jtr

Has anyone stayed at the new Hilton property in Norfolk, VA? Norfolk, VA Hotel - Hilton Norfolk The Main

Planning to visit the area this spring...

Randyblew

Hi JTR. Yep, my girlfriend and I had a nice points stay there a couple of weeks ago. Very cool. Near new property downtown, great location and views, helpful staff. There are three good restaurants inside, the executive lounge is quite nice, parking is right there, connected. The seafood place (Saltine) on the 1st floor is top-notch IMO. If you're a diamond member, get a standard room and ask for the upgrades. We got a corner room high up with outstanding views. Parking is expensive (26.00/day I think if you valet), but if I were you, park it and leave it, it's I believe only 13.00/day that way, and if you "lose" your ticket on a multi-day stay, the max you pay is only 13.00. Just a pro tip. And tons to do nearby, from the Wisconsin to the great bars and restaurants. If you like museums, the Chrysler Museum is not to be missed - you'll be highly impressed.

RB

jtr

Thank you RB - info is great! Appreciate the tips, especially on parking. I'm booked in a standard and will hope for the upgrade.

Norfolk is a nice city with a fun downtown so happy to see this new property. Last time there I checked a baseball game at Harbor Stadium which is about a mile away -- a fun little ball park for anyone interested in AAA baseball (Orioles affiliate).

Randyblew

You bet, happy to help. The ballgame idea in the summer sounds great too, will do that. Enjoy!

jcresq

I just stayed there this week. I agree that it has some good points, but let's just say it doesn't cater to an older business traveler like me.

The new building is very nice, the rooms were well done. It tries to fit in with the emerging "fun" downtown Norfolk. The restaurants, especially the Rooftop Bar (more in a minute), cater to a younger crowd. The staff was mostly young and energetic, if a little inept.

I was checked in by a young man who couldn't have been nicer. Noted my Diamond status, upgraded me to a corner room, noted my preference for a quiet room away from the elevator. the room was pretty big, had floor to ceiling windows overlooking the water (there are better water views than Norfolk but I don't hold that against the hotel!). So far so good. I had FedEx'ed some documents to myself for work, and I asked about the package; he told me "security" must have it, and called there twice with no answer (this did not make me feel terrible "secure"!) Anyway, he promised to have it delivered to my room "in the next 5 to 10 minutes." 45 minutes later, no package, I called Guest Services, and a few minutes later a bellman appeared with my package, and apologized stating that they had not been told i wanted it delivered.

I ate dinner at Saltine, which was pretty good seafood, especially for a hotel restaurant. After dinner I went up to the Rooftop Bar, and the din when the elevator door opened was unbearable. I walked out, looked at the place, and decided it wasn't my thing. The Rooftop by the way is not on the top floor of the hotel , but rather on the 5th floor (of 21). But there is an outdoor portion that is on the roof of that part of the building.

When I returned to my room on the 14th floor, I realized quickly that my "quiet" room overlooked the Rooftop Bar. It was not the least bit quiet. By this time, it was late, I didn't feel like moving rooms, so I lived with it. The noise subsided about midnight.

I also called room service to see about getting dessert. They told me there were 5 desserts on the menu; the only thing I'd ever heard of was tiramisu; I asked if they had a scoop of ice cream, answer "no."

Breakfast for Diamonds is in the executive lounge, which is on the top floor. 52facility; again, poorly executed. There were two hot items: burnt sausage and some sort of mini omelet thing with all kinds of unidentified things in it. I passed and went for cereal (4 options) and milk (1 option, unmarked, no idea if i had whole, skim, or 2%). There was some fruit, not much. My reaction is that Hampton Inn does breakfast a lot better.

The other guests appeared to be attendees at a conference, and young families. I didn't see any other obvious business travelers. But maybe that's just Norfolk.

I wouldn't dismiss this hotel; as I said, it's a nice facility, has some good features. It seems to be striving to be something that doesn't particularly matter to be....young and hip...while not executing the basics particularly well. There aren't a lot of choices in downtown Norfolk so chances are I'll give this place another shot if I'm ever there again. But it was something of a disappointment.

777 global mile hound

Any more recent reviews?

mcgahat

Just a quick summary of a recent stay and some photos of the room and executive floor lounge.

This is probably one of the better USA Hilton Experiences I have had in a while. Amazingly, the club lounge was open and had decent quality items for breakfast and was a very nice space overall. I did not visit it beyond breakfast but it was staffed during that time. I was there for a conference and the "rooftop" bar was actually a very nice space to hangout with other conference attendees. It was pretty well managed and unique for a hotel to have such a facility. It is actually on the 5th floor but has an outdoor area that is on the roof of another part of the building. It has a couple of other rather nice looking restaurants but did not get to try those out. Lots of nice dining options in the nearby area. All in all, very happy with the stay and would return. As a Diamond, did not receive any real upgrade but I didnt really care given my purpose of staying there.

fwfdan

Thanks for the update... looking for a getaway from DC to burn a certificate or two and this looks like a nice getaway.

Interesting that they have a lounge. Is that the Diamond benefit and not the F&B credit? or is it a choice between the credit and the lounge? And do you know what the days / times of lounge operation are?

thanks,

mcgahat

This was my first trip to Norfolk and found it to be a decent enough place. I did not take advantage of the FB credit but a fellow Diamond said he got both and was told so at check-in. I am sorry, I do not know the days and times of the lounge. I was there during the week.

fwfdan

I called today as we are planning a night later this month. Lounge is not staffed on the weekend but open by key (no breakfast) so I assume soft drinks / water. They confirmed Diamond status includes lounge access all week in addition to the $15pp F&B credit.

fwfdan

Stayed for two nights a few weeks ago (two reservations - they were amex free nights and that is how the agent booked them) . Pretty happy with the hotel. Two upscale restaurants. We had dinner at the Italian one. Great space and a fantastic piano player. Food was a bit disappointing. Did not eat at the other restaurant (ground floor seafood place) but hit the bar there that was packed on Saturday night with tons of what we thought were locals. Third restaurant was on the fifth floor and was a beer garden (must have been 50 beers or more on tap) that I liked a lot but it was WAY too loud and the entertainment on Sunday was awful (and not just because it was not my taste).

Diamond got us upgrade to full river view on high floor. Lounge was supposed to be open 24X7 but we since we had two single night reservations we had to have our keys re-done and somehow it took three tries to have keys work. It was pretty much open when we could get in but nothing (including water) available. We did not use the lounge when it was "open" but checked it out Sunday night before dinner. Not much of a spread but looked ok quality.

It is both the lounge and the food $ credit.

There were three elevators for all the guest rooms and one seemed out of service. long waits. The hotel was 100% booked on Saturday and even if all three elevators worked it would have been awful during peak times (a bellman showed us the service elevator!)



Parking was valet or self parking. Check-in is on the second level (but from third level parking garage). Valet will not let you run in to check-in (or use the bathroom) unless you valet park. Guy was a bit of a jerk and no cars in sight and would not let my husband run in to just use the bathroom!