I recently spent the night at the Hilton Garden Inn Dallas Market Center prior to speaking at the Travel & Adventure show. Believe it or not, it was my first time ever stay at a Hilton Garden Inn. My verdict? Perfectly fine for a limited-service hotel.
Hilton Garden Inn Dallas Market Center Review
My hotel room was paid for by Frequent Traveler University, but ran $99/night. I arrived late into Dallas Love and called the hotel to check on the location of the shuttle. The front desk informed me it was not running…due to COVID-19.
How convenient…even in Texas. Speaking of Texas, Hilton may have a corporate mask policy, but this was Dallas after all and it was not all enforced. The employees did were masks. The guests? Just me. Let’s not drag this into a debate in masks, but whatever your view on masks we can certainly agree that a company has a right to require them, if they so choose. But when they do, the will have to deal with enforcement and this hotel chose not to enforce them.
The lobby and common areas inviting, with large wicker chairs with oversized cushions and pillows, plus a seating area with a fireplace.
Room
I was assigned Room 613, a king room on the sixth floor. The blue painted wall, diamond carpeting, and floral prints on the wall were an interesting juxtaposition, but the room was functional with a chair and end table that tucked over as well as a desk.
The room also included a microwave oven and refrigerator, plus a Keurig coffee machine.
The bathroom included Neutrogena toiletries, which I quite like.
The shower/tub combo was not fancy, but functioned well with good pressure and plenty of hot water.
Most importantly, the room appeared clean.
Fitness Center + Pool
On the ground floor, an outdoor pool and jacuzzi (the hotel calls it a “spa”) is available. A note referenced that the hot tub was closed for COVID-19 reasons, but it was filled with water…the heat was simply not turned on. It sounded like cost-cutting masquerading as hygiene theatre to me.
The fitness center was in large room with wooden convex ceiling adjacent to the pool. It featured Free weights, treadmills, elliptical machines, and a couple resistance machines.
Business Center
A business center included computers and a printer. I wonder how much longer this will last?
Parking
Parking is $12/night.
Breakfast
By virtue of my Hilton Gold status (I didn’t know it was still worth anything in 2021), I received a free buffet breakfast. Quite frankly, I found the breakfast surprisingly satisfying. Selection was limited and I did not touch the cold cereal, pastries, oatmeal. However, I enjoyed an omelette with veggies, ham, mushrooms, and cheese along with a bowl of ripe fruit: a very acceptable breakfast.
The coffee, though…see-through swill.
CONCLUSION
You never go out of your way to stay at a Hilton Garden Inn, but it was perfectly satisfactory for the night: the room was clean, breakfast decent, and it was right across the street from my event.
Believe it or not, printers are one of the most important amenities to me. I deal with local government for my job, and most still operate like it’s 1995. When I travel for work, I’m often in markets that only have limited service hotels, and I have chosen not to return to many hotels due to the neglect of the business center. One of the most valuable perks for me in Admirals Clubs is the efficient Ricoh Print Cloud printers that are in every location, and work great! So yes, business center should die, but some of the dinosaurs still in the workforce will need to retire before that finally happens.
Wow, that is much better than the last Garden Inn I stayed at in Texas in August. No buffet, and instead of a $10 credit (like you are supposed to get as Diamond), I got a bagel and water. I should have gone to Dallas!
I like the Hilton Garden Inn Neutrogena soap and shampoo as well as the paper cups. They are more hygienic than glass cups. I like Hilton Garden Inns, in general.
This hotel was originally a Wilson World Hotel, built by Kemmons Wilson, founder of Holiday Inns . You can see it is not a typical Hilton Garden Inn with its large atrium, pretty much wasted space. When it’s cold outside that dining area is very unpleasant due to the proximity to the front door. Otherwise the rooms are pretty good.
The hotel room was fine and the staff was very nice and efficient. I did resent having to pay to park outside in the weather. This should have been included with the room rate. Also, the bar drinks were extremely expensive and the size of the drinks was about half the normal size. It seemed the cocktail glasses were from a child’s tea set. The dining room is not separated from the front door. It was 28 degrees outside and everyone was dining in their coats. No lunch was served and there were only 6 items on the dinner menu. I only stayed here because my seminar was held here and I would not stay here again.