What's with the crappy new pillows at Hampton?
 

Am at a Hampton where they have "upgraded" their pillows to that cheap crappy cotton fill that is the cheap version of very bad down pillows. The manager tells me it was part of the renovation and they are seeking a waver to go back to the old pillows because of the large number of complaints.

So why on earth did Hilton mandate these terrible pillows to their hotels? Did they have a family member who had to unload a ton of lousy pillows and they cast them on Hampton? The ones I have in the room would probably be turned down by Days Inn for lack of quality.

Do I need to avoid Hampton Inns now?

Which Hampton?

I frequent a new HI (<6 months old) and its bedding is so nice it's the first time (not including W=A) I'm considering buying a hotel's linen for personal use at home.

What's with the crappy new everything at Hampton?

Hamptons seem to be undergoing renovations designed to make them less user-friendly to anyone staying there more than one night at a time. No more drawers - now just some wire baskets for "storage". Thin carpet or laminate laid directly on concrete for some of the hardest floors imaginable. And yes, crappier bedding. I've seen similar "renovations" at Hilton Garden Inns too - it feels like Hilton is cheaping out on their hotels in a big way these days. I just stayed at a Hampton in Kansas City and there were no linens or pillows for the sofa bed, the air conditioning could barely cool the room, and housekeeping would only clean rooms of checkouts. Since I was there for a week, it was an exercise in frustration just to get some fresh towels and coffee for the room.

I'm Diamond at Hilton and have directed the majority of my stays there over the years, but the recent changes have me considering other hotel chains even though I'd have to start over on status. Dang it.

Not to cross promote (I usually stay at Hiltons and am Diamond as well), but SPG has a pretty easy challenge to Platinum. Considering doing it myself.

This is completely contrary to my recent experiences at a very new Hampton.

The Hampton I frequent has full-glass, walk-in showers with subway tile and sliding doors. It has 50" TVs in every room. Every lamp and bed-side table has multiple outlets (110V and USB) attached. The floors in the entry-way and bathroom are wood-look ceramic tile.

The differentiation across the same brand may be driven by the private ownership? Hampton's brand standards can be met by outfitting the rooms in many different ways.

I would guess that "very new" is making a difference - the ones I'm going to are older but have been remodeled/refurbished/whatever into the new 'style.' But I'm glad there are still good Hamptons out there - there's hope!

I think I do need to check out Starwood/Marriott though - I tend to go to the same cities every year, and if the existing Hamptons/HGIs there aren't keeping up, I'm going to need some more options. It would be great if I could maintain status at both, although that might take some maneuvering for me!

Hamptons are mostly franchised...daddy Hilton does not just wave a wand. And sample size n = 1 is not grounds for declaring the sky to be falling.