I had a reward coupon to use, so we picked this hotel based on location and free parking. I looked at the website and they had a pool so I booked it, confirmed my coupon and off we went.
When we arrived at the hotel we noticed it was under renovation and right away my first question was... pool? They explained no it was closed, but that the Marriott next door had a deal so we can swim there.... ah. The front desk lady was good, when presented with my coupon she mentioned needing to get help to process it. I appreciate that, so many times front desk people just walk away and don't tell you what they are doing. The guy who came was polite, said hello again and walked her through processing it. They offered us bottles of water and then explained where breakfast would be in the morning.
Our room was nice, I have come to enjoy Hilton Garden Inn (and likewise Hampton) as my favorite Hilton properties (been let down too many times by Double Tree and Hilton). We ate ice cream to celebrate Novali's performance and watched TV and got a late night tuck in.
Our morning was great, we went down to breakfast and let Novali sleep in. The staff at breakfast were great, obviously serving breakfast in a conference room and not their typical diner but they made it work. Maria was our server/hostess and she was nice, checked on us regularly and helpful with Cruz. Obviously a mom, cause not many people understand how hard it is to be out with a nearly 3 year old little man with lots of items in front of him at breakfast.
Later when I brought Novali down for breakfast, Maria once again said hello, so did the rest of the team. I asked for a to-go box so we could take her meal up stairs. We got that, but we also got a nice to go tray, with cups of OJ on it and condiments, napkins, etc. WOW. We didn't even ask.
They rocked out breakfast (which is my favorite part of Hilton Garden Inns) and then when we called to ask about the pool they were great. They told us which door to go out so we were closest to the Marriot to walk over. We went, we swam, all was good, Cruz was a champ in the pool, Novali enjoyed some hot tub time...
Even when in the elevator with one of their house keeping staff they made eye contract and told me to have a nice day. Usually they avoid you in elevators and don't know how to reply when you say hello.
This morning I got an email from their manager asking how my stay was... it seemed like a real direct email. Not those spam surveys I get from most hotel stays. I wrote her a quick note, and thought... for all the negative rants I do on Twitter about customer service (BTW Enterprise never replied) I need to do a nice positive rant. Thank you Gabriella and your team for a good stay.
Now if you guys can do something about that crazy Chicago traffic... I might visit even more. HA.
Check out their hotel WEBSITE next time you are in the area or flying from Midway.
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