“Bam bam bam bam bam” is what I relentlessly heard as I awoke from my sleep on a recent Sunday morning prior to 9:00 in a suite at the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa North hotel property — and this was on the day when I was to check out of the hotel and go on the return portion of a road trip which was expected to last for at least six hours.
I had slept only several hours all weekend; and I was really looking forward to a significant amount of sleep so that I may be refreshed for the return trip, so I did most of my preparation for the trip the night before: I showered and packed my bag — and I took photographs for this article despite the room being rather dark so that I would not have to take any time away from sleeping in the morning…
…but alas, that was not to be. Once I was awakened, I collected my belongings and went to the front desk to check out of the hotel.
The woman behind the front desk smiled at me and asked, “How was your stay?”
“I would have been completely satisfied with the stay had it not been for the banging noises which woke me up before 9:00 this morning,” I replied. “I was really hoping to get some sleep for my car trip today.”
“Oh,” lamented the woman behind the front desk. “They are doing construction in the hotel.”
“…on a Sunday morning before 9:00? That might be reasonable during the week when people need to go to work; but not on a Sunday morning.”
“The construction workers were not supposed to be working that early today,” she replied as she handed me a business card. “Contact the manager of the hotel and let him know of your experience.
I then checked out of the hotel.
I was unable to contact the manager of the hotel for several weeks; but I eventually did send to him a polite e-mail message pertaining to my situation. By the way, I never requested compensation either in person at the front desk or in the e-mail message.
He never did respond to my e-mail message. To me, not acknowledging communication from a guest is poor customer service.
Location and Arrival
The Hilton Garden Inn Tampa North is located in Temple Terrace, which is located approximately ten miles northeast of Tampa. Getting to Tampa could take 20 minutes; but at least the hotel property is conveniently located just off of an exit of Interstate 75.
Checking in to the hotel property itself was uneventful — but there were free cookies available at the front desk; so I took one and brought it with me to the room once I received my plastic key card.
The Room The Suite
Upon walking into the suite, I noticed a sitting area of sorts complete with a couch — which I did not check to see if it opened into a bed — a chair, a coffee table, and a flat-screen television atop a dresser with drawers.
Next to the entrance to the suite was a desk with a telephone and mirror; and when walking in further, there was the typical cabinet usually found in rooms in a Hilton Garden Inn which included a microwave oven, small refrigerator, a coffee machine with items to prepare a couple of cups of coffee, cups, an ice basket, and other items — as well as storage if needed.
On the left in the hallway on the way to the bedroom is a closet — complete with hangers, an ironing board, an iron, a plastic laundry bag, two extra pillows, an extra blanket, and a luggage rack.
The Bathroom
On the right in the hallway on the way to the bedroom is the entrance to the bathroom, which you would typically find in virtually any Hilton Garden Inn hotel property. Amenities included shampoo, body lotion, conditioner, soap, tissues and cups — plus a hair dryer.
I like when the shower bar is curved outward, which gives more room while taking a shower. There was plenty of hot water for the shower; as well as a satisfactory amount of water pressure. There were also plenty of clean towels — no stains or hairs embedded in them.
The shower head appeared to be a bit grungy looking — probably attributed to the mineral content in the water in Florida — but it was loosely anchored to the wall. I had to be careful with maneuvering the shower head — a minor complaint at best.
The Bedroom
I then entered the bedroom.
The bed was quite comfortable — which made the noises caused by construction workers that much more annoying and thus the stay more disappointing.
I removed the luggage rack from the closet and placed it next to the flat-screen television atop a dresser with drawers — which was identical to the ones in the sitting area of the suite.
I never did get a chance to watch any programs on either flat-screen television — not that I watch much television in the first place.
The View
I managed to get photographs of the view, which included the swimming pool area. It actually looked quite inviting — especially as the weather was rather hot; and the humidity was so high that the lens and mirror of my camera were fogged with a significant amount of moisture after stepping outside from the cool and dry air conditioned air inside of the hotel, preventing me from taking a picture of the exterior of the hotel property…
…but you are not missing much: the exterior of the hotel property is similar to other Hilton Garden Inn hotel properties.
The photograph at the top of this article of a nature preserve seemed almost like a painting to me. The view was green, relaxing, quiet and serene.
Summary
The suite itself — to which I was apparently upgraded, as that is not a standard room at a Hilton Garden Inn hotel property — sufficed for me; but it may be cramped for a family with three or more people.
The lighting in the suite overall was rather dark, as it could use some brighter lighting; and the shower head unit needs to be repaired.
The hotel property itself is located in a quiet location conveniently off of Interstate 75 at exit 266; and the drive to Tampa is approximately 20 minutes. It offers free parking; a complimentary shuttle service to offices and attractions within a radius of five miles, although there are not many restaurants nearby; and a heated outdoor pool, whirlpool and fitness center.
Hilton Garden Inn Tampa North
13305 Tampa Oaks Boulevard
Temple Terrace, Florida, 33637
+1-813-342-5000
+1-813-342-6000 Fax
All photographs ©2015 by Brian Cohen.
