Hilton Garden Inn Carlsbad Beach {US-CA}
Mar 17, 2012, 4:09 pm
#16
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: DCA
Programs: AA PLT, HH Gld, Hyatt Plat
Posts: 32
Wanted to update this property report considering that there's only 10 reports and the last one was over a year ago. This isn't your run-of-the-mill HGI. Well, once you step in the lobby it'll feel familiar. But the location is amazing - this HGI isn't in an office complex but on a quiet stretch of 101 and right across the seaside cliffs of carlsbad. Because of its proximity to legoland (and the free shuttle), this HGI attracts a higher proportion of families and tourists.
We were there as part of my parents' bday celebration and paid for the full ocean view double queen. It says that it comes with a balcony, and there was a sliding glass door, but the "balcony" was 2 inches wide. Nevertheless, the view was amazing and we kept the sliding glass door open most of the time to max out our exposure to sea air. Room was your typical HGI double queen with bath/body works and neutrogena amenities. Cookies in the evening, standard Great American HGI breakfast offerings, coffee/tea in the lobby in the morning. Smallish gym with only 4 machines. 24hr shuttle service which'll bring you to/from anywhere within a 5mile radius. The thing that won me over...on top of the location...was the staff. Fantastic. They even went out of their way and left a little gift for my parents when we were away for the day. All of them were very friendly, as noted by other reviewers. We might make this location a regular spot for our family reunions.
We were there as part of my parents' bday celebration and paid for the full ocean view double queen. It says that it comes with a balcony, and there was a sliding glass door, but the "balcony" was 2 inches wide. Nevertheless, the view was amazing and we kept the sliding glass door open most of the time to max out our exposure to sea air. Room was your typical HGI double queen with bath/body works and neutrogena amenities. Cookies in the evening, standard Great American HGI breakfast offerings, coffee/tea in the lobby in the morning. Smallish gym with only 4 machines. 24hr shuttle service which'll bring you to/from anywhere within a 5mile radius. The thing that won me over...on top of the location...was the staff. Fantastic. They even went out of their way and left a little gift for my parents when we were away for the day. All of them were very friendly, as noted by other reviewers. We might make this location a regular spot for our family reunions.
Last edited by j5rider; Mar 17, 2012 at 8:08 pm
May 31, 2017, 11:14 am
#18
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Planet Earth
Programs: SPG, AA, B6. No longer "still CO to me" with account spent down. RIP CO.
Posts: 653
Nice stay, nothing fancy
Found this rather last minute as we quickly booked an overnight getaway and the location is amazing. We arrived after dark so didn't realize just how close we were to the water, so the morning view was made even more fabulous. Was upgraded to oceanfront as a gold, and free breakfast was nice welcome gift.
The hotel seems to be a weird connection of buildings so navigation to the rooms isn't the most intuitive. If you're in 30x and able bodied/don't have a ton of luggage, I recommend the stairs which drop you just beside the pool/entrance. Didn't use pool/spa but they looked amazing.
Was a barely more than 12 hour stay so didn't use much of the facility, but all seemed great. Similarly, minimal staff interaction but check in/out was wonderful. Fitness center is small but in good repair and had nice array of mats, foam rollers to go with the machines. Honestly though, if you're going to walk/run just go to the cliff walk, magical fresh air. Restaurant was wonderful and the breakfast was delicious. King of like that the waffle machine wasn't DIY - nice touch. And the after hours cookies were delicious!
Great spot if it fits your travel needs. Apparently was a top three HGI in the country per an article posted in the fitness center. It was lovely and I'd be happy to stay again if I found myself in the area, but didn't seem that amazing. Found it weird that they charged for parking, but maybe to avoid beach users parking there?
The hotel seems to be a weird connection of buildings so navigation to the rooms isn't the most intuitive. If you're in 30x and able bodied/don't have a ton of luggage, I recommend the stairs which drop you just beside the pool/entrance. Didn't use pool/spa but they looked amazing.
Was a barely more than 12 hour stay so didn't use much of the facility, but all seemed great. Similarly, minimal staff interaction but check in/out was wonderful. Fitness center is small but in good repair and had nice array of mats, foam rollers to go with the machines. Honestly though, if you're going to walk/run just go to the cliff walk, magical fresh air. Restaurant was wonderful and the breakfast was delicious. King of like that the waffle machine wasn't DIY - nice touch. And the after hours cookies were delicious!
Great spot if it fits your travel needs. Apparently was a top three HGI in the country per an article posted in the fitness center. It was lovely and I'd be happy to stay again if I found myself in the area, but didn't seem that amazing. Found it weird that they charged for parking, but maybe to avoid beach users parking there?
Jan 5, 2018, 6:51 pm
#19
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: HH Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Gold, Hyatt something
Posts: 33,539
We had a two night stay here this week, and in general it was pretty “meh”.
I wasn’t aware of the parking charge until checkout. It’s not prominently displayed when you book it. I looked back on the reservation confirmation, and saw the self parking “option” for $14. Nonetheless they tried to charge $15 per day. Other Hilton properties in the area have free parking.
Soundproofing is horrible here. Lots of noise from the hallway, and I swear there was a herd of buffalo in the room above us one night. Horrible for hours. I finally called after 9pm, when were trying to sleep.
Not much in the way Diamond amenities. Two bottles of water. We chose breakfast instead of the 750 points. Only 2 vouchers given. We were on the third floor, which was listed as partial ocean view, but I couldn’t see the ocean water, from looking out the window.
Breakfast was pretty standard, 7-11 am on the days we were there. Bacon was extra crispy, an added bonus.
No free shuttle to Legoland that I saw. Housekeeping repeatedly knocked before 9am the morning of our departure, even when I told them we were checking out later.
The wireless internet was constantly on and off during our stays. Super annoying. We called about it, but it never improved. They waived the parking charges after the other complaints, and before I even knew it was being charged. There’s also some $1 a day charge for Voluntary Beach Preservation Fund. I was never asked if I wanted to contribute, and these type of things bother me. I only noticed it when they emailed the bill to me.
I wasn’t aware of the parking charge until checkout. It’s not prominently displayed when you book it. I looked back on the reservation confirmation, and saw the self parking “option” for $14. Nonetheless they tried to charge $15 per day. Other Hilton properties in the area have free parking.
Soundproofing is horrible here. Lots of noise from the hallway, and I swear there was a herd of buffalo in the room above us one night. Horrible for hours. I finally called after 9pm, when were trying to sleep.
Not much in the way Diamond amenities. Two bottles of water. We chose breakfast instead of the 750 points. Only 2 vouchers given. We were on the third floor, which was listed as partial ocean view, but I couldn’t see the ocean water, from looking out the window.
Breakfast was pretty standard, 7-11 am on the days we were there. Bacon was extra crispy, an added bonus.
No free shuttle to Legoland that I saw. Housekeeping repeatedly knocked before 9am the morning of our departure, even when I told them we were checking out later.
The wireless internet was constantly on and off during our stays. Super annoying. We called about it, but it never improved. They waived the parking charges after the other complaints, and before I even knew it was being charged. There’s also some $1 a day charge for Voluntary Beach Preservation Fund. I was never asked if I wanted to contribute, and these type of things bother me. I only noticed it when they emailed the bill to me.
Jan 6, 2018, 1:26 am
#20
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Window Seat
Programs: National Executive, HHonors Gold, IHG Platinum, Hyatt Visitor
Posts: 2,495
We had a two night stay here this week, and in general it was pretty “meh”.
I wasn’t aware of the parking charge until checkout. It’s not prominently displayed when you book it. I looked back on the reservation confirmation, and saw the self parking “option” for $14. Nonetheless they tried to charge $15 per day. Other Hilton properties in the area have free parking.
Soundproofing is horrible here. Lots of noise from the hallway, and I swear there was a herd of buffalo in the room above us one night. Horrible for hours. I finally called after 9pm, when were trying to sleep.
Not much in the way Diamond amenities. Two bottles of water. We chose breakfast instead of the 750 points. Only 2 vouchers given. We were on the third floor, which was listed as partial ocean view, but I couldn’t see the ocean water, from looking out the window.
Breakfast was pretty standard, 7-11 am on the days we were there. Bacon was extra crispy, an added bonus.
No free shuttle to Legoland that I saw. Housekeeping repeatedly knocked before 9am the morning of our departure, even when I told them we were checking out later.
The wireless internet was constantly on and off during our stays. Super annoying. We called about it, but it never improved. They waived the parking charges after the other complaints, and before I even knew it was being charged. There’s also some $1 a day charge for Voluntary Beach Preservation Fund. I was never asked if I wanted to contribute, and these type of things bother me. I only noticed it when they emailed the bill to me.
I wasn’t aware of the parking charge until checkout. It’s not prominently displayed when you book it. I looked back on the reservation confirmation, and saw the self parking “option” for $14. Nonetheless they tried to charge $15 per day. Other Hilton properties in the area have free parking.
Soundproofing is horrible here. Lots of noise from the hallway, and I swear there was a herd of buffalo in the room above us one night. Horrible for hours. I finally called after 9pm, when were trying to sleep.
Not much in the way Diamond amenities. Two bottles of water. We chose breakfast instead of the 750 points. Only 2 vouchers given. We were on the third floor, which was listed as partial ocean view, but I couldn’t see the ocean water, from looking out the window.
Breakfast was pretty standard, 7-11 am on the days we were there. Bacon was extra crispy, an added bonus.
No free shuttle to Legoland that I saw. Housekeeping repeatedly knocked before 9am the morning of our departure, even when I told them we were checking out later.
The wireless internet was constantly on and off during our stays. Super annoying. We called about it, but it never improved. They waived the parking charges after the other complaints, and before I even knew it was being charged. There’s also some $1 a day charge for Voluntary Beach Preservation Fund. I was never asked if I wanted to contribute, and these type of things bother me. I only noticed it when they emailed the bill to me.
Jan 6, 2018, 2:45 am
#21
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: HH Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Gold, Hyatt something
Posts: 33,539
I thought this was one of the nicer HGIs I stayed in. It was real low occupancy when I was there so I had no issues with noise. The design was a little different and I really enjoyed the location. Breakfast was also very above average for an HGI. It wasn't the downtown Chicago HGI Breakfast but it was well above average. I agree the parking charge is a bit reaching in this location...
Jan 22, 2019, 9:12 pm
#22
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: MSP
Programs: AA Plat Pto, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,536
The hotel shuttle is no more. 
Bus 101 stops directly in front of the hotel and has frequent connections to downtown Carlsbad/Oceanside and the Coaster trains. I stayed car free and did not have a horrible time in doing so.
I had an above average stay on an otherwise below average hectic day. Staff remembered me as I came and went and took an actual interest in some non-hotel related issues I had. ^
To reiterate some earlier posts this hotel is located by itself opposite the seaside cliffs, there is about a 10 minute walk in either direction to access stairs to the beach.
Bus 101 stops directly in front of the hotel and has frequent connections to downtown Carlsbad/Oceanside and the Coaster trains. I stayed car free and did not have a horrible time in doing so.
I had an above average stay on an otherwise below average hectic day. Staff remembered me as I came and went and took an actual interest in some non-hotel related issues I had. ^
To reiterate some earlier posts this hotel is located by itself opposite the seaside cliffs, there is about a 10 minute walk in either direction to access stairs to the beach.
Jan 26, 2020, 12:09 pm
#24
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Window Seat
Programs: National Executive, HHonors Gold, IHG Platinum, Hyatt Visitor
Posts: 2,495
You can eventually walk to a beach from Cape Rey if you cross the road, go down some stairs, walk through an RV park, and it is a pretty rocky beach.
Suggest Trip Advisor reviews for more details.