Hampton Inn & Suites Pantry - Complimentary Items?
 

Are some of the items in the Hampton Inn & Suites pantry always complimentary?

I am Diamond and I typically stay at Hampton Inn properties when I'm on the road. Whenever I stay at a Hampton Inn, I request a couple of bottles of water instead of the breakfast to go bags in the morning and they will usually go to the back and bring me out a couple of waters.

Whenever I'm at a Hampton Inn & Suites and I ask for a couple of bottles of water they usually just tell me to go the pantry and pick them up or they look at me like I'm crazy for asking.

When I checked a couple of nights ago into the Hampton Inn & Suites where I'm currently staying, they told me to go into the pantry and take a drink and a snack because I'm a Diamond (I do not have my preferences set for the free water and snack). Last night I stopped by the pantry and picked up a water, a soft drink, and a bag of chips. I showed the clerk what I was taking and told him my room number but he seemed wholly unconcerned. I am checking out today, but no receipt has been put under my door so I'm assuming I wasn't charged for my snacks (I am using points for this stay).

So, I guess my question is, are the snacks (candy bars & chips) and drinks (water and soft drinks) complimentary at Hampton Inn & Suites? Obviously they charge for some of the items in the pantry like frozen dinners and laundry detergent, but I was wondering if it is standard to just be able to walk in and get a free drink from the pantry without them looking at me like I'm stupid.

You'd think I'd have this figured out by now as much as I stay at this type of property, but I haven't seen a written policy or a sign about it so I don't know what the appropriate protocol is.

Thanks.

I think you have profited from the beneficence of some of the front desk clerks at some of the Hamptons at which you have stayed.

Have you looked at the "On-Property VIP Benefit Preferences" page when logged in to your HHonors account? The "MyWay" benefits for Diamonds at Hamptons are one bottle of water and a snack item. Per the Hilton terms and conditions, that is limit of your entitlement. Your asking for more has paid off at some properties. Otherwise, you get the "stupid" look.

It never hurts to ask but don't expect the additional bennies at every Hampton.

I never expected any items I pick up out of the pantry to be free. But when they look at me with that, "why are you bothering me" look, it made me wonder if there was some sort of standard protocol about free waters that I didn't know about.

I guess I've just been lucky. Thanks.

The downtown Milwaukee Doubletree has complimentary washer/dryers in its exercise room. I selected a box of detergent from the pantry, asking the price, to which the clerk responded: "No charge"; however, another clerk nearby corrected her with "fifty cents" (which I suppose covers their bulk purchase outlay). I forked over the coins, though the original clerk seemed slightly embarrassed about accepting them.

The purpose of the On The Run bags are to provide a quick meal for those that don't have time to sit down for the continental BK spread. The "why are you bothering me look" probably comes from the fact that you are mooching for something that you are not entitled to, and the front desk staff is really wondering why you don't just dig in your pocket and march down to the vending machine and buy a bottle of water.

As with any hotel property, YMMV!

I checked into a HI/S last week outside of Houston, and in my room was 3 bottels of water and 3 snack items, with one of those nice letters from the management telling me how special I was for being a diamond at his property.

And let me tell you, Oreos never tasted so good at 11:30 PM. :-)

I only ask for waters during breakfast time when the bags are available. I used to just grab the bag, but the only thing I ever used out of it was the water and I felt bad for throwing away the rest of the items. Just asking for water seemed less wasteful.

I agree with you - YMMV at different properties. I stay at Hampton about 10 times per year and the freebies do vary. I'm just happy for whatever I get.