February 10th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Bakersfield for 20 nights.
I was upgraded to a king room with 9′ ceilings. The desk had plenty of room for my electronics and books. The lamp had two electrical outlets, but the wall had an additional three outlets available. The desk chair was comfortable and easily adjustable. An ethernet jack allowed for wired internet; the wireless internet reset a couple of times an evening. A nice touch: they provided the ethernet cable in the desk.
The room sported a one-third-height refrigerator and a small microwave. They were set in a cabinet which provided ample counter space outside of the bathroom. The TV was a little short on channels, about 15 with HBO.
The bathroom was average size with reasonable counter space. The shower didn’t warm up as well as I would have liked. The water pressure was fine. There was a slight smell coming out of the sink tap when I ran water, making teeth brushing interesting.
The bed was comfortable, but the pillows were a little light. The alarm clock worked very well, and it had a cable which one could plug into any headphone jack on an iPod, laptop, whatever.
Air conditioning and heating was handled with a dual unit under the window and controlled by a thermostat on the wall. I didn’t believe the thermometer report, but the unit heated and cooled fine.
The exercise room was a little small, with one recombinant bike, one elliptical, and one treadmill. All of the equipment worked fine, but the treadmill reported that it could use some maintenance.
I didn’t get to use the restaurant or order room service. Laundry was expensive, but they followed my instructions precisely, even to the point of not pressing my jeans.
Access to the hotel requires a turn south from Rosedale Highway and then a right turn onto Marriott Drive. There is plenty of parking around the hotel.
I had some good staff and some average staff. One evening I went down to the hotel store for some bottled water and groceries. I’d received two bottled waters upon check-in, but I wanted more. They charged $1.50 for the water. I’d joked, asking if they could check me in and out so that I could get more bottled water. The front desk clerk saw that I was here for as long as I was, and gave me six bottles for free. 
HAL gets a corporate rate of $89/night, which is about the average for the Bakersfield area. This stay was long enough to keep my silver point status. If I have to come back to Bakersfield, I’ll get a report from that Holiday Inn Select downtown.
Other than the smell from the tap, the Hilton Garden Inn lives up to its consistency.
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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