Hilton Garden Inn Sarasota - Bradenton Airport

A lovely suite with so many amenities easy to find right off a Hwy staff was very pleasant buffet breakfast was excellent ai wish we could have stayed longer

Check in was fairly quick; they failed to activate one out of the two hotel room cards which when addressed, they rectifies immediately. We ate at the restaurant at the hotel late evening. The bartender was the server. Some items on the menu did not come as described on the menu. We didn’t complain. The server brought our bill which was about $56 and change. When we requested to pay by credit card, the total amount charged to the card was $66 and change as reflected on the slip and she did not return the original bill. We asked for the original bill back as we were surprised at the discrepancy and she brought a reprinted bill with now 20% gratuity added on automatically. We were not a large party but rather my husband and I and our daughter. We do not recall the automatic gratuity disclosed on the menu, and did not ask about it after the server added same to the bill, but the fact that she brought one bill originally to us, and then when we requested to pay by card, she changed the amount of the bill and did not return the bill, flagged to us that she thought we were stupid and that we would leave an additional gratuity on top of the amount she then added. At no time did she disclose the automatically added gratuity and we were not happy with this behaviour. We were surprised that the blankets in the room were very thin as we understood that the rooms had premium bedding and all 3 of us were constantly cold when the A/C fan with belt noises came on. Check out was quick.

We are truly disappointed with our stay. It was sub-par. When we checked in around midnight on Dec 30, we were not informed that hot water is unavailable and only after calling the front desk when we found no hot water in the faucet were we told that there was an outstanding issue. In addition, the manager did not provide us the breakfast vouchers nor provide information about the room, internet etc. The next day we had hot water but when we were checking out on Jan 1, we didn't even have water in the shower, leave alone hot water. My husband was in the middle of his shower when the water stopped. The water came in fits and starts. We called the front desk several times and they didn't have the courtesy to inform us of an outstanding problem nor were they willing to extend our checkout time until the water came back so that we could all take showers or provide an alternate location where we could take showers. People stay in hotels to sleep in clean beds & take showers in clean bathrooms. But here the basic amenity (water) was unavailable. If customers are informed in advance of a problem, they would be more understanding and willing to accomodate. Hilton's moto is to make the stay as comfortable as possible & to resolve any issues during one's stay. But after speaking to the manager on duty before checkout, he was not very helpful nor eagerly willing to resolve the issue. Hilton should be refunding the money for the cutomers impacted by this issue during their stay.

My son & his family came down from WI for Christmas in FL. They really loved the hotel, the dining area, the pool (of course) plus how seeing the Hilton promise in action. I will definitely try on of the Hilton hotels when my husband & I travel to WI for a summer visit. Thank you for helping to make it a more comfortable stay.

Room 436 smelled moldy. View is an eyesore because window needs serious pressure washing. This was reported, but nothing was done regarding this during my stay.