Hilton Garden Inn Riga Old Town

I’m not the type to ever leave poor reviews, but I had a very negative experience here that I felt needed to be shared.

We had very loud alarms going off in the middle of the night (around 12:30-1am) only in our room, waking us up from sleep and stressing us out. When we went downstairs to ask what was going on, we were told it was a CO2 alarm, that maybe the levels went up in our room, or that maybe it was having technical issues. The night shift receptionist came up to the room to check it out, he said it was all in order, and to just open a window. We did, and not 10 minutes later when we try to sleep again, the alarm went off a second time. We were only told to not worry about it and that a technician would come in the morning (by the time we’d checked out), and no other solution was provided. We consequently had terrible sleep, concerned to begin with over what could’ve been the cause, if it really was related to CO2 levels rising in the room to dangerous enough levels, or only a technical issue. When I reported this to a different receptionist the following morning, she didn’t seem to care, only replying with a basic “sorry” and told us a note was left that a technician should see it.

I understand that sometimes things are out of a person’s control, but you’d expect more assistance from the hotel staff, and to be more accommodating in any situation, especially in an unknown situation like this.

One pays to stay at an establishment like this expecting proper rest and great hospitality, and we got none of that. No sort of compensation was offered for our ruined sleep and worry, leaving us very disappointed.

While the hotel has a very centric location and the rooms were decent, I expected a lot more from the Hilton name and how they treat their guests.

I'm writing this review mainly due to the interaction I had with Inese, the General Manager of Hilton Old Town in Riga, a tall, blonde, white woman. She is the only reason I'm giving a 1-star review. On Friday, May 24th, 2024, around 1600, I finished a long day of work and returned to the Hilton, where I have been living for the past 6 days. She walks up to my car even before I could step out and begins to question whether or not I could park there in the parking lot. She continued to question me repeatedly about whether or not I had a reservation at the Hilton, almost implying that I was lying and she couldn't believe I was staying there. Yes, I understand that people may park there without permission who aren't guests. But after I continued replying to Inese, the GM, she said, "Well, I'm going to go check," implying she was going to check the plates on my car. She walked into her office that is connected to the side of the Hilton, and I walked off to talk to the receptionist, who informed me that she was the GM and didn't understand why she would do anything like that. I walked back outside to check on my car and to ask Inese if I was good. She replied, "Yes," and I walked away to my room. Granted, this has by far been the worst interaction I've had with anyone at the Hilton Old Town in Riga. I've stayed at the Hilton on two separate occasions, always for over a week, and was planning to stay again in the coming month. But due to my interaction with Inese, the GM, I will NOT be rebooking any future reservations, and I will not be recommending the Hilton to any of my family, friends, or coworkers. I never want to make a situation about race/ethnicity because the staff there is amazing, the hotel is beautiful, and the bartenders make amazing whiskey sours. But I feel like there was a little bias from Inese, the GM, when she walked up to me and started questioning. Yes, I am a large black man, and the way Inese, the GM, interacted with a guest and/or future guest was extremely unprofessional. She is a reflection of the company.