I Stay In A Hilton Hotel - It's Not What I Expected! 

I'm a cleaner and when I was being trained, I was told to always polish the taps to make them very shiny even if I didn't have time to do the rest properly because that's what people notice!

One of the worst architectural decisions was to design the wettest, warmest room into a place where there are no windows and an insufficient extractor fan. Bane of my life in multiple hotel and rental accommodations. The wall stains look like damp/steam stains more than anything as a result. On a different note, the more I see your videos, the more I realise that places like Premier Inn have upped the affordable hotel game considerably, and many other traditional brands are now left behind, running their business on their old reputation only.

Thing is, mistakes and messes happen in life but the real test is how a hotel deals with a complaint. Tim should have complained and seen if they transferred him to another room, offered a discount (or, better, an upgrade) or just told him to like it or lump it.

Back in the 70's The Hilton Hotel, Park Lane, London was the business very luxurious. They had an amazing club in the hotel called the 007 which was of course James Bond theme and it was open to non residents as well as guests. Free entry, resident singers, friendly staff who wore posh uniforms and a great atmosphere. Only drawback was the price of drinks. Every drink cost 1 pound no matter what you ordered (in 1977 that was a lot of money). I remember starting rate for a room was 49 pounds a night. Way out of my league. Just enjoyed the summer of 1977 visiting the 007 club with my best friend every Saturday night. Great memories!

Sadly Hilton has not been a luxury brand for a long while now. Standards have become very inconsistent between properties. I stay around 100 nights per year in hotels and have expectations. Tim I would have walked out of that room immediately and requested a change. As a Hilton Honors member I’m shocked by the standard of the room you were allocated.

I've only stayed in a Hilton once. It was the Munich City Hotel and as it was a special occasion (25th wedding anniversary) I booked an executive room which gave access to the executive lounge which provided free breakfast, snacks and drinks (including some alcoholic drinks). The Hotel itself was also very impressive and what you would expect from a Hilton Hotel. However, like you I found the room itself very disappointing. Though spacious with a very comfortable bed, the decor was very worn and tired. There were stains on the matress, one of the chairs was broken (I actually cut my arm on it!) and the carpet was strangely wrinkled! The restaurant was also very disappointing with a very limited and expensive. Bearing in mind this was over 10 years ago a 'Hilton Burger' was €30 and a bottled beer was €8. The room was €250 per night which I thought was excessive. This did not however spoil my trip and we spent several days touring Munich, Salzburg and Nuremberg. I flew with BA from Heathrow but back then your ticket price included luggage and snacks which made it very good value.

The plastic lead in the shower is often a health and safety thing with hotels now as it prevents legionella bacteria hiding in the creases of the metal versions. ( I worked as a hotel manager for Hilton for a few years).

It’s weird, because as someone who travels a lot it’s come to my attention that even though the English are among the friendliest people with the most hospitality, the hotels often are really run down and in poor state, in a way that really sets the country apart from others.

I would definitely agree, that this hotel is need of a major renovation. I would have requested another room, especially, after seeing the stains ( and perhaps blood ) on the bed. It was probably quite nice, when it was new but . . That was then.

Hi Tim, Those shower heads have a few names; Halo or Orbit/orbital. Prices from c£40 to £130. Hope that helps!

I think a lot of the hotels and the service industry as a whole has gone down hill recently. Probably to do with a lack of investment

Hilton's do vary. The Berlin one is fantastic.

Can you do anymore worst rated hotels, they're the best? 😆

Ever since Tim visited the 7 star hotel, all 4 star hotels have been put on notice lol

Tim just walking in on a couple fooling around in the pool 😂

There's a phone in the elevator lobby in case you get locked out of your room (particularly at night!). The shelf in front of the mirror with the sockets in the bedroom is useful not only for the kettle but also for hair and makeup - nice to see hotels doing that, in previous years there was no where with a mirror near a plug to dry your hair.

Hilton have started to move into Hampton by Hilton range and most of the old Hilton are bring sold or refubing to Hampton by Hilton

I stay almost exclusively at Hilton’s. There’s many different types of Hilton, each with their own benefits and selling points. That is a bog standard hotel. If you want to be impressed, stay at a Curio property. The Gantry in Stratford is a nice one. Hamptons have free breakfast, Doubletree buy up older properties and are quite basic, but you get a warm cookie on arrival. Garden Inn Hilton’s have outdoor space, and usually free parking. I highly recommend staying at Hilton Silverstone Garden Inn, it’s surprisingly cheap if you don’t go on a race day, or before a race day. You can get track facing rooms which are awesome and there’s even a real F1 car in the lobby, and next door in the shop. I show the hotel briefly in one of my videos called “The Not Much Happens Audit”.

What you should buy to take with you on your travels is an uv torch. They show up many things when you turn off the light. And they not expensive to buy. 😀

Let’s just hope that couple in the pool at 12:38 are meant to be there together and not just on a naughty business trip lol

The stain count is off the scale on this one.

Oh my goodness, there`s no excuse for dirt and stains in a hotel room at any price, let alone a Hilton! Maybe it`s the same problem someone commented about in a past vlog; that housekeeping isn`t given enough time to do everything they need to do. Good job on all the polished surfaces though.

re. the shower hose, the silver plastic ones are actually 2-3x the price of the chrome ring ones so considered the luxury option (at least by the likes of Ideal Standard who do a lot of commercial stuff), and are much easier to clean so the ideal choice for a hotel obv's (even if they can't be bothered to paint the walls too often!)

Hi Tim, the reason for the cups upside down is so that dust will not get in your cup.

Love all of your reviews. It's like vacationing. Thank you.

The upstairs meeting room area is where football teams stay when they play AFC Bournemouth

Really enjoying all your vids Tim. You're a great presenter. Keep up the good work..

Another great review. As with all the other hotels it's a pity people can't leave their grubby hands of the walls or just treat the room as if it was their own. Hoteliers have so much to put up with.😊

Bournemouth Hilton is nice, just a shame about the town... empty shops, rising homelessness and litter. Coming from a local!

I'm going to London soon. I'm stay staying in a 5 star hotel. Very posh. Going for my 17th birthday January next year in January

I’ve stayed in plenty of Hiltons over the years and have to say this is not typical, even for a Hampton by Hilton. I’d never describe the brand as ‘posh’. Some of its portfolio of hotels are very nice but we still aren’t talking The Savoy here. The majority are perfectly good places to stay and I’ve never been to one as grubby as this one appears to be.

Hey Tim, do you reckon you could please review the newish Radisson RED Liverpool by Lime St? I think you’ll love how the old meets new and they’ve done a great job at turning the world’s oldest terminal railway station into a great new hotel and giving the building a new lease of life after it closed down as a former Royal Mail sorting office. From the staircase to the rooms and the exterior… it’s all very impressive. The gym is also quite cool and very red on -1 floor which you should check out. I didn’t manage to try their breakfast but the Stoke restaurant looked nice.

Hi Tim, We always check the condition of the bed mattress on cruise ships and hotels. If they are stained and marked we will demand to move rooms. It does,nt matter what we pay for a room , if the bed is not clean it tells you a lot about that hotel. Would you do this in your future vlogs. Thankyou for your content its really helpful. regards.

I would LOVE you to check out the Hilton in Cambridge! That would be fun

Even though the stains are worth for that price. The worst Hilton in the UK is Hilton Brighton. It should call it as 2* hotel, the price is also high in the sky.

I’ve been here for meetings and can confirm I did not notice those little touches!

Stayed at this hotel in January and it was lovely

There's Hiltons....and there's Hiltons! Some are pretty run of the mill and only have the name to carry them. I quite liked the quirkiness of this one, but again, it's all the small but significant details that let them down! A fair report from you, I thought, Tim!👍

It’s hit or miss with Hilton ! I’ve stayed in some bad but some lovely hotels

Hi Tim, I would have rejected the room. I have stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Villages and loved it. Our rooms were much cleaner and a lot bigger than this. All the best from Sydney Australia 🇦🇺

I think High end Hotels, don’t seem to spend much, or take care of their more Standard Rooms, they seem to focus on the Higher cost Rooms.

I stayed in Hilton last year for a cos play event in Birmingham and hotel was nice and beds were super comfortable and staff were amazing and friendly

Hi hope it's a dit deter than the last one and hope you all ok 👍

In America, or at least Southern California, Hilton Hotels are not considered upscale at all. I have no idea about the U.K., but that room does not scream posh. Thank you for another amazing video Tim! 🙂

The shower head and communal areas seemed to be the selling point. It's a halo shower head approx £60 toolstation. 😊

This reminds me of a Hilton I once stayed at in Sao Paolo, Brazil. It just felt dirty. I remember finding maggots in the shower and calling downstairs about it. The desk clerk didn’t even react. She just said, “Do you want another room?” Apparently she wasn’t shocked.

My and my friend stayed at the Waldorf in London and if you think this ones bad believe me you've seen nothing until you stay in that one!

Great review as always Tim, thanks. That hotel was no way a 4 star standard; middling at best but I guess the discounted rate of £109 not excessive. Would I stay there? Not if the walls were stained like that. Unforgivable really. I stayed in a Hilton (in Leicester) with work several years ago so I paid nothing but I was totally underwhelmed. I think the brand is over-rated and I have no desire whatsoever to stay in one any time soon.

I would love to see you try Hagrid’s Hut, North Shire, apparently it’s an exact replica of the one in the film!

I stayed in a seafront hotel called The Suncliff in Bournemouth, it was one of three all together owned by the same company. It was the worst hotel I have ever stayed in anywhere in the world, my room was disgusting and we had dinner and breakfast included, both meals were inedible and it wasn't cheap to stay there! A week later we had to go back so stayed in The Travelodge behind the International Center....for about a quarter of the price it was lovely, spotlessly clean and the breakfast was really good and quality ingredients...I stick to them and Premier Inn now in this country, never had a dirty one.

Will watch when I get in Tim, round trip to take Mum home today then back up here for a few more days 🙂

I don't think Hilton can be considered a premier brand anymore. I had the good fortune to stay in a Hilton hotel back in 2000 when my father took me on a safari holiday to Kenya. I thought even then, it was no better than the family run 2* beach side hotel we stayed at for the first week in Mombasa before heading inland to go 'On Safari', just a lot more expensive.

Enjoy your stay in Hilton hotel Tim fromAndrewmay in yarmouth

It was a very good blog today of you chilling out and staying in the Hilton hotel Bournemouth tim

Well nothing exceptional here but didn't think the price was bad😘😘😘😘

Another example of the rooms not living up to the exterior areas , which were impressive. Hilton now operate under a number of different 'brands', Bournemouth being Hampton by Hilton. Hampton was a chain which Hilton took over and may have expanded on. Double Tree is another of which I know. Having said that, it is still the Hilton brand and should live up to the name. Taking everything in to account, just about worth the money.

Love the design of that room

Great review Tim, I would stay here if they cleaned the walls and if the sky bar was actually open to hotel guests.

A lot of times that dirt on the wall is just oil residue that has seeped into the paint and discoloured it meaning it can’t be cleaned off so the hotel would have to paint over the marks

We’ve stayed in a junior suite here and it was faultless. Tv in the bathroom, Nespresso machine, lounge area, work desk and freestanding roll top bath. Bed was absolutely massive and luxurious. I’ve also attended colleagues leaving dos in the sky bar. Eye wateringly expensive and they charge you extra for table service! If you go to the bar yourself the drink was something like £1.60 cheaper. Needless to say we only had one round of drinks before moving on to Aruba.

I stayed in the Hilton in Cairo, during the Arab Spring. The hotel across the road was fire-bombed by a mob. The hotel staff kept us safe. Obviously a very different kind of hotel, with apartments. The restaurant had lots of delicious Egyptian food, too.

Great video Tim, you know my answer to this, this was a bad experience but you know which Hilton I’ve recommended you try, for the same price you’ll get a completely different but impressive experience. Hope you try deansgate when your next up that way, ask for a high floor room if you do.

Me and my fiance stayed at the Liverpool one. It was amazing! Beautiful room and it was so comfortable! We didn't pay extra for the breakfast, but if you order it as room service, it costs £5 and you can order what you like!

In my opinion, you should consider reviewing the SB Hotel Barcelona. It features a rooftop swimming pool and spa, as well as a pool, sauna, and steam room. I thought it might be a suitable hotel for your needs.

Great video! I have stayed there with the kids a few years ago and we liked it. It makes a difference when you have a nice pool, jacuzzi and steam room to enjoy. I did pay more than that though but we did have adjoining bedrooms.

Great video, many thanks Tim.

Hello Tim, great video,apart from the stains and water lookalike on the wall it is a nice place,that shower is very cool the way it works.for the night it's reasonable.

A Hilton employee should be tasked with routinely inspecting every room and ordering deep cleaning, repair, repainting or renovation for any room not up to standard. Whatever the source of the wall stains, they should be taken care of immediately, also the broken lamp. I have stayed in Hampton Inns here in the US and found them to be clean and comfortable.

Nice One Tim 👍.

I've stayed in a few Hilton's... They are alright. Nothing special. I've stayed in their lower end Hilton Garden Inn and have always been very happy. Staff and service always amazing.

Stayed somewhere really nice recently you should check it out! the hotel at Yorkshire wildlife park with a balcony looking out over the park and can hear the sea lions

I'm quite surprised the state of your room. I stayed so often at the various starred Hilton to have obtained the Diamond tier on their loyalty programme--to say I have never been in shoddy room as yours--always stellar service and clean, lovely rooms. You ought to have complained to have a room changed due to it being unacceptable.

Thanks Tim great video again yes I think needs some more attention in the rooms always enjoyable to watch look forward to the next Yvonne 😊

Thanks for sharing this with me I pass it a lot think of staying there..

We stayed at the Hampton by Hilton further up the hill, was a nice room at the back so a view of the sea in the distance. The hill was a killer but there are restaurants and the cinema at the bottom. Breakfast was all self service but a good variety. Convenient for town centre and travelling around. Only disadvantage was an unwanted souvenir of covid for hubby when we got home!

I work very close to that Hilton - lived in Bournemouth for 7 months now and although there are many tourists, I think that the businesses have become complacent. I’m used to working in London and having to keep 4 and 5 stars by AA or Forbes standards, whereas some of the 4 star hotels that brand themselves as 4 stars aren’t actually maintaining the credentials that would justify it, if there were to be an inspection by either of the awarding bodies. For instance, my reception team had to mention the guest by name at least 3 times during the check-in procedure for AA. My door staff had to use the guest name when greeting guests, those were just requirements for 4 star. I managed to work with my exec team and get one of our 4 star to 5 and the requirements were even more strict. Growing up, my mum was a general manager for Hilton and I spent many, MANY nights staying in the hotel when she had early business meetings, I remember the standards back then were exacting. It’s such a shame that now, these brands only seem to put that level of effort into their premium offerings.

Me and my husband got married back in 2014, we were young and didn’t have a lot of money. We just got married at the registry office in Yarmouth and then my mum paid for us to stay in a Hilton near Thorpe park for our honeymoon. We weren’t that impressed with it either, I was expecting it to be really luxurious but actually found it really outdated.

Those walls were horrendous. I would have had a fit complaining . The rest of the hotel seemed nice. Loved the pool.

Hi Tim,few years ago we had m&s do at Hilton double trees Cambridge and I can honestly say I had the worst ever meal out in my life!They gave us the cheapest cardboard burgers in a supermarket roll,salad still in a bag and this chocolate tart thing with no cream,so we had to ask for some and someone ran over to sainsburys local to get some!Honestly for £50 it was truly awful and disappointing. I never went back the next year😬

Hi Tim love all your videos, me and my friend stayed one night at the Hilton at Gatwick was amazing couldn't fault it actually try it.

hey tim you know the room you stayed in when you look out of the window i lived in the white building on the top floor and i saw everything that went on in that hotel. just a few pointers. a lot of Indians, and football teams stay there. the windows dont open in any of the rooms. i saw a housekeeper working there at 7pm at night. during the pandemic is was open all the time. they had to take all the cladding of the building and re do it. so its not what you think it is. but glad you had the experiance.

Would be nice to see you compare another Hilton Hotel, like maybe the one in Blackpool that has had an extension added too it. See if lit's better or worse.

I was just looking at one of those shower heads. Methven Aurajet RUA Water-Saving Energy-Saving Shower Head,.different shape but good to see one working!

Hi Tim ! Not as clean as I would have expected for a Hiltom. I bet the caravan you stayed in near mine was cleaner 😀. Thankyou for sharing with us. Love to you as always Tracey 💕 xxxx

I’ve noticed since Covid ; hotel rooms have got so dirty ; like they do a quick tidy and that’s it ;

Oh wow, I used to live literally about a five minute walk away from here and I remember it being built (alongside the leisure complex opposite it) and it being considered a really fancy place. It’s definitely showing its age now but it wasn’t built *that* long ago really. The plastic on the shower is probably to protect the metal from corrosion. Bournemouth’s water, especially in the town centre, is very hard to the point where it was barely drinkable without having to boil it first.

Many years ago, I stayed in the Hilton Bangkok & it was stunning!

The Hampton Hilton next to it is cheaper and when I've been there far cleaner!

Hilton doubletree in Perth Western Australia, is so fab, luxurious and exceptionally clean. This looks like a budget level of cleanliness 😣

Hi Tim looking forward to this Thank you. 👍

Great video as always. Hiltons are notoriously variable - particularly in the UK. There are both 5 and 4 star properties, and massive variances in design, service and quality within those categories. Hilton London Park Lane is the UK flagship.

I've stayed in one, with my dad in Liverpool it was really nice.

It looked so good when he first walked in... then he zoomed in😅😢

I really liked it, I thought it looked fresh and clean. Besides a few marks on the wall it looked great.

Stayed at the Hilton hotel in Leeds loved it very clean and tidy

Nice, Have you tried the Hilton DoubleTree in Milton Keynes ? I stop in a lot of hotels and that is THE BEST hotel for the money ever often less than £60 a night and very unique as its wrapped around the football stadium so you can watch football matches from floor 4.

Hope u had fun mate

I completely understand the frustration you have Tim. I stayed in one in Cambridge city centre not so long ago, and I too as a young lad would associate the name Hilton with luxury and the likes of afternoon teas etc. Yet the one in Cambridge does have the chauffeur parking service which was a very nice touch, shame my little blue Volkswagen didn’t fit in with the likes of the other cars around it.

I've stayed in Hiltons around the world, and this one definitely falls short. I would like to see a review of the Doubletree Brighton Metropole.

Double tree by Hilton Milton Keynes suite is one that has 3 tvs in the room including one in the bathroom, very reasonably priced usually at around 130 a night including breakfast. It's built into the MK Don's Stadium though so it's a long walk to your room sometimes!