Hilton Düsseldorf Hotel

Edit: I originally posted a 3-star rating without a review, but the property reached out and asked for details—so here goes.

Let’s start with the parking, which felt like a comedy of errors… minus the laughs. The hotel is situated in the middle of what I can only describe as a corporate nowhere—think “offices and asphalt” with no nearby attractions, restaurants, or even viable street parking. So if you’re coming by car (as most sane people would), you’re basically forced to use the hotel’s underground garage. And for that honor, you’ll be charged 25€ per day. Yes, twenty-five euros. Per day. For a garage that isn’t exactly bursting at the seams with demand.

You’d think for that price, the experience would be seamless. You’d be wrong.

Exiting the garage turned into a recurring battle of wills between me, a malfunctioning gate, and a complete lack of staff response. The first time we tried to leave, our prepaid parking ticket was rejected. Reversing back down the narrow ramp wasn’t an option, and the call button summoned… absolutely no one. After a long, mildly humiliating walk to the lobby, I was told—incorrectly—that I hadn’t paid for parking. (My reservation and the stamped ticket said otherwise.) The receptionist “fixed” it, but surprise: the same issue happened again the next day. Turns out, the gate itself was faulty. So maybe don’t gaslight your guests when the tech is clearly broken?

Thankfully, we were able to use the small surface lot where our cursed ticket somehow worked. Go figure.

Moving on, the room was fine—but noticeably missing a basic amenity: a coffee machine. At any other Hilton, this would be a given. Instead, we were offered instant coffee sachets… all decaf. It’s like the hotel assumed our only plans involved sleep and disappointment.

The gym? Let’s just say I now understand why there are no photos of it online. It’s basically two utility closets: one with some questionable cardio equipment (half of which didn’t work), and another with a few dumbbells and a lonely bench.

And then there’s the mystery auth charge. Trying to get a straight answer on the credit card authorization amount was like playing a game of financial Clue. Even after checking out—and settling the bill in full—the hold lingered on my account for two weeks, just long enough to be a nagging inconvenience while in transit and trying to manage credit limits.

To sum it up: the stay wasn’t awful, but for a Hilton-branded property, there were enough issues to knock it firmly into the “meh” category. If management truly wants to understand the 3-star rating, they should start by spending a few hours trying to escape their own garage.