My spouse and I stayed at the
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Guest Suites Charleston-Historic District for
three nights in mid-November 2016. Before we booked our stay using the Hilton
HHonors website, we researched additional Hilton properties in Charleston,
including the Hampton Inn and Embassy Suites. We decided to stay at the
Doubletree because it was closer to the historic sites; however, next time we
might choose one of the alternates, because they are close to interesting
dining on Upper King Street. We contacted the Doubletree via email a few days
prior to our stay to ask some questions, and Night Manager John Kontinos
responded quickly and completely; in fact, it is the most helpful reply that we
have ever received from hotel staff.
As its name implies, the
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Guest Suites Charleston-Historic District is
located in the historic area near the City Market, Shops at Belmond Charleston
Place, and bars and restaurants, including Hank’s Seafood, Henry’s, Anson, Peninsula
Grill, and Hyman’s Seafood. (In fact, the TV Lodge Net program advertises both
the Peninsula Grill and Hank’s Seafood, and Hank’s even provides room service
for the DoubleTree.) The large hotel faces three streets: Market, Church, and
Hayne. The primary entrance to the hotel is from Church Street; however, you
can enter the hotel from Hayne Street (near the larger conference rooms) if you
swipe your room key at the side entrance. Note that the first/ground-floor
rooms that face Hayne Street have windows at street-level, so passersby might
be able to see into you room if your curtains remain open. Similarly, the
first/ground floor rooms with entry doors on the Palmetto Courtyard might find
that guests using the courtyard (which contain tables, chairs, and a fountain)
can glimpse into those rooms. Two additional interior courtyards (north and
south) provide private places to relax. Our suite (number 462), located at the
end of the hallway, overlooked Church Street and the North and South
Courtyards, but also provided a view toward Market Street and the City Market.
The hotel offers complimentary
Wi-Fi to all guests. A 24-hour business center that is located adjacent to the
front desk contains computers and a printer. The hotel offers a fitness center
(open from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm) and guest laundry (open 24 hours, with washers
and dryers costing $1 each) on the third floor of the main building. Ice and
vending machines are located on all floors except the top (fifth) floor. Snack
machines, drink machines, and microwaves are located on the second and fourth
floors of the main building. This hotel does not offer a pantry or small store
where you can buy food or forgotten items; however, a large grocery store
(Harris Teeter) is located a few blocks away. Bell services are available, as is a tour desk.
The Lighthouse Café serves
breakfast daily on weekdays from 7:00 am to 10:00 am and on weekends from 7:30
am to 11:00 am. If breakfast is not included with your room rate, the
continental breakfast buffet costs about $11, with an additional $4 charged for
a plated entrée. The café also offers an evening lounge (cash bar) on every
night but Sunday beginning at 5:00 pm. The café offers tables of varying
sizes/configurations and a buffet bar. The buffet offers cold items (including
whole fruit, cut fresh-fruit, yogurt, juices, breads and pastries, and cereal)
and hot items (such as bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, potatoes, and a rotating
special dish such as corned beef hash or biscuits and gravy). Additional hot and
cold beverages are included with the cost of the buffet. Service was spotty at
breakfast time; on some days, the hostess gave us a slip/receipt when we sat
down, and other days she did not; on some days, we were asked to sign the slip
when we finished our meal (when you could add a tip), and other days we did not
have to sign. It was difficult to order food and drinks from the servers; although
four+ staff members worked the breakfast service, they socialized amongst
themselves rather than waiting on customers and replacing food. None of our
servers ever offered us a hot entrée in addition to the buffet, and we always
waited to receive silverware, beverages, and to have our plates cleared. The
service was acceptable only because breakfast was included with our room rate;
had we been paying customers, the poor service would have been harder to
overlook. In addition, the hotel provides a complimentary hot beverage station
near the café and the lobby (although the temperature of the liquids was less
than ideal).
The hotel offers rooms on five
floors in two buildings. Perhaps the choices rooms in this hotel are the four
units that offer balconies. Two of these balcony rooms face Hayne Street, and
the other two rooms face Meeting Street but overlook the parking lot behind
Planters Inn. All four of these balcony rooms are located farthest from the
lobby in the annex area near the main conference rooms.
Our
larger two-room suite provided us a good base for our three-night stay. The
living room area contained a sofa and side chair, along with two end tables and
a coffee/cocktail table. The flat-screen TV was located atop a dresser that
contained extra pillows and a blanket in case you wanted to use the sleeper
sofa. The living area also contained a desk and rolling chair, and a wet bar
with a mini-refrigerator underneath. (The refrigerator was larger than a cube
size, and we were able to adjust the temperature to our liking.) A bathroom
vanity area was located in one area of the main living space, with a separate
toilet-bathtub/shower room nearby. As other reviewers have stated, our water
closet room was very small, so it was necessary to locate the sink and vanity
area outside. The bedroom contained a king-size bed with a nightstand on either
side (one which held a bedside clock), as well as another dresser to hold the
second flat-screen TV. Our room contained two closets, where you could find the
electronic safe, iron and ironing board, and two folding luggage stands, but it
did not offer robes, slippers, or an umbrella. Regrettably, the three windows
in our room did not open. Most of the lamps contained electrical outlets for
charging phones and other devices. Staff offered nightly turndown service, when
they provided two mini-bottles of water, two chocolate squares, and a card
forecasting the next day’s weather.
The
hotel does not offer a shuttle bus, but the city provides a free trolley system
that runs throughout the day and has pick up/drop off locations near the hotel.
A large (city) parking lot is located across from the hotel, although on-street
parking also exists with certain restrictions. We used Uber to travel to and
from the airport, with our trips costing between $15 and $20, respectively.
(Taxis cost between $30 and $35, so Uber offers a substantial savings.)
We
were pleased with our decision to stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Guest Suites Charleston-Historic
District.
No comments:
Post a Comment