Hampton Inn & Suites San Clemente - Fully Renovated

Location

Everything was fine

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.

This property was recently renovated. I got married at the wedding venue next-door and my family stayed at the hotel. They did a horrible job at the renovation floors are uneven, light switches were old never replaced, water leak from the shower all over the floor. They did a horrible job in the remodel. I don’t even know how it passed inspection. It’s really sad because the venue is in a good location. The staff is amazing there. That’s the only BRIGHT side to that property. I would never stay there again. Plus they charge $22 a day for parking in a tiny little lot that should be free. That was the most ridiculous charge.

I stated that in the paragraph above

Easy location to locate. Next to a good course and walking distance to local pubs.

Check in is after 3pm. We arrived at 5pm and we couldn't check in till an hour later. They had computer issues. So we waited in the lobby till they were ready. The a/c to our room #403 did not work. Probably why a water cooler was placed in the bedroom. Try to sleep with a noisy water cooler running all night. Asked for another room but they were overbooked.

The property was clean

The toilet was tiny, made for children. There was no soap in the shampoo dispenser.