Hilton Garden Inn Hattiesburg

The cleanness

No manager to fix any problems. App down, phone lines down, global outage is what they said but they still canceled my reservation but charged me for a night because we showed up next day. But when they don't answer the phones and app is down how do you tell them you are still coming. So we were homeless our whole trip. No one could help at all. Terrible

This stay at the Hilton Garden Inn Hattiesburg was one of the most disappointing hotel experiences I've had.

I checked in on Wednesday evening for a two-night stay. The moment I opened the door to my room, I was hit with a strong, unpleasant odor. The bathroom had visible mold along the shower caulking, there was no bar soap anywhere in the bathroom (only body wash in the shower), and the coffee station contained only decaf coffee with no regular coffee available.

Because the room was clearly not up to Hilton standards, I immediately returned to the front desk and asked if another room was available. I was told the hotel was completely booked and there was nothing they could do. I then asked if I could stay at another Hilton property instead of being charged for that night. Rather than offering to help find another Hilton, calling nearby properties, or trying to come up with any solution, the front desk agent told me, "I've canceled your room."

Just like that, I was left without a room after a long day of travel.

After calling around, I discovered every Hilton and Marriott within roughly a 40-mile radius was fully booked. I had no choice but to return and ask for my original room back.

What stood out most during this stay wasn't just the condition of the room. It was the complete lack of empathy and customer service. Laterion, the front desk employee who responded to my text messages, showed absolutely no concern for the situation. At no point did he apologize, acknowledge the inconvenience, or make any effort to help. It genuinely felt like he could not have cared less about the problems I was experiencing. Hospitality is about making guests feel heard and cared for, especially when things go wrong, and I experienced none of that.

After returning to my room, I texted requesting a bar of soap, regular coffee pods, and asked if someone could spray or clean the mold in the shower. I was told someone would bring the items to my room. Hours later, after following up because nothing had arrived, I was told housekeeping had gone home and that I could come to the front desk to get the items myself.

Mistakes happen. Rooms get missed. Hotels sell out. What is much harder to excuse is the complete absence of ownership, empathy, and follow-through. No one attempted to make the situation right, no one followed through on what was promised, and I was even left temporarily without a room because my reservation was canceled instead of someone trying to help.

This experience fell far below what I've come to expect from Hilton Garden Inn. The room cleanliness was unacceptable, but the customer service was even worse. I hope management addresses both the maintenance issues and the front desk training because no guest should leave feeling as dismissed and unsupported as I did.

My bed was comfortable.

The location was good and the inside pool and the fact that they had a hot tub.

It was close to the place I needed to be