Providence Biltmore, Curio Collection by Hilton

My girlfriends and I stayed at the Graduate Providence for a girls’ weekend and had two different rooms, a King Suite and a Jr. Suite with 2 Kings. After reading some of the reviews before our trip, I was honestly pretty hesitant to book here, but overall, I was pleasantly surprised. The lobby is beautiful, and the location was great for everything we wanted to do. Both of our rooms were incredibly spacious, and the beds and pillows were SO comfortable. We had plenty of room to spread out, which is always a plus when you have four women getting ready. The bathrooms could definitely use some updating. They are very small and still have bathtub and shower combos. Ours also had the shower head coming directly out of the wall, which was a little odd, but everything worked fine. Our biggest issue with the rooms was the temperature. There are thermostats, but you apparently have no actual control over the temperature. We were freezing in both rooms the entire weekend. I had ours set to 72 and heat, and the other room was set to 80 and heat. Neither room ever got warmer than 63 degrees. The temperature never changed, and it felt like the AC was constantly blasting even though the thermostats were set to heat. Also, if there is an event happening at the park, you are going to hear it. It was REALLY loud in our rooms, and there was not much we could do about it. If you are a light sleeper or planning to go to bed early, that is definitely something to keep in mind. The staff was probably the most disappointing part of our stay. They were not rude, but they seemed very disengaged. We requested rooms on the same floor well in advance. I completely understand that requests cannot be guaranteed, but I actually changed my room type based on the front desk staff’s recommendation and still paid the higher rate for my original room type because I was told that would give us a better chance of being on the same floor. On the day of check in, we were told our rooms were going to be on the same floor, but because they were accommodating that request, one of the rooms would not be ready right away. We were fine with waiting. That room ended up not being ready until after check in time anyway, and when we finally received it, the rooms were not even on the same floor (3 floors apart). It was frustrating after all of the conversations and accommodations we had made beforehand. I am also a Diamond member, and when I checked in, I was not given my waters or food vouchers. I did not even realize I was supposed to receive them until my friend checked in and was given hers, so I had to go back downstairs and ask for mine. On the positive side, I actually really liked the $15 daily food and beverage credit. It is given as a coupon card that can be used at the coffee shop, but they had plenty of options, and everything we tried was good. Between the coffee and food, not one of the four of us ever needed more than the $15 credit in a day, so it worked out perfectly for us. Parking was also MUCH easier than I expected based on some of the reviews. The parking garage was extremely close to the hotel and very easy to use. I had pictured it being much more inconvenient, and it really was not an issue at all. One other thing worth mentioning is the area immediately outside the hotel at night. It felt a little rougher after dark than we expected, so we were definitely more aware of our surroundings coming and going later in the evening. Overall, we had a great girls’ weekend and were much happier with the Graduate Providence than I expected to be after reading the reviews. There are definitely some things that could be improved, particularly the temperature control, bathrooms, and attentiveness of the staff. But the huge rooms, incredibly comfortable beds, beautiful lobby, convenient parking, and location outweighed those issues for us. I would stay here again, but I would go into it knowing what to expect. For us, it was a solid 3 star stay.

When I arrived, I was warmly greeted as a Hilton Diamond Member by Emma, who provided excellent customer service and represented the brand perfectly. Unfortunately, the rest of the stay completely fell apart. This historic hotel suffers from a poor lack of maintaining its beautiful historic elements, ruined by a cosmetic paint job and inexpensive bathroom fixtures. Unbeknownst to me the Hilton application allowed me to select a room that clearly should not have been available; it became extremely hot in the middle of the night, making it impossible to sleep. The manager, Mia, stated there were issues with my reservation and requested that I move rooms but stated that housekeeping noticed we had no luggage. I informed her that our luggage was in the closest, so she escorted my mother and I to the room because our keys had been deactivated. While we gathered our luggage one of the beds had no bedding and a trash can was actively collecting water as a result of the broken air conditioner. We then relocated to a lower floor and housekeeping was never provided, even though we were out of the hotel by 8:30 AM. Imagine being gone all day and returning to an unkept room. Of course when I informed the front-desk they offered towel services but after being out all day I did not want to be further inconvenienced. To make matters worse, the daily Diamond Benefit Vouchers they gave us for Poindexter Coffee were nearly useless, as numerous items on the menu were completely unavailable. While Emma was a bright spot, the butchered historic charm and the aesthetic social media posts truly tricked me into booking here.

BEWARE — the customer service and management at this hotel are extremely unprofessional. I had a three‑night reservation but needed to adjust my plans and move to another Hilton property for the third night. The manager refused to let me check out early or provide a receipt for the two nights I actually stayed, citing a strict 48‑hour cancellation policy. As a long‑time Hilton Diamond member, I’ve never had an issue checking out early when transferring to another Hilton location. The manager on duty told me she would look into whether an exception could be made and promised to call me Monday morning. She never followed up. I called again on Tuesday and was told a manager would call me back within 30 minutes — no call. I called a third time later that day and still was not allowed to speak with a manager. Not only was I charged for the extra night, but I was also charged an additional night of parking. On top of this, the room itself was disappointing: a dirty coffee cup left behind, a stained comforter, and an AC unit that made a loud squeaking noise. I didn’t even bother reporting those issues at the time. I travel frequently for work and have been a loyal Hilton Diamond member for years. This was by far the worst experience I’ve ever had with any Hilton property. Very disappointed.

I travel to Providence a few times per year and have been wanting to try this hotel. I am so glad that I finally stayed here so that I know never to book this hotel again. I have stayed at another Graduate Hotel in a different city and had a lovely stay and was so looking forward to trying this hotel. I appreciate historic hotels, but this was downright dated and in need of a renovation. First of all, the hotel's lobby and hallways are dark. There is an "old" smell the minute you walk in the hotel and especially in the hallways. While the room was very spacious with large windows, the lighting in the closet and bathroom was so minimal that you could hardly see. The shower had a chipped shelf, a loose faucet. The shelving was chipped, the hinges on the doors were rusty. There was a second sink that had a faucet so loose, it would spin around. The fitness center had no hand sanitizer and no wipes. The location of the hotel is on the other side of the park and Kennedy Square and it feels a bit unsafe. The "security guard" at the entrance of the hotel was on his phone every time we entered.

Let me start by saying I would definitely choose to stay at this hotel again. Everyone in the family loved it. If I could, I would give it a 4.5 rating. Here's why: if you read the other reviews, you'll see that the hotel did not have the renovation overhaul that most Hilton Graduate hotels undergo before they become Hilton Graduates. Instead, the decor to the hotel was changed. New furniture and wallpaper spruced the place up--making the look of the rooms fun and the lobby very chic. But the bathroom fixtures are from the Providence Biltmore. In our room, everything was in perfect working order. And I found that the bathroom fixtures still looked fine. It's just not a brand spanking new bathroom. The hotel was fun and the staff were GREAT. Super friendly and helpful. So 4.5 because it isn't as amazing facility-wise as other Graduate hotels. But also, not a 4 because it wasn't as expensive for us as other Graduate hotels. As a final note, I will add that this hotel has such a cool history. I really valued that as part of my stay.