Port Huron / DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Port Huron

March 2015, Weekend, 1-night, King water/bridge view guestroom #218 

Status perks and check-in

Our key packet had not been prepared when we arrived at the DoubleTree Port Huron shortly after 3:00 p.m. The agent looked up the reservation and said we had a king water view room. I had reserved a basic king guestroom, so I thought this was an upgrade. I said great, and I asked if that was also a bridge view and on the top floor. She said she could give us a bridge view on the second floor, and that there was not a room available on the third floor with a direct view of the bridge. We happily accepted the guestroom on the second floor.

view from balcony

I received the two bottles of water and breakfast coupons for Hilton Honors Gold members. I had requested that my on-property benefit be changed from bonus points to breakfast. And, we each received a DoubleTree cookie, which all guests receive at check-in.

When I received the hotel folio under the door the next morning, the room rate was $32 more than the rate I had booked. I do not know if the hotel had been planning to charge me for the upgrade, or if my rate code had been lost when they gave me the upgrade. I did not think to look at the rate code on the incorrect folio. I took my confirmation email to the front desk with the bill, and the agent corrected it. Later, I noticed that the rate code on my corrected bill said LV8. That is not the rate code I had originally booked, and I do not know what that code means. I assume it is some type of internal code the agent used to correct my room rate. After having stayed in hotel rooms over 600 nights the last 10+ years, this is the first time I recall having an incorrect room rate on my bill.

Guestroom 218
This guestroom is located about halfway down the hall in the south wing. Rooms at the end of this hall, and/or on the top floor would have a much better view of the bridge, although we had a decent view. Overall, the guestroom was comfortable, and we were very happy with it.

The room code on my folio was NKRX. I assume the first two letters stand for non-smoking king, and I am not sure what RX stands for. The room choices at this hotel (not counting the suites) are king, queen, water view, and premium water view. Since we could also see the bridge, this is probably a premium water view guestroom. I am sharing a few photos here, and there are more hotel and guestroom photos in an album on my Facebook page.

The bathroom near the entrance contained a decent size vanity, and a tub/shower combination. A shower curtain was hung on a curved rod. The shower nozzle was mounted surprisingly low. This was great for me since I usually need to stand on the edge of the tub to adjust it in hotels (I am 5' 2"), although I imagine guests close to 6' and taller do not like this much.


The towels were good quality, and an average quality hairdryer was also provided in the bathroom.

A folding luggage rack was provided in the area by the entrance outside of the bathroom, and a full length mirror was hung on the wall across from the bathroom.

The bedroom area contained a king size bed, nightstands with lamps and a clock, a large flatscreen TV on an armoire, one soft chair, an end table, floor lamp, desk and chair, and a wardrobe closet.

There was a telephone on one of the nightstands, and in the bathroom. I do not recall if there was a telephone on the desk; there is not one visible in the desk photo.

A small fridge and microwave were located in the armoire cabinet. A steel ice bucket, glasses, coffeemaker, and supplies were also provided.

The guestroom was comfortable, and well-soundproofed. We heard minimal noise from the hallway, overhead, and from outside. The bed and bedding quality was superb.

The room temperature was set at 68°F when we arrived, and it was a bit chilly in the guestroom. It took a couple of hours for the temperature in the room to get comfortable.

I called the front desk to ask if the hotel had bathrobes for guest use, and the person who answered the telephone initially said no. A few minutes later, she called to say that she had found one, and then she brought it to the guestroom. I believe the person who took care of this for me was Manager Courtney. The robe was thick and warm--I was glad she had found it and brought it to the room!

The balcony was average size, and the chairs looked comfortable. Unfortunately, the weather was very cold this March weekend, and we did not get to enjoy the outside as much as we had hoped.

Food & Beverage

When we checked in, the agent had told us Happy Hour in the lounge started at 10:00 p.m. I commented that might be too late for us since we are early risers. We had hoped for an early evening Happy Hour instead. Shortly after 5:00 p.m., we ventured around the inside of the hotel and stopped to check out the restaurant and bar. My husband picked up a menu on one of the bar tables and saw that Happy Hour had been going on when we checked in, and that it would be done at 6:00 p.m. Happy Hour includes food and beverage discounts, and we would have had more food in the bar, if we had known this. Since we had not known, we had eaten before walking through the hotel. I wished I had looked at Freighters website before we arrived.

We had the Maple Mustard Fried Pickles because I have always wanted to try fried pickles, and they were highly recommended. I thought they were good, although my husband did not care for them. Since this was the only time we have had fried pickles, I do not know how they compare to others.

Our morning server said our breakfast coupons were good for the buffet or Freighters' Classic Breakfast. We opted for the classic breakfast, which was excellent. Fortunately, we were not in a rush that morning, because we waited a long time for our food (15 to 20 minutes).

Pool area

This hotel has an inside pool and hot tub, which are located behind the fitness center. We used the whirlpool tub. It was clean, and the temperature was good.

Fitness center

We walked through the fitness center, although we did not use any of the equipment. It is a large room with several cardio and weight machines. It is located on the first floor directly across from the elevator, and we needed to walk through it to get to the pool.

Misc.

This hotel is in a great location on the Black River. There are two trails accessible from the hotel that we had planned to walk the day we arrived and the next day; Blue Water River Walk and Bridge to Bay Trail. Since the weather was super windy and bitterly cold, we did not make it very far. Even though we were bundled up with scarves, winter hats, coats, and gloves, we only made it about half a mile before we turned around because the wind was so strong.

We hope to visit this hotel again in the spring or fall, and have nicer weather next time! We met a couple when we visited the bar who are from London, Canada and were visiting for her birthday. They said they have stayed at this hotel before and always like it.

I especially like the comments in the Welcome Letter I received about the hotel cleanliness. I did not receive the letter during check-in; it was given to me when I stopped at the front desk before we went to the lounge. A picture of the letter is posted in the Facebook album.

I will leave with one last photo of Blue Water Bridge at sunset. There are more photos of the bridge in the Facebook album, as well.