Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort

Erron: Checking in and leaving. Helped extend our reservation for one more night after women's conference. Knowledgeable, kind, and accommodating. Javier: Hilton Security - battery died on door lock, card not working. Was there in 5 minutes to let us in the room. Very polite, efficient, friendly. Milton: Baggage porter - wonderful conversation, informed and helpful Read less

This is without a doubt the worst-maintained Hilton property I have visited in approximately 20 years. Reservation was *not cheap* as it was a special occasion, 3-day trip. I even called the day before to ask that a note be put on the account to help me make the trip special for my spouse, should anything of the sort be available. Not only was nothing available as an upgrade, note, or even kind mention at check-in, but the trip rapidly descended into a nightmare of unforced errors -- all of which are clearly a result of poor management, lack of investment, and/or active squashing of employee morale. Our "special 3 day trip" included: Room #1: * Rust and/or general decay of everything from mirrors to light fixtures to the toilet seat. * A shower that could only send about 50% of the water to the shower head, the rest coming out the faucet in the tub. * It was late at night and we had already semi-unpacked before noticing, I called the front desk, explained the situation, and asked if we could switch rooms the next morning. I was assured they would reserve and prepare a room for the next day. They did not. Room #2: * The next morning we started from zero, and after a lot of wasted time we were offered a "cabana suite" that was not ready yet. We asked to see it first to ensure we did not repeat the problems of the prior night. * More waiting, and we got the call to visit the room. It was a little spartan, but seemed otherwise clean and mostly well kept. We returned to inform the front desk we would indeed like to move. They said they would call us when it was ready. * They called 5 or so minutes later to say it was ready. We picked up the keys, collected our things, and arrived at the new room.... but the door was open/cracked. A moment later a maintenance worker emerged and was clearly caught by surprise with our presence - - and tried to discreetly hide the can of COCKROACH SPRAY he was holding. * Clearly uncomfortably stuck between his duties as a hotel employee and being a fellow human being who did not want to insult our intelligence, he explained that the room had to remain clear for 2-3 hours after spraying. * A series of challenging conversations later we are offered a different cabana suite a few steps away. With good reason, we pressed on how common the issue of cockroaches was for these beach level suites. After some debate on whether or not a "Palmetto Bug" is a cockroach (it is.... but Hilton management seems to not permit their staff to use that word.... which I consider an intentional lie on the part of management) we made clear that we were not interested in a room that opened directly to the outside on the ground floor. * We are now several hours into the day, roomless, carrying our luggage, and waiting for Hilton to figure out which way was up. * Multiple back and forth occurs on "We want a new room" with "We can only put you back in a room like the first, and it will be the same." * As we sat there contemplating our life choices for a good 30-60 minutes, we got a call that a corner suite had opened up. GREAT! We'll take it... Room #3 * The room is beautiful. A slight change in bed option, but otherwise seems excellent (though it is worth noting that the emergency stairwell outside of the private patio is so rusted as to be an extreme safety hazard. * The shower.... the shower runs only at SCALDING HOT. While I am away getting some supplies, my poor wife is forced to alternate between water on, water off - and even sometimes getting on her knees in the tub to splash water-that-had-slightly-cooled back to herself. * Maintenance is called. They spend about 90 minutes working on the problem. The valve is broken. They cannot fix it. At first they offer to let us into a nearby room just to shower, then come back to our room. Uh, no. * We ask for and receive another room. Room #4 * Layout is identical to room #1, but at least seems to be in decent repair. * Within an hour or so we discover that the safe in the room does not work, and the tub drain is so backed up with hair (and god knows what else) that you end up standing in several inches of dirty water by the end of even a quick shower. * We did not ask to change rooms as we had already lost nearly an entire day to this craziness. The "silver lining" here is that the general employees are clearly trying very hard to put lipstick on a pig and give customers a good experience -- despite having to ensure abuse on a regular basis from angry travelers, all of which is likely the result of the awful management of the property and not at all something these employees can control. Five people in particular stood out as *outstanding* and should be commended: - Jay (Front Desk) - Pleasant, competent, and understanding. - Aaron (Front Desk) - Calm, professional, and efficient. - Shawn (Engineering) - Sharp, dedicated, and empathetic. - David (Engineering) - Kind, honest, and earnest. - Jadd (Poolside Bar) - Warm, funny, and attentive. I offer a sincere THANK YOU to these five employees in particular, and to all who tried their best to help us in general. I do not know if the managerial problem lies at the property itself, or with the regional executives in charge of funding -- what IS clear is that this is not a "COVID problem" -- this is DECADES in the making. After reviewing all of this with the front desk at the end of our stay, a refund was issued for the dollar amount paid. I do not yet know if the points used will also be refunded. Obviously, we will not be returning to this property anytime in the next million years. Read less

It's the little things that make a difference and if your front line people don't have that natural capacity they'll never fully understand why it's important. When we checked in for a recent stay we were immediately not recognized for being a Diamond member, nor was it mentioned ever. Little things. I'm not being pretentious, if I wasn't a Diamond member I wouldn't care, but since I am, and I know what is supposed to take place as a Diamond member it would appear I am more knowledgeable about the chain and its benefits than the what should be subject matter expert standing in front of me. So, after not being acknowledged the front desk person then ignored and failed to acknowledge my upgrade request. I had to bring it up to which they replied off handedly there were none available. Fair enough, I got it. I know that upgrades can only happen if there are rooms available but why not begin the conversation with a review of my reservation, an elite status acknowledge and then a quick look for upgrades. Little things. Even if they know there are none available the guest will at least feel like they are being taken care of rather shoved into a room and forgotten about. Which brings the next point to bear. I have a standing request for a lower floor near the elevator and was placed in exact opposite type of room. High floor at the absolute end of the hallway next to an emergency exit door that wouldn't properly secure shut. Additionally my own door to my wouldn't shut all the way unless you pulled hard on it a couple of times to make sure. From a basic personnel security point this is weak. Outside door unsecured and immediately room door potentially unsecured. These two things are not little things and should be immediately addressed. The room overall was unremarkable and met the requirements for the stay even though I was expecting a larger room. There so no bath soap bars in the bathroom. Only shampoo and conditioner. We had brought some so it wasn't necessary to call down and request the basic bathroom setup. Would've been nice not to have to make a mental note of that though. Other than that. The restaurants were very good. The bartenders and wait staff were excellent. Even the towel people at the pool were attentive and I truly wasn't expecting much from someone handing me a towel. So, overall a 7 because of first impressions at the front desk and kind of a crappy room. Take care of the little things. Read less

We had bed bugs in the room and were treated as if we were the inconvenience when we reported it. The initial response was that we could stay in the room and they would deep clean in the morning. The Manager on night shift never contacted me even though I requested to speak to her. The manager in the morning again treated me as if I was the inconvenience. Horrible treatment and experience. Read less