Hampton Inn Bypass Road Williamsburg - A Completely Average Stay
Written: Jul 03 '09 (Updated Jul 03 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: nice bed, good location
Cons: room aspects, cleaning
The Bottom Line: The Bottom Line is this hotel left me feeling like 3 stars and a recommendation was being generous.
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| KMINER's Full Review: Hampton Inn Bypass |
We decided this year to take an in state family vacation, just the 5 of us. We wanted to do a few different things including a trip to historic Jamestown, Virginia Beach area, as well as Busch Gardens Williamsburg. After looking at various "Hilton Family" options, we chose the Hampton Inn on Bypass Road in Williamsburg. There were other Hampton Inn's nearby, as well as a Homewood Suites across the street, but this particular one had the best rates.
We decided to book on-line and pay in advance for the best rate. We booked a King sized bed room with pull out sofa. We have 3 children, but 1 can still sleep in a portable crib, so we felt this could be enough room. We knew we'd be "out" a lot and so we didn't feel we needed as much space as a suite or larger hotel could possibly give us.
The directions and location was easy to find. The Hampton Inn Bypass Road was the first hotel when you got off the exit and to Bypass Road - which turns out to be a great road to be situated on. It allows you to get right on and off the major highways, as well as on the actual "Bypass" going around the city - so you could take a more leisurely trip through the historic area or quickly go all around it.
Check in was really easy, especially since we reserved in advance. We were located on the third floor, with a room on the end. We appreciated the location because it is always hard to keep 3 young children quiet. There were stairs to take (it ended up the stairwell was right next to our room) or 2 elevators located in the center.
Our room opened to a small kitchen area, complete with sink, mini fridge and mini microwave. This opened to a pull out couch, desk, computer chair, 3 drawer dresser and opposite all of that a King sized bed. Off the bed area (so in a way the whole thing makes a little bit of a "U" shape) is the closest (with mirrored doors), sink area and then bathroom. The bathroom had a toilet, tub with shower, and towel holder area above the toilet. We were able to fit 5 people in there, but over the course of our 5 day stay we had some concerns. I'd say overall we had an average stay. It certainly wasn't anything exceptional, and as mentioned there were some problems we encountered.
Pros
The King bed and pillows were really really comfortable. The kids enjoyed the pull out couch, though when pulled out at nighttime there was little space to get in between it and the desk table, so we often had to relocate the desk table some. There was enough room to put the portable crib. The shower was really nice and had plenty of room.
Breakfast is included in the price, and it's always nice to have a meal we didn't have to go out for. (or pay more for) It was set up as a buffet, and the ladies were really nice that worked there and tried to keep it well cleaned and stocked.
There was a large flat screen TV and all the channels were noted for us on a card, so we could flip right to the weather ... or cartoons. There also was wireless Internet and our laptop worked well there.
As mentioned, the location really was ideal. It was easy to get into and leave from, and easy to get around the city. The price was the cheapest of all of the Hilton ones we looked at.
Cons
There was no parking except in the front, which meant a walk with small children. There really was no sides or back to the hotel, and the elevators and stairs were off the main entrance. The entire building was more tall than it was narrow. When we came back late some nights it was hard to find a spot.
The kitchen area didn't have any real towels, just paper towels. Since we need to wash sippy cups and the like, it would have been nice to have a kitchen towel and/or sponge. I didn't expect them to, but some places have had some of these things. We didn't have a need to use the microwave. The mini fridge never really seemed to get cold, no matter what we did, so we often found ourselves needing to get ice. The problem with that is for our entire stay our floor's ice maker was broken, so we had to walk down to the 2nd floor each time we wanted ice.
The closet was sort of narrow and only had a few hangers. Every time I opened and shut the closet doors my shirts would catch and the hangers were always in the way.
Also since the rooms are cooled with a room AC unit there was a thermostat there to keep the room at the needed temperature. The unit was placed under one of the windows, and was very loud whenever it came on. It did cool the room nicely, but it was hard to hear each other each time it came on. It was also impossible to find an appropriate level for the TV, since once it turned on you had to change the volume and make the TV pretty loud, then quickly turn the volume down when the AC cut off. It also made it difficult for me to sleep, as I kept waking up each time the unit turned on, though my family had no trouble sleeping. (they never do)
The TV was on top of the dresser on a flat TV stand. It was in an odd place so you had to turn it to face where you were sitting - which meant people on the couch could watch, but people on the bed could not, and vice versa. Also, we had to type in a password every day to get the Internet to work (they provided it on our room key cover) - we've never had to use a password at any place we've stayed before?
The cleaning staff had some problems. I don't think they cleaned well. They didn't seem very organized. I don't think I've ever said that about a hotel before. On the second day we were there we got no less than 4 knocks on the door in as many hours, all asking us if our trash was taken (it was), our towels were replaced (they were not), and 2 times the "head" people coming to check if our room was even cleaned (the beds were made but the floors weren't vacuumed, etc). We had to call down once late at night because they left towels but no washcloths. What concerned me almost as much as the lack of organization (it looked like one person took our towels and then a few hours later a completely different person brought us clean replacements most days!) was their disregard for it being our room. They would knock on the door and before I could even get up from where I was sitting and go to the door they had it open and were in my room. After the second time this happened in one day (and I explained to them that my youngest daughter was napping) we simply put the Do Not Disturb sign on our door handle every time we were in the room! I was very concerned about staff opening the door and coming in while people were possibly showering, dressing, and what not. I thought it was very unprofessional to not wait at the closed door until I was given the time to answer.
On the second day we were there one of the elevators broke. It was not fixed for the remainder of our stay, just the same Out of Order notice posted on it. The lines for the elevator were often long, and with small children they often were not very patient. We often decided to lug them up and down 3 flights of stairs instead.
Breakfast was always crowded, and the whole center of the place had this really high bench like eating area - which was not kid friendly. It was harder to find a table to fit 5. Also, some of the food always seemed to be out - the ladies went and restocked it quickly, but you often had to go back to get it for your plate. They ran out of what I really wanted 2 of the 4 mornings we ate there. (cinnamon buns) There wasn't anyone to clean the tables, etc, so we often felt rushed, though fed. Since pretty much the same breakfast was provided every day it was pretty easy to get the kids to tell us what they wanted and to eat quickly.
Overall
Overall we felt we got a good price on our hotel. The hotel itself was new and in good condition, though some things didn't work well nothing looked old. We've stayed in Hampton Inns often though, and this was probably my least favorite stay. It wasn't as nice or relaxing as many of the other places we've stayed in though, and I found myself irritated a lot. Overally I'd say the Hampton Inn Bypass Road Williamsburg was an average place to stay.
Recommended:
Yes
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