I stayed here for a few nights on a work trip in March. Whilst this isn't exactly an exciting hotel, it's perfectly adequate for what it is. The rooms are pretty good, clean and a good size. Room service food was fine and delivered quickly. The public areas in the hotel are a bit dismal though. One recommendation I have is to try the seafood restaurant opposite the entrance - really excellent.

The Hilton Garden Inn Uptown is very conveniently located, just a few blocks from the main drag on Tryon Street, and close to the sports stadium/arena. The staff was pleasant and the rooms were clean. The breakfast was not great, not terrible -- slightly stale pastries and whatnot, but I've had worse. It's pretty inexpensive for the area, so it's a good value.

The only major complaint I have is the extremely scratchy toilet paper. If I ever stay here again, I'll bring my own roll. No joke.

Received a very welcoming greating upon entering the hotel. As a diamond member, I was upgraded to a suite on the 14th floor (there are 15 floors). It was a very nice corner suite with a jacuzzi tub in the bedroom. Based on my expereience and other FTer's experiences, if you are a diamond you are very likely to get upgraded to one of these rooms (I believe there are a total of 30 in the hotel). The hotel is about 3 blocks from the center of downtown.

When I arrived at my room, my key card did not work, but a quick call to the front desk fixed the problem. They were very apologetic.

I ordered room service and found the food to be good, but not great. It was delivered on time. There is also a nice bar in the lobby and it was fully staffed until 11 PM.

The next morning I utilzed my breakfast coupon in the Great American Grill. When I arrived down to breakfast, although there wasn't very many people there, the tables were filthy and still full of plates of uneaten food. The restaurant staff were very curteous, however for the small number of people there I would have thought they'd make the place look a little better than it did. The items on the buffet were not well presented. Covers were off of various itmes, the hot food (scrambled eggs, bacon) were very cold, and the make-your-own waffle station was a complete mess. I'm glad the breakfast was free.

The hotel has a small box-shaped pool. There is also a shuttle that runs until 10 PM to anywhere in the downtown area.

Parking is 8.00 a day in the attached ramp. When you park, you enter the hotel either from floor 4 or 5. I would avoid rooms on these floors if you want a peaceful nights sleep. The uptown Hampton Inn is connected to this ramp as well. For those who stay at the Hampton, you can order room service through the HGI restaurant.

Overall, this is one of the nicer HGIs I have stayed in. Service was wonderful, although the quality of food could improve. However, walk a few blocks and you are in an area with nice restaurants. You can also have the shuttle driver take you to a place of your choice. Again, due to the large number of suites at this hotel, if you are a gold or diamond member I would highly suspect you get an upgrade.

Short walk to convention center. Hotel shuttle available to convention center and local restaurants. Rooms and public areas nicely decorated and in good condition.Rooms have coffee makers, refrigerator. Interactions with front desk staff and shuttle drivers were positive. My only complaint is I found the pillows uncomfortable.