Hampton by Hilton Hotels in Mount Prospect

Sometimes the actions of one person can tip the scales between an Overall Good Experience, and a Bad One. In this case, the actions of the Property Manager (I believe her name is Nicoleta) made my stay quite enjoyable instead of frustrating. I chose this property for a 2-nite stay because I was attending a concert nearby in Des Plaines, and I thought I was getting a great rate on-line, even more so as a Hilton Honors Member and when I paid in advance. However, when I checked in, I discovered that the rate wasn’t as great as I had thought, because there is an $8.50 per nite Parking Fee for the Basement Garage. In a Downtown City Location, I would think to check for Parking availability and options. But this is a Suburban Hotel and (as it turns out) in the middle of an Outdoor Shopping Mall surrounded by thousands of empty parking spaces at nite. I never gave it a 2nd thought, having never in my life paid for Hotel/Motel Parking in a suburban or rural location. Though I tried to find an alternative, there were no realistic options other than the garage. One block away is a multi-deck Parking Garage and adjacent Outside Lot for the Randhurst Mall, mostly for the AMC Theater. However, the signs say “No Overnight Parking” there, and on the Mall Avenue Parking Spaces around the hotel. There are no Towing Signs, but one likely would incur a more expensive Parking Ticket if you risk it, because Mount Prospect prohibits Overnight Parking from 2am-6am. Though the Mall is technically open 24/7, I imagine that Mall Security (and I did see an SUV Cruiser around 3am) would alert the Local Police to all vehicles parked during these hours. Some of the other nearby outdoor lots (like the Jewel/Osco) have the Towing Signs, so it’s not worth the risk. I think what upset me most is that this Parking Fee is basically “hidden” on the Website. On Trip Advisor, it is only listed that Parking is an Amenity, nothing about the Fee. Going in to the Hotel’s Website off the Internet, one has to scroll all the way to the bottom of a long page AND click on the Parking Icon to see that Self-Parking is an $8.50 Fee per day. Similarly, on the Hilton App, Parking is listed as an Amenity, and one has to click on the Parking line to get a Drop Down Menu to see that there is an $8.50 per night fee. Who would think to do that at a Suburban Hotel? I feel like I was a victim of a “Bait and Switch,” with a great price being dangled, only to find out it wasn’t as great as I thought. I hate the feeling of being manipulated. Fortunately, when I was ready to check out, the Property Manager (Nicoleta, I believe) was at the Front Desk. She was very pleasant and asked me about my stay. I told her there was Bad and Good, and went over how I felt about the parking situation. Without much hesitation, she agreed to waive the Parking Fee for my two nites there. I can not express how good I immediately felt about my stay…, I mean this changed Overall Bad to Overall G