Embassy Suites is always one of my favorite Hilton brands. We stayed for the weekend to attend…read morePanda Fest nearby and meet up with friends, and the location was perfect. We were able to go out and about without worrying about driving, which made the trip even more enjoyable.
The hotel was easy to find, and parking is conveniently located right across the street with simple in-and-out access (though, of course, there is a parking fee -- which is never fun). Inside, the hotel is very clean, beautifully decorated, and the staff was accommodating throughout our stay.
Our room was on the fifth floor, which I actually prefer when staying in a city -- the higher up, the better to avoid street noise. One of my favorite features of Embassy Suites is the room layout. The separation between the living room and bedroom is ideal, especially if someone wants to rest while others are still awake. The rooms have consistently been clean and feel very homey.
Everything was great -- until Sunday morning.
This is a dog-friendly hotel, which we love since we bring our dog and take her on walks so she's not stuck inside all weekend. However, checkout morning was pure chaos. One of the two elevators was out of service, it was peak checkout time, and there was also a princess pageant event happening, so the hotel was much busier than usual.
Trying to get downstairs with my dog was extremely frustrating. I looked for stairs but wasn't sure if they were alarmed. When I asked an employee to confirm, she looked at me like I had five heads, which didn't help my already thin patience (I definitely did not have enough coffee for that situation). I eventually just went downstairs. Coming back up was even worse -- the line for the single working elevator was ridiculous.
When I asked the front desk about the stairs, I was told they were accessible from outside. I didn't realize I needed my key card to re-enter through the outdoor stairwell (which makes total sense -- I was just aggravated at that point). After going back inside and trying again, I ended up walking up five flights of stairs with my dog.
Thankfully, we had requested a late checkout, so we avoided the absolute peak of the chaos. Our friends on the third floor ended up carrying their luggage down the stairs because waiting for the elevator wasn't worth it. Unfortunately, being on the fifth floor with a lot of luggage, that wasn't really an option for us.
Aside from that stressful morning, we really enjoyed our stay. The complimentary evening happy hour with drink tickets and small bites is always a highlight. We also had breakfast on Saturday morning -- and honestly, the breakfast is a major deciding factor whenever we choose to stay at a Hilton.
Overall, a great stay with one very frustrating checkout experience.