignment, the security concerns surrounding the room key, the lack of staff presence at the front desk, and the poor customer service, this was a very disappointing experience and not what I expect from a Hilton property.

Do not go to this hotel, it is crazy how Hilton is letting guests book and stay here in its current condition. They are currently “renovating the place”. With that there is no access to the pool, lobby, gym, balconies, card readers, breakfast, and the halls are loud and dirty. As a diamond member Hilton greatly disappointed me with this one.