Hampton Inn & Suites Abilene I-20

Random Smoking Fee!! Crooks!! We were in town for a college soccer camp for my son. I thought my wife had reserved the newer Hampton in Abilene, but it was fine since it was less expensive and we used some points. The area was kinda gross as there were motels surrounding it. We had stayed here so many years ago and this property was gross so I was bracing myself. You could tell it was in the process of a remodel so that was nice. We arrived to check in early and the lady put her keys and phone down in slight frustration because I think she was trying to take a smoke break…remember that. Anyways, I get checked in and they had to give me a different room because the one I picked on the app wasn’t ready. It was fine. Once we got to the elevators, the hotel started smelling funny. Idk..maybe dirty? Not too sure. But whatever. It is what it is. Room was fine. Also smelled funny. Maybe fresh-ish paint? Idk, but anyways we get settled in and leave to watch our kid play. The lady at the desk was on a smoke break. We didn’t need anything, but no one was there. Come back later that evening and the new person holding greets us as we’re walking in..she was outside smoking. Saturday we stay in the majority of the day and sleep as we were drained from the prior day’s events. Smoke break again for the lady at the desk. Super nice lady though, I will say. I had to take a call before we got in to our vehicle so we did a lap around the hotel and saw one of the cleaning ladies out there…also taking a smoke break. Nice lady as she greeted us once in the hotel. Anyways, Sunday comes and time to check out. The girl at the front desk (who was the only desk person I saw not ever take a smoke break) needed help to run the correct card. She was super nice and said as soon as her manager came in she’d get it fixed for us and give us a call. We see the charge come through our bank so looks like they figured it out. Gives us a call and says they took care of it. About an hour or so later we get another random charge of $160+ dollars from the Hampton Inn. We call them and they claim that we smoked in our room so we are being charged $150 (plus tax) for a smoking fee!! We do not smoke and if we did would NEVER smoke inside a hotel room. What is this? 1986? I can only imagine a staff that’s full of smokers (not that there’s anything wrong with that) saying someone smoked in their room. Perhaps they just finished a smoke break or talking to someone that just finished a smoke break so maybe they smelled fresh smoke?! We called and they refused to reverse the charge. Insane. I’ve been staying exclusively at Hilton properties for work or person travel for over 20 years and have NEVER had this happen to us. Even at times when I have been to places that have heavy smokers outside or inside (maybe a cigar bar or something) where I come back smelling like I smoke regularly and nothing, no extra random smoking charge. I used to be a diamond member and to see that I would get this treatment in Abilene, TX where based on the specific area this hotel was I may need to go get a tetanus shot, the nerve of them to randomly charge us a smoking fee. By default I had to give them one star, and besides the very end where they refused to reverse the charge after saying “it just smells like you smoked” with no concrete proof, they earned the 1 star because everyone was nice..they can’t help that they’re probably forced to charge this a few times a weekend just to be able to continue their renovations. Be warned. Take the extra 8-12 minutes and stay somewhere else..try a Marriott perhaps, but avoid this property like the plague that it is!

Everything Perfect - Except Matteress Everything was great except…. worn-out mattress and ill fitting linens. Review: Hotel was clean, safe, convenient, competitive, very popular, and friendly, but…. It was hard to sleep on a broken-down mattress after long day on the road.

Odd Whirlpool Tub I would have given this hotel more stars except for the weird whirlpool tub in out room. It was also a shower but it was so high that my husband and I had a terrible time getting in and out of it plus it was slippery with a grab bar that couldn't be grabbed getting into it. The room itself was nice as were the pillows and bed with a good walking area outside for our dog

Very good experience! Front desk was great and friendly. Breakfast was better than most. Room was -again- better than most. There was renovation but the property made a good effort to conceal and no noise. Really close to ACU and HSU. We would definitely stay here again.

Look elsewhere! Upon check in we were told restaurant across the street would give us a discount. When I mentioned a discount, we were given attitude the entire time we were at the restaurant and was given no discount. I told the front desk and they said "yeah, the staff is like that". Why on earth would you set your guests up like that?? Upon entering the room 423, (a "suite") the carpet was filthy! Housekeeping left vacuum in hallway so I used it to clean the floor, then I went back downstairs and told the front desk about it...they didn't care. Room was a complete disaster, curtains missing, blind was broken and barely hanging on. Bathroom was a hack job by what was supposed to be upgrades. Wetbar was filthy. There wasn't another room in Abilene because of Little League baseball in town or trust me, I'd have left! Hampton used to send me an email survey after every stay, I definitely know why I didn't get one for Abilene. They also used to guarantee you'd be happy with your room. Those days are long gone, Hampton just doesn't care anymore. I will no longer be using Hampton. Prepare to pay a couple hundred dollars for a disgusting room in Abilene.