Hilton Garden Inn Wichita

"Really easy to book over the telephone, clerk took my email and said that she'd send my confirmation to the email - there was NO confirmation emailed. When I got to the hotel, there was no one at the front desk, but there were a few guests in the lobby, one on the phone and another in the lounge. I waited at the desk and called out "hello?" but no one showed up. I looked in the mini-mart by the front desk and turned around, and one of the people I thought was a guest turned out to be a very, very grumpy clerk, who didn't even hang up his mobile phone while he looked for my reservation and checked me in. He kept glaring at me so intently I was too intimidated to say anything about him keeping his phone call going while he was checking me in. I had to ask him where the laundry room was, and he got even more grumpy. Then he stalked off, back into the lobby, lounged on the furniture, and continued his telephone call, doing his best to ignore me. The televisions are not "smart" televisions, they're really cheap models. The room was relatively clean and neat, but a little small for the price. The bathroom was tiny. The bartender was the other "guest" in the lobby, and he also glared at me when I went back out to the parking lot to get my suitcase. Really. Maybe he was afraid I might have come to the bar and was trying to repel any chance of that happening. I don't like hotel staff intimidating me and if I hadn't had booked this hours before and had driven four hours to get to the hotel, I would have walked out and found a hotel with a more welcoming staff. The laundry room machines were terribly expensive, and the dryer not only didn't dry very well, but also made a terrible screeching noise; I didn't dare complain to the clerk, I just don't want to get glared at again. The washer was $3 a load, and the dryer was also $3 a load. A 25¢ "top off" only adds 10 minutes to the drying cycle, and after two "top offs" the screeching machine still hadn't dried everything. There were two water bottles in the room by the coffee maker, but there were nice little notes on each bottle - they were literally price tags. $2. Tacky. Really chincy and tacky. The fridge was a little bar fridge, inside the fridge, the little internal door to the freezer section had actually been broken off. There was an ethernet port with a cat 5/6 cord attached to it. I thought that was great, so I attached my laptop to it. It was dead. Nothing, the internet has been disconnected. I tried the WIFI, with my laptop. The WIFI network asked for my surname and room number, and connected me. That would have been fine, but their network bumped the laptop off the signal about every five minutes. This went on for about an hour, and then the network seemed to start working, but the connection still wasn't as consistent as it was at my last hotel (Hampton Inn). The bathroom had a tub, but it was a small "kiddie" sized tub, not really too good for an adult. There was an indoor pool and jacuzzi, and the chlorine smell was really strong. The door to my room didn't close unless I watched it to make sure it closed. There was a sign in the parking lot that says "park here at your own risk, take all your belongings from your car, we are not responsible" something to that effect, although the neighborhood looks pristine and very safe. Disconcerting, and certainly the hotel don't seem to care about scaring their clientele who "dare" to park in the hotel parking lot. At least not by what that warning sign says. They probably think it's cheaper to scare the people who park there with a sign instead of having a parking lot guard with a golf cart running back and forth through the parking lot to watch the hotel guests' automobiles. When I went out to the lobby a mixed race couple was checking in and the clerk glared at them too, they were obviously trying to hide their embarrassment. I won't be staying here another night. Thanks Hilton"

"Couple of reasons to book a stay somewhere else: no continental breakfast, saw cockroaches at the pool, stayed for a week and housekeeping only showed up once, TV and remote did not function properly, over charged for room, keys stopped working more than five times during stay. Reasons to stay here: the pond, staff are nice."

"Staff was friendly and helpful. Rooms nice. Location good. Only things are the coffee in the lobby doesn't stay past afternoon (desk will give you pods for your room) and the breakfast buffet is $$$ and pretty bland. I'd stay here again."