Paimon Dehghanian

Review of Hilton Riverside/Hyatt Regency...

I have mixed feelings about this one. I'm a diamon...

I have mixed feelings about this one. I'm a diamond member and have traveled around the world in Hilton properties. This hotel is huge and is in a good location. The lobby is decently nice and the service received at check in by Ayn was stellar. Unfortunately, things after that didn't go so well. The rooms are a bit underwhelming, even the "executive" levels. Don't worry, there's nothing special about them. There's no executive lounge and if these rooms represent the nicest options, there's a lot of room for improvement. The parking and drop off situation is chaotic, the continental breakfast offering is an absolute joke (bread, fruit, juices, yogurt only), the service received at the breakfast restaurant was also poor. All in all, I've come to the conclusion that this really shouldn't be branded as a Hilton hotel. It's one of those weird misnomers in the Hilton brand portfolio that isn't up to current brand standards. It's so big (1600 rooms) and has been this way for so long, it's the status quo, but still dilutes the Hilton brand standard expectations noticeably. The layout is confusing, there's no description of your room being in a certain tower, there's odd paths that you have to take to get to the Riverwalk, etc... I could go on. The hotel is laid out very strangely. After valet parking, you walk into the first floor which is dark and unwelcoming. That's not a great first impression...
Oh, and they also got my bill wrong, something that had never happened in any of my previous Hilton brand stays. They have got some work to do if this is supposed to represent their brand well.