DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Mt. Laurel

This is a well located, reasonably priced property. A big shout out to the bartender and the breakfast staff. They went out of their way to make me feel at home. Also, this is a large hotel and might be challenging for anyone with mobility issues. Interestingly, from the main lobby, it’s quite a walk to the nearest elevator. I do think they need to streamline the check in. They were training a new employee, which I have no issue with. There was one employee being trained and two others showing him what to do. When I arrived, there were more than twenty people in line. That was the only check in option. We all waited (patiently!) while each person was checked in at a snail’s pace. There was no “bear with us” or $5 off a drink for the extra wait. This falls far short of the Hilton brand as I know it.

By looking at the reviews, i thought this hotel would have been a bit more up to date and nicer. But it was very very old, popcorn ceiling, 70's couches. We had a balcony but no chairs, so what's the point. If you book a room that includes free breakfast, you must tell the lady in the lobby restaurant because she just wants to take your money. She didn't even ask if people had breakfast included in their stay, she would just bring them a check if they didn't say anything. She was robbing people of their money. and when we did eat our free breakfast, she would just keep watching us eat and see what we get from the breakfast bar. Very yucky feeling. A/C was not powerful in the bedroom, My fridge smelled disgustingggg! Sink in room would not drain properly. Things i liked were the big dresser in the bedrooms, Beds were nice, and bathroom was nice and clean. Overall, we did not have a great experience. I was expecting a much better experience due to the reviews i saw.

I am giving one star only because of the extremely nice and new front desk woman- otherwise it was an absolutely terrible experience- no stars. I booked two rooms for two nights with 4 children to have some fun at the pool during No-School November. Note- I booked this stay through Hilton’s booking line and confirmed with the woman twice the pool was open (as it was the only reason for our stay). I used 120,000 points to book. I called the morning of our departure to ask for a crib and pool hours. They let me know the pool was actually drained THAT MORNING for maintenance and would be functional again on Sunday (after we leave). I nicely asked them to refund the points so I could rebook somewhere with a pool. Customer Service was unable to assist without the manager approving the request as it was considered a “late cancellation.” Unfortunately for us the manager was out of the office for 4 hours and unavailable to help. I was told to drive the hour and a half to the hotel (with 4 kids) and speak with him in person. Let me preface by saying I was kind and reasonable. Obviously I was not asking them to refill the pool. I was simply asking to help us get to a new Hilton hotel before dark that had a pool. Online, I found several reasonable options- similar points with open pools and available rooms! It was an easy solution if management cared at all to fix the problem- get kids + women into a safe place- and work out the POINTS that are clearly there later. I was told it was not possible because the points would not be available to use (a technicality). I even asked if we could keep our reservation, but use another Hilton pool locally that I was willing to pack up kids and drive to! The answer was no because of “COVID”. He offered to cancel my reservation and refund the points, but then I had to pay $700 to stay at another hotel with a pool. THEN without permission decided to cancel one of our rooms! In doing so, to stay at Doubletree we would actually have to pay cash to reserve the room we already reserved. Now keep in mind, it’s getting dark and we have one hotel room that does not fit our group. What a real safety issue for 2 women with 4 kids under 7! He provided zero helpful solutions and came off as uncaring for anyone that wasn’t a business man (as he took business men above me several times to move the line). I’ve been Hilton Honors for years and have traveled and stayed for business often over the years. This was very much a case of business man vs. “vacationing” mom. Upon our exit (after at least an hour of this comedy show), an older gentleman stated that his last experience was “so terrible at this hotel that they offered him 30,000 points to remedy). I laughed and said I was offered no points, solutions, or even empathy while 4 kids stared at a drained pool. Before leaving, the manager quietly stated he would offer “20,000 points and the kids can take 20$ worth of snacks.” I could not help but laugh- keep your points and snacks