Hilton Charlotte Uptown

Index to Genius1 Trip Reports

Formerly known as Hilton Charlotte Center City, this 1989-built property commands an austere presence on East Third Street right in the heart of the city. The wood-panelled lobby at first floor level is rather small, although a grand staircase rises to the main public spaces on the second floor. A concierge desk sits off to the left as you enter.









I was checked in by the friendly if casually dressed reception team and headed up to the 18th floor and my Corner Deluxe room with city view, a two-category upgrade from my booked Deluxe (standard) room. The room corridor was quite drab, and the smell of cannabis was emanating from one of the rooms as I walked past. The door to my room was incredibly stiff and needed shoving to open and pulling hard to close.





The hotel was last properly refurbished in the early 2000s, and whilst everything now looks visibly dated, most items of furniture in my room were in good condition. The random colour scheme of purples, light greens and yellows was definitely of an era, but looking past that the only thing I could really complain about was the horrid cheap lino floor – carpets were replaced with hard floors in most bedrooms in 2021. Whilst they are no doubt cleaner, from a comfort perspective I really do dislike hard floors in hotel rooms, at least when there is no rug near the bed. If you’re going to have a hard floor, at least make it a high quality one.









Being a corner room, there was plenty of space to move around the room, with a large desk, armchair and chaise longue. The desk held an empty minibar, whilst out in the hall were a couple of bottles of complimentary water and a Cuisinart coffee machine. Tea was by The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.





The bathroom was small, with a single basin and walk-in shower. Amenities by Gilchrest and Soames were in large bottle. Face cloths, a soap bar and shower cap were provided, with other amenities available on request.







When I stayed in June last year, housekeeping was by request only. For a 4-star Hilton, this is really quite poor. The view from the room was of adjacent buildings, although they were far enough away to permit plenty of light to enter.





Coastal Kitchen and Bar is the hotel’s only eatery and is located on the second floor off the large airy Plaza Atrium that connects the Hilton with the next door office block. The atrium was clearly once a grand space, but most of the shops running along the opposite side of the atrium to the restaurant are now closed, with window displays and fake bamboo collectively gathering dust. The restaurant and bar itself is a typical Hilton offering, although is perhaps more aligned to a Hilton Garden Inn than a main brand Hilton. Soulless is the word that springs to mind.







Conference facilities on the 3rd and 4th floors are reasonably extensive, with 19 meeting rooms including a ballroom. I’m not sure I could stand looking at the psychedelic carpet in this area for longer than a few minutes, however. There’s an Executive lounge on the 22nd floor.



Hotel guests have complimentary access to the YMCA Health Club located in the adjacent building, accessed from the third floor conference area.

Hilton Charlotte Uptown is clearly a shadow of its once-grand self. From an interior design perspective, the 2000s refurbishment has not aged well, and spaces which once would have been thronging with life now have something of a desolate feel about them. The hotel also feels quite unloved in places, with the signage in many areas still bearing the former Center City name being just one indication of a hotel struggling to compete with more modern alternatives just a block or two away.