escape4

Introduction I had a quick overnight in Halifax airport and chose Hilton Garden Inn in part because I like the HGI in Ottawa airport and Toronto airport, and also because of the current Hilton promo which is attractive for cheap one-night stays and even earns bonus points for award redemptions. However I was not very impressed by the hotel and I am not sure I will return. Location The location of the hotel is ok is you have a layover, only 5 minutes away from the airport by shuttle bus. The shuttle bus operates 24 hours per day, twice every hour. The other options near the airport are slim pickings such as Holiday Inn and Quality Inn, although there is Alt hotel connected to the airport. YHZ airport is not exactly a key hub with lots of transit passengers so I do not think it is important for lots of travelers to stay at HGI unlike some other cities, so the advantage of the airport location is more muted. Room Diamond members normally do not get room upgrades at the HGI brand so I did not expect an upgrade despite occupancy being low and I did not ask about an upgrade either. I got the standard room as booked since this was a points redemption. I was disappointed how small the room was relative to HGI YYZ and HGI YOW. Looking at the floor plan some rooms are a bit larger than mine; on the positive side at least they gave me a room at the end of the hallway on the top floor so it was probably more quiet than other rooms. I would not say the room is in bad shape, but it’s not exactly in great shape either and definitely a couple of notches below the other two HGIs I visited in Canada which are newer. The HGI Halifax airport is about 15 years old and it shows. The room had a microwave and mini-fridge as expected, and the bathroom is functional although it’s a shower in the bathtub which is not as good as a stand-alone shower. The furniture is aging a bit but for a quick layover it’s ok. Dining Like many other HGIs, I found the breakfast to punch above its weight considering the caliber of the hotel. The strong point is the a la carte menu from which you can order what you want as a Diamond guest and they allowed us to pick 3 items even though we were only 2 guests. Sometimes I am bored of traditional North American breakfasts at mid-scale hotels but I was pleased to see eggs benedict and breakfast wraps on the menu. The fruits were only standard hotel fruits however, unlike other HGIs which sometimes have berries. Service Service in the hotel was mixed. Reception barely talked to me at check-in and there was no Diamond recognition and no information about breakfast time, free water, etc. In the restaurant, service was noticeably better and friendly. Overall Overall it is not a bad hotel, but for a stay in the winter the price difference between staying here versus a hotel downtown is quite modest relative to other cities where an airport hotel is much cheaper than in the city. I saw full service hotels in prime locations in the downtown Halifax only 20-40 CAD more expensive than HGI for example Westin and Marriott. The price difference is probably higher in the summer but at least for this time of year, based on what I saw of HGI you would really need to have a strong preference to stay near the airport to pay this kind of money for HGI. At least for this stay I am glad I paid with points rather than cash. If I had to stay again near the airport I would probably try the Alt hotel which is right by the terminal and does not require a shuttle bus so it is far more convenient, or I would extend my stay in the city and avoid a one-nighter near the airport.