Hilton Garden Inn Albany Medical Center

First and last stay On site restaurants were not good. Almost empty when we sat down at bar and grill. Waited 15 minutes for someone to take drink order. Was indicative of things to come. Even the beer on tap was bad. Sent it back. Salmon was burned on bottom. Breakfast buffet was not edible. Actually threw in trash can. Paid for breakfast with room but was still charged. Wait staff seemed to be over it. Never staying here again.

Pleasant respite Great location when a loved one is at Albany Medical Center. You can park your car and not have to move it at all during your stay. Most of the front desk staff are truly excellent, pleasant to speak with and very helpful. The corner suite is quite comfortable, but there are a couple of things that could be updated to make it even better. One is that there is no full length mirror. The only mirror is in the bathroom. Not a reason to leave, but a strange “missing”. Also, a second half bath would be a great idea for the suites. If you are hosting a meeting in the living/dining area, you probably would prefer not to have guests go into the bedroom area to use the restroom. The breakfast staff is also very pleasant and the choices and quality of the food is good (one exception … those squishy little potatoes … yuck). Would stay again if in the area.

Conveniently located to the Hospital If you need to be near the Albany Medical Center, look no further - the Hilton Garden Inn at Albany Medical Center is the place to stay. The hotel has an employee only bridge that connects the hotel to the hospital and the parking garage for the hospital. This employee only footbridge connects you to the first floor of the hospital. The hotel registration is located on the second floor. If you want to access the elevators, you would have to go through the parking garage. The door that is on New Scotland Drive doesn’t really have a good loading and unloading zone. The room was fine. Some of the bedding has a funky smell - probably from being old. The mattresses felt a little worn. There was a decent size mini-fridge that has a small area where you could use as a freezer - froze two small water bottles. The toiletries are mounted to the bathroom walls. So before you hop in the shower, make sure you have enough of what you need. Even though I left housekeeping a note to replace the body wash, they never did. The fitness center is super basic and the machines do not have working entertainment monitors. The one elliptical machine did not work at all. So if you need to be entertained during your workout, bring your device. The pool is next to the fitness center. The water was on the chilly side - it didn’t seem like it was heated. A plus for the hotel is that there is a laundry room! One washer and one dryer were in the room. There was a dispenser for you to purchase detergent and dryer sheets. The machines all use quarters. You can ask the hotel to exchange quarters for you. The parking lot is a little on the small side. If the hotel is booked and you return later in the evening, it may be tough to find parking. I did want to give a shout out to Abby - she was friendly and helpful. Overall, the hotel is a little dated and needs to be updated, but it is very convenient if you need access to the hospital.

Never again Pros: quiet room, restaurants in building Cons: Keurig in room but only decaf and tea were given. Toiletries-2 conditioners and a lotion were given-no hand soap or shampoo. Prepare to pay for parking-very tiny free lot and it’s for the hotel and Recovery(restaurant)-it was full when we were there and were forced to pay for a parking garage next door and they will not validate it. Pool was filled with hair and very dirty looking.

Good location, not great parking Thought I'd try this location after having been at the other HGI on the other side of the city. If you need to be close to Albany Medical Center, Albany Law School or the College of Pharmacy, this is by far your best bet and cheaper than staying all the way downtown. This is a slightly newer incarnation of HGI, but nothing out of the ordinary. Check-in was fast and friendly. The room was spacious and the hotel was relatively quiet throughout. My only ding: parking. When I returned to the hotel about 10:30 after a dinner, there were no spots. After inquiring at the desk, I was told parking is first-come, first-served--a first for me. The other options: park on the street or the adjoining garage for $7. I wound up on the street, a two-minute walk from the lobby. However, parking should not depend on when you choose to turn in for the night. If there are no more spots in the hotel lot, it should validate for the garage.