DoubleTree by Hilton Rochester

This hotel has SO MUCH POTENTIAL. I loved it when we first walked in and so many other things. It just needs to be renovated. I feel like once they are finished with there renovation this hotel can easily be one of the best if not THE. The location plus the architecture is really a chefs kiss. The only reason why I rated it the way I did is, you can TELL its old. If hilton comes in and does a complete facelift so many people would easily come here. I really hope corprate would just bite it and just do a complete renvovation. I would go back and would LOVE to through a huge birthday party but I KNOW my quest would complain as they like the likes of something like woodcliff, fountaine bleu etc. BUT THIS! For my hometown with renovations would be such a TIME. GREAT HOTEL, just needs to be updated.

Lobby was clean

Jen at the front desk and Theresa at the lounge are great! Always there to help, answer questions and serve some great food and drinks.

Aplus

The DoubleTree by Hilton is a brand that enjoys a reasonably good name overall. However, this one in Rochester is a total disaster at the moment. They are in the midst of a total renovation of the property, and from my viewpoint, is one of the most mismanaged renovation hotel projects that I've ever seen. On top of that, apparently the entire management staff was replaced in the last 6 or so months, and it is clear that the current management does not communicate well with staff OR with guests. However, some of the line staff, especially Theresa in the lounge/bar, Christina the Housekeeping Manager, Lily and Tyler in the bistro/breakfast area, and the Front Desk Manager, went well beyond the call of duty to try and make our stay tolerable. If we would have had any other option, we would have changed hotels after the first night. We were part of a larger wedding party, and so we had numerous other family members also staying at the hotel at the same time. All of them had the same bad (or worse) experience that we did. Perhaps the most egregious defect was the fact that there was only one (of two) elevators working, and the one which "worked" could only be called to the floor where you wanted to board by somebody from the front desk going to the elevator on the first floor and sending it up. Most of the Front Desk clerks were more than accommodating, but a couple of them were very brusque/rude and suggested we use the stairs (we were on the 6th floor), and both my wife and I have mobility issues. Using the stairs was NOT an option. My recommendation to future travelers is that they put off staying here until their renovation project is complete. While the hotel says it will be finished in August, I find that highly unlikely since it is obvious that they have way more work than can be accomplished in a month. My best estimate would be the end of September and maybe even mid October. There were many other defects I could list, but other writers have already detailed many of them.

Horrible from start to finish. Dirty. Pool is useless and cold. Housekeeping was non existent. Everything was an extra charge. Don’t stay here.

The elevator was not working properly. Would only go up from lobby, would not come to any floor summoned, had to take the stairs down from the 6th floor every time. Room, lobby, staff, bar and vibes were all nice but the elevator situation really brought the stay down.

The people were nice. Overall, it was not as clean as it should have been. The breakfast fruits were terrific, but the pancakes was not. The fitness center was nice.

It seems like this hotel has been under construction for several years now and have not made it to the rooms yet. I understand the dining and events area is a selling perk. However, the main reason for needing a hotel is for a room to sleep in. The rooms are in dire need of upgrades. It was evident the hallways had not been vacuumed in days. The paint, tub, walls and floors are subpar. The chair had a large rip in it. The wall outlets didn't have covers and some didn't work at all. Most of all the elevator were not fully operational and had to use the stairs from the 5th floor.