Just had another weekend stay at this property, now fully rebranded as a Doubletree (maybe the thread caption should be changed?). The renovation is complete. I'm not a huge fan of brown, but that is Doubletree's primary color and is found throughout the common areas and the rooms. The lobby is spacious, with both a full service restaurant and a separate small bar just off to one side followed by numerous meeting rooms. The hotel is built around an open air central courtyard with an outdoor pool. There is a small exercise facility on site.
As a Diamond we were given vouchers for the full breakfast buffet both mornings - there is no lounge. The coffee was delicious and you can get omelets made to order, although this may be a bit of a secret - we knew to ask and were given the little card used to mark our choices, our server did not volunteer this. Pancakes and French toast cooked to order are also available. The potatoes are still not very good, thin style hash browns one day and fried greasy potato rounds the other. The cantaloupe and honey dew were fresh and sweet.
Our room was a standard king with a flat screen tv we never turned on. Plenty of outlets for recharging electronics. One side of the dresser held a small refrigerator while the other side had a safe and two drawers. The closet was small but functional. The bathroom was small and tight for two people, and there was only one sink. I despise the little Cuisinart coffee maker, and I did not see a complimentary coffee service in the lobby. They do have some sort of coffee and Danish service set up at the bar in the morning but as we had buffet vouchers bypassed it on our way to the restaurant.
Our experience has always been good with the staff; that they are warm and friendly, right down to the maintenance guy I passed in a hallway one morning who said, "Good morning" to me as he went by. There was one server in the restaurant a bit cool but the others we encountered were positive and upbeat. The front desk folks are A+ #1.
There is plenty of parking and it is free. There is an airport shuttle available but it has been years since I've used it. I don't know if they have a park and fly program like the Charlotte airport Doubletree (up to 7 nights free with a room stay). The location, once you find the hotel, is extremely convenient for RTP dealings and worked well for us driving in and out from the west and for being in Raleigh for the weekend.
This is still our favorite Hilton property in Raleigh.