Hilton diamond

Hilton Garden Inn Cherry Creek Denver Colorado Photo Review

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    A quick overnight for business at the Hilton Garden Inn at Cherry Creek was a good experience.I usually stay at the Holiday Inn across the road but a client booked this hotel for me. While the Holiday Inn is nice and a bit cheaper I think I’d give the edge to this hotel. The best part about the Garden Inn is that it’s located in an upscale trendy shopping center so there are multiple restaurant basically on the ground floor.

    Overall I enjoyed my time here. I like staying in this area because of the Cherry Creek bike trail which offers a great place to run or bike. There are public shared bikes along the trail as well.

    Hilton President Hotel Kansas City Diamond Review

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    The Hilton President Kansas City is a classic hotel that was built in 1926 during a boom in Kansas City downtown roaring 20’s construction. It was a popular hotel in Kansas City during the Kansas City Mob days, Blues icons played at the famous Drum Room lounge while celebrities watched. As downtown KC struggled through the 1970’s so did the hotel. It finally closed in 1980 and sat vacant until a local business investor group spent over $45 million to restore it and open it as the current Hilton President in 2005. It saw success as downtown KC has gone through a revival. It now sits between the theaters, convention center, Sprint center and KC Power and Light entertainment district. After being open since 2005 it was due for a refresh so they recently spent millions more to update the rooms, add more marble, etc. A lot of historic hotels are cool but this one doesn’t suffer from being outdated. The rooms are fresh and updated. IMG_20170615_165015574IMG_20170615_170317552

    The Drum Room Lounge is mostly original. The restaurant is good and a great place for a pre-concert or pre-theater dinner. IMG_20170615_165332449

    As a Hilton Diamond I was upgraded on arrival to a corner room overlooking the Power and Light District. The hotel was fairly slow which I’m sure helped. IMG_20170615_165322865_HDRIMG_20170615_165607061IMG_20170615_165613142IMG_20170616_072052271

    The only negative thing I can say about this hotel is the motion sensing Verdant thermostat. There is a hack to override it but it’s not an easy hack. The hotel is guilty of not having this set properly for the overnight hours. This is something can be set by the main system. It did go off in the middle of the night and made the room too warm on a hot Summer evening. IMG_20170615_165337663

    View of Power and Light District and Sprint Center.IMG_20170615_220143177IMG_20170615_165345906

    View to the South of the Kauffman CenterIMG_20170615_215635004IMG_20170615_215541046

    Overall it was a nice stay. As a Hilton Diamond they do offer free breakfast in the restaurant. There is also a Starbucks coffee stand in the lobby. Great service from the front desk, restaurant and valet parking staff. I will return here even as a local the next time I need to stay downtown. This AAA four diamond hotel is well worth the visit.

    Hampton Inn Garden City Kansas Review

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    This location is a typical Hilton Hampton Inn property. Nothing really special but a nice up to date location. I would rate it as the second best hotel in this area. There is a newer Marriott Townplace hotel nearby that I think is slightly better. 

     

    This Hilton Diamond sign was the only welcome I got as a Diamond Hilton guest. I’ll see if the Diamond welcome points ever post. This is sad as this stay is one of a few I am testing with Hilton properties this year to see if it’s worth keeping any loyalty with this chain. 

    Summary:

    Good clean room. Well located with IHOP, Target, Burger King and taco Bell within a few hundred feet of hotel. 

    Staff is efficient and nice but lack any elite recognition in my experience here. I don’t expect much but at least saying thanks for being Diamond would be enough.

     I also wasn’t very impressed with the evening reception food. Not sure what I expected but it just seemed a bit weak and forced. I’d rather they just skip it and have cookies in the lobby I think. 

    I sound critical but don’t mean to. This was a service and property test for me. I travel to this rural area for business a few times per year. I haven’t been that excited with the nearby Holiday Inn Express which is dated. I really like the Townplace hotel but I have little status (Silver) with Marriott. So this was just a property test.

    Features of hotel I like include the indoor pool and breakfast that starts at 6am. 

    Features I don’t like are the thin walks, poor desk chairs that aren’t very ergonomic, doors that seem to slam more than other hotels and the tiny TVs. 

    Feature I hate the most…Fitness room isn’t open 24 hours. This is a deal breaker for me. I doubt I’ll come back over this. I know this seems minor but as a runner visiting in the winter I was very disappointed.