Check In

Perfunctory thank you for your diamond status. Handed an envelope with a generic letter (i.e. no specific letter as far as I can tell for various levels of elites, etc.) and two breakfast vouchers. No upgrade - I don't think looking at the property, that there are many room types to upgrade to and I was told they were booked full (we booked a double room accidentally and requested a switch to a king, which they couldn't do).

Room

Standard generic hotel fare. Old iPod dock, outlets on the bedstand lights, flat screen HDTV. Bathroom as noted elsewhere has many layers of paint/grout. Overall a normal room - temper your expectations. One of the towels in the room was already dirty. Requested some towels, tissue paper (running low in the room), these were brought to the room; requested slippers, was told they had none. View of the parking lot.

Crib: requested a crib but they do not have a crib. Was given a pack and play with a smaller-than standard size mattress/pad and a thin blanket. Luckily we had a comforter from the other bed and used this for bedding/blanket and our little one is out of the infant/dangerous stage for non-fitted bedding, but if I had a small infant and this is what I was given, it would be a real problem (they caution you everywhere not to have gaps between the bedding and playpen or the child could get stuck).

Dining

Standard buffet breakfast. Bagels, danishes/muffins/baked goods, hot foods including eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage. Smoked salmon and fixings also. Fruit, yogurt, oatmeal. This is where it got a little weird, our breakfast vouchers clearly stated "continental breakfast" and I asked at the FD based on previous reports about diamonds getting access to the full breakfast buffet without the $5/person upcharge, and they said the policy is only continental breakfast for both golds and diamonds. Makes me wonder why to bother with the latter if properties have this kind of policy, but that's neither here nor there.

When we handed the vouchers to the nice waitress, she took them and didn't bat an eye, there was no bill and at the end, she simply said that we had the coupons, so we're good to go (even though we availed ourselves of the full breakfast - as an aside, luckily we had cash for the tip since there was no charge to sign). Not sure how they would have planned this, have the wait staff monitor what you are eating? A very weird policy that they really should just clean up, because the end result was fine, but the experience was extremely awkward and makes it seem like management is out of touch.

Location

Right across from the Mystic Aquarium with a crosswalk to it. That's why we were here, so it worked out well. Also next to Old Mistick - a collection of shops and restaurants. Some ok places but mostly touristy knick-knacks from what I saw. Close drive to downtown Mystic, the museum, and Niantic. Sadly, most of the seafood shacks were closed as it was February in New England (can't say that I blame them...).

Overall

One of the earlier posts said this hotel was owned by the group that owns Foxwoods. I think that's probably the most telling thing. They don't really care about you, they are able to get by with a high volume of people there for the casino, who don't want to pay the prices at said casino. There is a convenient shuttle there, if that's your thing. Just don't expect very much in terms of a "full service" Hilton. Really, the level of service is probably more in line with a Garden Inn or something thereabouts. The night we were there and the following one were both sold out. We requested a late checkout (I only needed 1-2 hours) and were denied. They offered 30 minutes "as a courtesy" but would not give any more, I was told, on direction of the housekeeping manager. I have stayed in many places and never have had this issue, even when the next night is sold out. I have heard profuse apologies for only being able to give me 2 hours extra because the following night was completely sold out at places, but never this. Of course, it is a business, and they need to look out for turning the rooms in a busy hotel, but at least in my experience, this is not in keeping with the norm at other full service hotels (and this is across numerous brands i.e. Hyatt, Starwood also). Next time, I'd probably save the money and actually go to the Garden Inn in town, or drive a bit further and stay somewhere else.