Middletown, Rhode Island -- Hampton Inn

April 2010

Status perks

I did not receive any recognition or extras at check-in, although there was a personalized letter in my room with the weather forecast.

Guestroom

The room was a basic size hotel room, which also contained a microwave and fridge. There was a large luggage bench in the bedroom, which I prefer over a fold out luggage rack. When I checked in, I asked if my room was on the top floor at the end of the hall in a quiet area because I had only slept four hours the night before. The agent checked my key packet and said, "305, yes." When I got on the elevator I saw that floor 3 is not the top floor, and when I got off on my floor, I soon learned that my room was not at the end of the hall either. Fortunately, I had quiet neighbors--on my floor and above me. Internet service in the room was available with a cable only, so I was only able to connect while sitting at the desk. Wireless is available in the lobby. I could pick up the signal in my room; however, it wasn't strong enough to connect. The view from my window was nice. The yard was tastefully landscaped with trees which butted up to nice residential homes. The halls and stairwells were clean and fresh smelling; however, my room had a strong, stale perfumed smell. I was impressed that the stairwells had been freshly washed the day of my arrival, as I often stay in hotels that seem to completely ignore the stairs. They were still wet and smelled of Lysol.

Food & Beverage

There were cookies on the counter at check-in. Applebee's is located next door, and a there is a pizza restaurant across the street. During check-in, I requested a local restaurant recommendation that delivers. The agent recommended Mama Leones. I ordered the scallops and lobster dinner on pasta and would not recommend this restaurant. The seafood was good quality and fresh; however, that was the only positive thing. The dish was almost entirely 2-3 lbs of low quality white pasta (seriously!) with plenty of garlic. I like garlic, although I prefer other seasonings in addition to just garlic. Morning breakfast included cold scrambled eggs and cold sausage. Cold boxed cereal was available as well as yogurt and fruits.

Business center

The business center was well stocked with many office items--stapler and staples, paper clips, post it notes, white out, pens, etc. The only thing missing was tape. There were two working computers and a printer, although the feed was not work properly on the printer. I am not new to office machines, and the printer continually stopped with the message that I needed to add paper and press the "enter" button. Even though I adjusted the paper and made sure everything was lined up properly, I received this message every couple sheets. In the meantime, the computer seemingly shut down because it was idle, which is a very unsecure feature. I could not access my document or my email, which I'd had open, and had to start at the beginning. I thought I would have to sign in to my account again, since I had not been able to retrieve what I had been working on without restarting the Internet process. I was surprised that after I restarted the Internet, everything opened with my account already signed in! I hoped this did not also mean that files were not being deleted when logging off (as hotel computers usually say).

Fitness center

The fitness center contained three cardio machines, a flat screen TV, a water cooler, and towels. I missed that this property does not have any weights, and three machines were not enough during my stay. I did not have any trouble finding the treadmill open in the afternoon; however, it was difficult the next morning. After checking the room three times, the stair stepper was available, so I used that instead.