Skip to main content

The Disappointment & Reward of Hilton Garden Inn, Olympia, WA

 man; happy man; hotel front desk

My dear polite travelers,

Arg!  This property was incredibly difficult to find on this road trip through Northern California, Oregon, and Washington State, even with navigational assistance.  Whew!  So, after going in circles—multiple times—we finally found this haven.  Still, read on for a caveat.

Room #518

I love this room!  It is smartly designed for comfort and yet offers those who travel for work everything they will need, such as ample outlets, extra storage, and a workable desk and chair.  For those of us who would rather shower, open a bottle of our favorite wine, and veg, it’s all that too.  I appreciated the comfortable seating, comfortable bed, updated bath, fridge, and microwave.

The Hotel

Upon entering, we found this Hilton Garden Inn to be beautifully appointed, and just plain ‘Wow!’  We don’t typically find this type of contemporary gem in a non-resort setting.  It was a real find, especially considering the onsite restaurant and bar.

But hold on a minute.  According to our online search and by the assurance of staff, the bar opens at 4 pm with the restaurant opening at 5 pm.  We were assured the restaurant would be available for dinner.  Nope, the bartender was told there was no cook for the kitchen that night.  This unfortunate event temporarily sank all the good the hotel projects. 

After all, we vehemently did NOT want to leave for dinner since it was difficult to find this hotel with all the freeway entrances nearby.  For visitors, it’s like a different, extremely confusing world.  Worse, since this was a Monday, which is a traditional day for restaurants to be closed.  So, we ended up going to a sandwich shop.  Not the best.  Grrr...

Pro Tip

When there is an issue with the hotel or any establishment, speak up!  The next morning, we discussed the restaurant issue with Sarah at the front desk.  She forwarded the issue to the manager, and we received ample compensation.  

Note

The hotel also provides an accessible indoor pool and gym.

A list of hotels and a map of our journey.  

The Free Breakfast

Unfortunately, we were not able to partake in the breakfast.  Nevertheless, I noted several guests who did and appeared to be quite satisfied.  The aromas were tempting. 

Will I Return?

Before speaking with the manager, I would have said, “No!  Absolutely not!”  However, management made things right with us.  If we travel through the area again, we’ll stay here if they promise there will be a cook.  

Until next time, my polite travelers: Happy Travels!

For More Information on this Hotel

Hilton Garden Inn Olympia, WA Hotel

More by The Polite One

Choose This Comfort Suites Hotel When in Astoria, OR 

Consider this Quality Inn Uptown in Port Angeles, Washington

Locationis Everything: Comfort Suites, Newport, OR  

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kauai Vacation: Room Review

The Room Over The Power Plant Revised 4/2021 The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas offers guests beautiful rooms, which include kitchens or kitchenettes, outdoor grills, and a number of pools.  Most often, it includes an excellent restaurant, poolside bar, and small store.  A large grocery store is within walking distance as well.  Thus, the theory is that guests will not have to leave the property once they cross the big pond to reach it. Great theory, but that’s not necessarily true when the only on-site restaurant is closed.  Add to that the incredibly loud room...well, let’s just say I needed a break from the property at times.   Note : Follow Hawaii and CDC guidelines when visiting.  Always wear your face mask when in public. May we just see the room we should have had? After an exceptionally long journey that included a broken plane and a rushed connection—not to mention airport security—we were surprised to find that our hotel had our room ready an hour early.
5 comments
Read more

Look Closer at the Hilton Garden Inn, Waikiki

  Why We Might Not Return: Hilton Garden Inn, Waikiki My dear polite travelers, Imagine waiting three years to revisit a pleasant memory.  You’d probably be thrilled to be on that journey.  Right?  Well, I am, and ...well, I’m lukewarm to some aspects of it, especially our room: #1537.  But the Ocean is Right There! In our room, #1537, we have the ocean view and the fresh breezes associated with it.  Still, due to the central, otherwise excellent location, it’s noisy—very noisy.  Thus, those breezes remain outside all night.  Darn.  The pleasant sweet-ocean-air-in-our-room-memory I dream of often eluded us on this trip.  Now, it’s just sad. The Good & the Weird Beyond the noise, it is a comfortable room—especially the shower—but there’s not enough counter space.  Instead of a long counter or desk, the hotel designer thought a long built-in seat would be a clever idea??  Hint.  It’s not.  We can only use it to store our suitcases and bulky items.   The only place to us
Post a Comment
Read more

Sonoma, California: DoubleTree Sonoma

Updated 4/2021 Our Stay in the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel Sonoma Wine Country in California As over-worked small business owners, we decided to play hooky traveling through Sonoma County for a couple of days.  Since we recently experience excellent service on our last stay in a DoubleTree, we booked a room at their Sonoma Wine Country property in Rohnert Park. Our Journey Through Sonoma County Our drive from our home in Davis pleasant with light traffic.  We chose a slightly longer route through Sonoma so we could take in the beauty of the Glen Ellen area vineyards.  The vineyards here are quite beautiful with green rolling hills as a backdrop.  Arriving at the DoubleTree As we arrived, I mentioned to my husband that since this trip would focus on cheese tasting, it would be perfect if we were given a free upgrade to a room with a refrigerator.  The hotel appeared fully booked, so I assumed that was impossible.   Astonishingly, when we asked about an upgrade, the polite rec
8 comments
Read more