Homewood Suites by Hilton Hotels in Lexington

Four nights in a newly renovated room left us deciding to look elsewhere the next time we are in Lexington. We have stayed at this hotel many times in the past; this time we got a remodeled room, and it was pretty grim. Hits: + It is nice to not have carpeting in the ”kitchen/sitting area” of our suite. + Very friendly staff + Good lighting in the bathroom. + Nice to have a walk-in shower Misses: - The upper cabinets in the kitchenette are so low and deep that it is hard to use the sink. (We didn't try cooking, but the stove would have the same issue.) - No drawer storage in the kitchenette. - The light under the microwave didn't work (apparently, no bulb was installed). - Except for the light over the table, the sitting area has NO lighting leaving the space very dark. - No towel bar for a hand towel at the sink (we ended up hanging the towel over a hanger in the closet). - No towel bars or hooks in the bathroom (again, we had to hang our towels in the closet). - Many items are poorly installed (TVs and pictures off center, faucet set back from the sink so far that it is awkward to wash your hands (both kitchen and bath). - If you don't like a lot of gray, you might find it gloomy overall. - The breakfast is not good. No fault of the staff, who seem to be doing the best they can with the products they have to work with, but Homewood seems to be racing to the bottom on food quality.

This is an aging, tired property that's in need of serious maintenance upgrade and major renovation. Its location is the only plus for staying here as it is within walking distance to nearby major big box stores, restaurants, and a shopping mall. But even if this is concern for a traveler, just next door, there is another newer hotel of another major hotel chain. Unfortunately, physical condition of the building isn't the only problem. Upon checking in, I had to call the front desk before even unpacking to request a bunch of missing items that one would find neatly laid out at any other hotel. Housekeeping visits the rooms on every four days. On my second day, as I was leaving the hotel I asked the front desk to have new towels delivered to my room. Upon my return I did find the fresh towels alright but I also found out that all of my snacks that I left on the kitchen table were gone. An unopened box of popcorn, an unopened bag of nuts and a few more items. No, they could not be confused as trash because they were in their original packaging neatly arranged on the table. Front desk's reply to my inquiry was ”I don't know why they would do that”. The next morning another front desk staff member's answer was even more interesting: ”I will check the safe in the back to see if they locked your snacks for safe keeping”. Yet again unfortunately, on another day, after I accidentally spilled coffee on my bed sheet and asked for housekeeping, the response I got at the front desk was ”well, let me see if they can get to your room today, no guarantees though”. This is more of an answer that one would get from a prison warden to fix a leaky faucet in one's cell; not an answer that one should get from a hotel staff whose major business is in the hospitality industry. Breakfast is mediocre at best. If you are vegetarian, then you are stuck with cereal and yogurt essentially. Everyday, their egg-based breakfast items had ham. This is indeed puzzling to me. Why doesn't the hotel management realize that a typical meat eating guest can still get a satisfying breakfast with, say, a cheese omelette accompanied by bacon strips, sausages and so on. But when even the only omelette has added ham in it, there isn't much a vegetarian can do there. So, all in all, my recommendation is to look at the map where this hotel is. You will see the other hotel on the same street just next door to this one. Go reserve a room there. You will thank me for it :)