This past weekend, we experienced quite possibly the most disappointing stay at a Hilton property that we’ve ever had. The staff at this property demonstrated a complete lack of regard for their guests’ concerns and we can easily say that we will never return to this property nor would we recommend that anyone else stay here.

(Before I get into things, please also let the record reflect that my husband and I are not typically the nitpick-everything kind of people who often write negative hotel reviews, but when a hotel property’s staff cannot employ even the most basic customer service standards we feel that people deserve to know.)

The short story is that we, along with our 8-year old daughter, waited over 2 HOURS for pool towels between 8-10 AM this past Saturday morning. This was after a total of 4 attempts in that 2-hour span to request them directly from the front desk, by 3 different people (including 1 person not in our party). 3 of those 4 attempts were made soaking wet, dripping as we walked from the pool to the front desk, only to be told by the front desk supervisor that she would call housekeeping again to bring some to us. In each instance, no timeframe given and worse, absolutely no apology or even acknowledgement of our inconvenience. A simple “I’m sorry” would have helped. When the towels finally came 2 hours after our first request, from the housekeeping manager, he did apologize but said he told his staff to bring them down several times. Frustrating yes, because having managed people ourselves we know staff don’t always do what is asked of them, but there is absolutely no excuse for making people wait 2 hours for anything as simple as towels in a hotel. The management really dropped the ball here.

Beyond the pool, we encountered several other issues that were disappointing for a Hilton property. A gummy fruit snack embedded in the seat of the chair in our room (presumably left by the previous guest, see photo), obvious duvet cover stains (detergent? also have a photo), carpet in our room that looked as though it hadn’t been vacuumed well prior to our arrival if at all (again, more pictures), and no explanation of any property amenities (breakfast, pool hours, etc.) upon check-in. All small things on their own, but when considered together really made us question the management’s concern for its property or guests.

To add insult to injury, when there’s a sign in your elevators telling guests to let you know if something isn’t right with your stay and you'll make it better, and such little effort to do so is actually shown, it just made things that much more frustrating for us.

All in all, this stay was about as far from one on a Hilton property as we could have expected. We recently became Diamond members and having had several other great recent experiences at other Hilton properties around the country, we know this latest one was probably the exception rather than the norm. However, we do not plan to return to this property and wanted other people to be aware of what we encountered there.

Last note: we submitted a formal complaint to Hilton Corporate on Sunday evening (of the day we checked out). It is now Tuesday afternoon and still have let to receive an email or phone call acknowledging our correspondence.

The hotel was dirty, smelled like an ash tray. Too many people and kids running around every where. Part of the ceiling fell in the hallway. Music cranking at 11pm loud enough to vibrate our floor. Dogs barking all the time, people yelling. No free breakfast. Long waits for everything. Room not clean!!!

This property is badly in need of a significant update. The staff was friendly and courteous, but from the lobby to the elevators to the hallways to the room, the condition is quite old and tired. We will not stay here again on our next visit to Pittsburgh.