Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Wytheville, Virginia: Hampton Inn

January 2023, weekday, one-night


Sunrise from the rest area after we left Hampton Inn in Wytheville, Virginia


Reservations, arrival, diamond perks

In 2016, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in this area. I chose the Hampton Inn this time, as I was hoping to maintain my diamond status at Hilton. At check-in time, the app did not show any upgrades available. The day before, there were king rooms available on the top floor, and the afternoon on the day of our arrival these rooms were no longer showing. I called the hotel that afternoon to ask for help choosing a room. I asked if they could offer a diamond upgrade or a guestroom on the top floor. This hotel was apparently very busy, because this call took me almost half an hour (28 minutes)! I was on hold for 15 minutes, and then it took just about the same amount of time for the agent to assist me. Even though this took a long time, I was glad I waited. The agent was very thorough--checking my profile preferences, looking at available rooms, and explaining rooms she did not think I would like. She offered me a corner suite on floor two, which I gladly accepted. 

Call to Hampton Inn in Wytheville, Virginia

When we arrived, I received my choice of a beverage and a snack. 


Entrance to guestroom 202 in Hampton Inn in Wytheville, Virginia

Friday, January 6, 2023

East Lansing, Michigan: Hampton Inn

December 2022, weekday, one-night


Reservations, check-in, diamond perks

I reserved a king guestroom online, and that was the only guestroom choice available for check-in when I received the initial check-in notice the day before our stay. I contemplated calling the hotel, since Hilton perks say that room upgrades will be offered for diamond members 3 days before the stay, if available. I decided to wait, and when I checked again the morning of our arrival day, I saw we had been upgraded to a corner suite. I checked in on the app, choosing 4:00 PM as our arrival time, even though check-in at this hotel is 3:00 PM. That was a mistake on my part, because we ended up arriving in the area just before 3:00 PM, and our room was not ready yet. It was ready when we returned to the hotel shortly after 4:00 PM. We received two bottles of water from the front desk agent, after she asked if she could get me anything, like water or a snack.

King suite 400 in Hampton Inn East Lansing

King suite 400

This guestroom was spacious, and it was quiet. We did not hear any noise from outside the guestroom. Although the guestroom was clean and roomy, we did not think it was very comfortable, other than the work area. The desk chair was comfortable, and this area met my needs for working. The soft chair, and the sofa were both uncomfortable, and the bed was hard. If you like hard mattresses, and only want the room for working, you will probably love this room! I neglected to get a photo of the living room chair, and the work desk and chair, which were located at the left end of the sofa in the photo above. Photo #2 on the hotel website looks exactly like guestroom 400.


The kitchen area contained a coffeemaker with supplies, microwave, small fridge, and a sink. A closet and full length mirror were located in the hall area outside the bathroom.


Bathroom in suite 400 in Hampton Inn East Lansing