Monday, November 11, 2013

Jefferson City, Missouri / DoubleTree by Hilton

October 2013, Weekend-Weekday, 2-nights, King guestroom #1013

Status perks and check-in
On my Hilton profile, I have bonus points chosen for my on-site amenity instead of breakfast, and I almost received both perks. When I checked in, the agent confirmed that I wanted breakfast instead of bonus points before she gave me my key packet. After I said my profile should be set for bonus points, she looked this up online. She said that my profile was set correctly, and that when the employee at the hotel had set aside the rooms and preferences, he or she must have coded my on-site amenity wrong. Sometimes, I have received both perks, and now I know why. When the employee does not confirm anything at check-in, I have always been pleasantly surprised to find a breakfast coupon in my key packet.

The front desk agent told me that two bottles of water would be in the guestroom; however, there was not anything extra in my room. I got two complimentary bottles of water from the front desk/gift shop later.

Guestroom 1013
This guestroom is located on the 10th floor very close to the elevator. My profile preferences are for a room away from the elevator; however, this guestroom looked like a larger, possibly upgraded room. Looking at the guestroom diagram, there are only two rooms on the floor this size, and they are both close to the elevator. This guestroom is not very big, so if the diagram is to scale, the other guestrooms must be very small! The guestroom was well soundproofed, and even with this location close to the elevator, I was not disturbed by any noise from the hall.

I had arrived after dark, and when I first entered the guestroom, it was pitch black. The light switch by the door turned on one overhead light by the entrance, which was not very bright. It was more like a nightlight than a light, and I could not see clearly until after I walked across the room to turn more lights on.

It was also very hot in the guestroom when I entered. The HVAC unit was set on 74 degrees, and it was over 70 degrees outside! It took me a few minutes to figure out how to turn the unit off, but at least it could be turned off.

The beverage area, located outside of the bathroom near the entrance, contained a small fridge, microwave, ice bucket, glass glasses, and coffeemaker with disposable cups and supplies. The coffee was good quality, and liquid creamer was provided.

The guestroom area included a flatscreen TV on an armoire, desk and chair, soft chair, footstool, small end table, king size bed, nightstands, alarm clock, and lamps. 

The closet contained a folding luggage rack, hangers, iron, ironing board, and a large safe. The safe was on the top shelf inside of the closet, and I had a difficult time reaching it. I had to stand on my toes to open and close the safe.






The bathroom contained a tub/shower combination across from a decent size vanity. Bathing amenities were on the vanity, and the towels were good quality.








Food & Beverage
I called to order the salmon salad to-go, and then picked this up at the bar. I thought the price of $8 in the guestroom menu was an excellent price. When I went to pick up my order, I was charged $9 instead of $8. I thought this was still a fair price, so I did not say anything about the price difference.

The flavor of the salad was good, except for the cheese. The menu listed the salad with feta cheese,  which I have had many times. The cheese on the salad was white; however, it did not taste like any feta cheese I have ever had. I do not know what it was, but I did not like the flavor.

Fitness center
The fitness center is located on the 2nd floor near the front desk. It is not accessible from the 2nd floor of the guestroom elevator. The first time I used it, the front desk agent told me that the only way to get to the fitness center is from the elevator next to the front desk. It is actually accessible from the first floor without using the elevator. After exiting the guestroom elevator at the lobby level, there is a hallway to the right before the front desk. There are stairs in this hall, that go up behind the front desk to the fitness center and pool area.

The fitness center was a good size with large windows, providing a good view of the outside. It contained several cardio machines, a weight machine, hand weights, a water cooler, sani-wipes, and towels. All of the cardio machines had cardio theater except one treadmill.

Misc.
The HHonors guestrooms at this hotel are on a lower floor--the 3rd floor, I believe. The front desk agent told me that the rooms on that floor are the same as the guestroom I had, so she had given me a room on the 10th floor because my preference is for a high floor, and she said that the view is better. I have stayed in several hotels recently that have the concierge or executive floor on a lower floor, when the norm used to always be the top floors. The agent at this hotel told me that the reason the speciality floor is the 3rd floor, is because that is the only floor at this hotel with every guestroom type. She said that they needed to have a floor with every room type to designate it as the HHonors floor.

The guestroom I had on the 10th floor did not have a bathrobe, like the HHonors guestrooms; however, I was able to request one. I would guess that the HHonors floor guestrooms also have bottles of water in the room. 

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