Has anyone else found Doubletrees to be inconsistent and just bad?
I am a loyal Hilton Diamond member and have had good experiences at every level of hotel. I had great stays at the Conrad Miami and Hilton Austin as well as at HGI's in Little Rock and Cupertino. I even just stayed at some nice Hamptons around Cleveland. However, I have recently stayed at some rough and run down Doubletrees. The Doubletree in Tampa was so bad that a co-worker of mine is still swearing about it. The Doubletree in downtown Boston was really bad. I had stained sheets and towels and a room that looked horrible. The Doubletree near LAX was beat up.
I am not a hotel snob. It seems like HGI's are more consistent and nicer than Doubletrees. I thought Doubletrees were supposed to be a higher level than HGI. Is there something I am missing?
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This is not very surprising. Every other brand within the Hilton family has a distinct identity. Doubletree seems to be the default brand when one buys hotel that cannot be named otherwise because of the distinct identity of the other brands. HGI, HI, Concords (and even Hiltons) look and feel almost the same. Doubletrees are just a mixed bag.
Therefore you end up with mixed bag of good and bad hotels, and inconsistencies are just to be expected.
They aren't all awful. The DoubleTree in Times Square (NOT Times Square South) is very nice. The DoubleTree next to SeaTac, while ginormous, was also a very pleasant stay.
Agree on the mixed bag though. The DT Times Square South is clearly a weird-o converted hotel.
Neil
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JB123
The Doubletree in downtown Boston was really bad. I had stained sheets and towels and a room that looked horrible. The Doubletree near LAX was beat up.
I thought they'd done away with the Doubletree Club brand?
This is not very surprising. Every other brand within the Hilton family has a distinct identity. Doubletree seems to be the default brand when one buys hotel that cannot be named otherwise because of the distinct identity of the other brands. HGI, HI, Concords (and even Hiltons) look and feel almost the same. Doubletrees are just a mixed bag.
Therefore you end up with mixed bag of good and bad hotels, and inconsistencies are just to be expected.
This used to be the case with Four Points at Starwood... basically any property that was joining Starwood that wasn't good enough to be a Sheraton or that they didn't know what else to do with became a Four Points. You really had no idea what you were going to get. Thankfully Starwood has since cleaned house and there is now far more consistency within that flag.
There's been a similar house cleaning going on at Holiday Inn the last few years, and I hear that IHG is now going to be focusing on Crowne Plaza. Hopefully eventually Hilton will decide they need to do the same with DT.
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What I find amusing to say the least, is that in the company hierarchy, DT brand is right below Hilton? If they know there's a consistency problem involving DT, why not put it below Embassy Suites and HGI?
i recently stayed at the doubletree sterling, va. IAD. i thought it was a very nice hotel and would stay there again in a heartbeat. they have great weekend rates too.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BobH
I avoid DT's and haven't stayed at one in over a year
Not quite my experience. Mine really is that they are wildly inconsistent.
Last week had an amazing upgraded top floor room at the Doubletree Club near BOS. Fantastic room and wonderful staff. The corner floor "penthouse" rooms at the DT Honolulu are pretty astounding too, although the breakfast was dismal. Have thrice been upgraded to stunning Presidential Suites at the DT Tech Center in Denver.
But have also stayed at some strange, dated, dismal, tired DTs as well. Can't really say that about ANY HGIs or Homewoods -- which remain my first choices in HHonors properties.
So, for me, it's not that all DTs are bad, but they are indeed inconsistent in a way that HGIs and Homewoods (and even Hamptons to a large degree) are not.
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The few Homewoods I've stayed in have been inconsistent. My experience has been that HGI is the most consistently property in terms of standardization.
This used to be the case with Four Points at Starwood... basically any property that was joining Starwood that wasn't good enough to be a Sheraton or that they didn't know what else to do with became a Four Points. You really had no idea what you were going to get. Thankfully Starwood has since cleaned house and there is now far more consistency within that flag.
