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dtomlinjr22
Pennsville, New Jersey

A shining star with some tarnish lurking on the inside

4.0 of 5 bubblesReviewed 7 Jan 2025
We stayed at the Hampton Inn Elkton in early January 2025 for a sporting event hosted at the Carpenter Sports Center at the University of Delaware. This location is ideal for the University of Delaware's needs when the Newark, DE hotels are all booked or the nightly rate gets inflated due to a scheduled event at the University. It was approximately a 10-minute straight-run drive on Elkton Road right into the College Avenue area.

The Goods:
- Location, Location, Location. This hotel is smack dab right in the area of shopping and restaurants, which gives plenty of options during the hotel stay. There is a Dunkin Donuts and Waffle House within walking distance right outside of Hampton's Main Lobby
- The hotel reception staff were all very welcoming and friendly throughout our stay. I requested a potential late checkout and was happily offered an additional hour until Noon as the standard check-out time is 11:00 AM
- The Room with two very comfortable Queen beds was very clean and tidy upon our arrival, and it appears to have been recently renovated or at least very well maintained. The room window has our preferred dual roll-up blinds that allow for a range of full views, from muted light down to nearly blacked out, with the opaque screen panel rolled down. This was very helpful for catching a mid-day nap between the sporting events.
- If you are a Hilton Honors Member and utilize their mobile app on your device, this hotel supports not only the Digital Key via the App, but each room also has an in-room Bluetooth access point that allows remote control of the Room's TV via the Hilton Honors mobile app. Due to this, it appears that there is no option to connect a standalone HDMI streaming device (i.e. - Amazon FireStick), but the built-in TV application does allow for logging into some mainstream streaming services (Netflix, SiriusXM, etc.), but I could not find the specific one I was hoping to watch a show on during our stay.

The Improvement Opportunities:
- The Hilton Breakfast (6:00 AM to 10:00 AM) during our stay was woefully underwhelming. The breakfast area had the fresh Waffle machine and supplies, but the machine was not being used (not even plugged in), and the waffle batter dispenser was never filled. I assume they either did not have the needed mixture on hand or no longer offered the Waffles. Each day, the extent of the hot food offerings were scrambled eggs, hickory smoked bacon slices that were overcooked and extra crispy, and Yukon potatoes. They had other items like cereal, 2% & skim milk, juice (Apple, Cranberry, Orange, and Water) dispenser machine, oatmeal, bread, bagels, and yogurt.
- This Hampton Inn does have a very nice indoor heated pool on the "basement" level, which is on the 1st floor, whereas the ground entry level is on the 2nd floor. Unfortunately, the pool was out of service and closed throughout our stay. The handwritten sign on the door cited a chlorinator maintenance issue. This was a crestfallen situation as we were looking forward to a warm swim in January, but it was not going to be. : - (
- There is a guest laundry room on the aforementioned 1st-floor level, but this, too, was out of service throughout our stay. Multiple signs stating the same were affixed to the door, but there was no indication of the issues. It is unknown if it is a permanent closure or not.
- There is a two-passenger elevator bank, and during our stay, there was never an issue calling a car. We stayed on the 4th Floor and perhaps a car parks up there when they are idle as it was always a quick call from the lobby button to having the elevator doors open.

Tips to consider:

- There is a Vending Room and Ice Machine on each level's elevator lobby.
- Complimentary coffee, hot water, tea, and associated accouterments are available at all times in the lobby common dining/seating area.
- There are guest rooms on the 1st Floor basement level. If applicable, you can choose one away from the Elevator Lobby for a quiet stay. Take into consideration that the far half of the 1st Floor is the Fitness Center and Pool area.
- The Odd-Numbered Guest Rooms are at the back of the Hotel, near an adjacent Amtrak train line, where you can occasionally hear passenger trains passing by.
- The shower water pressure was a little light for our liking, but it was definitely sufficient to take a quality shower. We were just not getting that heavy pressure output like some hotels have.
- During check-in, the reception desk offered a basket of individually wrapped fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. Also, as a Hilton Honor member (Silver level), I was provided two complimentary ice-cold bottled waters.

Final Comments:

I recommend staying at the Hampton Inn Elkton for your travel needs, including those in the Newark, DE / University of Delaware area. The hotel appears to have been updated with aesthetic renovations, which makes for an inviting atmosphere. The hotel is close enough to many things to make it an accommodating place to stay, but it still feels "remote" enough that there is not a lot of commotion to detract from the relaxation of the stay. I feel that with the current renovations, the hotel had recently and pending some of the amenities, especially the indoor heated pool, are available, I would concur that this likely has the potential to be an enduring 3-star hotel, but considering the Pool and Laundry Room was out of service during this particular stay combined with the missing breakfast waffles on the advertise hot breakfast, I would conservatively consider this a 2-1/2 star stay with the potential for swift improvement.
Date of stay: January 2025
Room Tip: - Odd Number Rooms are on the back - Dunkin' Donuts & Waffle House outside the Main entrance -...
Trip type: Travelled with family
5.0 of 5 bubblesValue
5.0 of 5 bubblesRooms
5.0 of 5 bubblesLocation
5.0 of 5 bubblesCleanliness
5.0 of 5 bubblesService
5.0 of 5 bubblesSleep Quality
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    2 - 7 of 499 reviews
    Reviewed 27 September 2024

    Was upgraded to a suite prior to arrival. Room was nice and clean. Had some issues with the wifi on the first night but by day 2 it was working fine. Real close to several restaurant chains. Nothing spectacular though. Did door dash for cracker barrel and chik-fi-let.

    Date of stay: September 2024
    • Trip type: Travelled on business
      • Value
      • Location
      • Sleep Quality
      • Rooms
      • Cleanliness
      • Service
    Thank Michael G
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    Reviewed 26 June 2024 via mobile

    As always, Hilton and Hampton, does not disappoint. Clean room. Courteous staff. Comfortable beds and a decent breakfast in the morning.

    The one draw back was the price. Apparently, there was a lacrosse tournament, which gave cause to all the local hotels to triple this prices. That should be illegal.

    Date of stay: June 2024
    Trip type: Travelled with friends
    Thank MotorcycleTravels915
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    Reviewed 5 June 2024

    Terrible hotel. The front desk is often unattended. Tremendous amount of noice due to the ongoing renovations. No parking available due to renovation workers taking up spots. Don't waste your time or money on this hotel. If you need a hotel, go next door to La Quinta Inn. La Quinta is a far better hotel.

    Room tip: Avoid this hotel
    Date of stay: June 2024
    • Trip type: Travelled on business
      • Value
      • Location
      • Sleep Quality
      • Rooms
      • Cleanliness
      • Service
    1  Thank S V
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    Reviewed 18 April 2024 via mobile

    I wish I could give less. No one knows when managers will be in the office. Unacceptable!! DO NOT leave a note expecting the manager will call you back to discuss any issues. You have to hope a manager is in when you show up to the lobby. ENDED MY RESERVATION EARLY TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!

    First time I tried this room was horrible. I was moved to two different rooms. 1st because my fridge and ac wasn’t working. 2nd because my bathroom sink was leaking all over the floor. 3rd room all of the above worked well, wake up in the morning, and no hot water for a shower. It was 38 degrees out and no hot water? I told management after they finally came in. They refunded my purchase for the first two nights but response was “you weren’t told there wasn’t hot water in the hotel?” How are there not more reviews on this. I know I wasn’t the only person.
    They are under renovations, but they are not doing a great job and very rushed it seems.

    Second/Last time I tried again was horrid. I received a call stating the floor I picked had no hot water so they moved me to another floor that did. The WiFi kept disconnecting from the hotel every 5-6 mins. I was told it was because I didn’t have a WiFi box in the room. Was promptly moved to another room, however, no hot water in the bathroom. Moved again with a WiFi box and hot water… no fix to the WiFi. Had to go to a Starbucks and McDonald’s to have consistent WiFi for work. Unacceptable! I asked again for management to call, no call! I show up to the lobby mid day to see if management is in and I get a scolding response after asking “would you happen to be a manager?” She said “I am one of them WHY?” I said “I am having troubles with the WiFi” she said “I escalated to the GM that’s all I can do. it’s not our fault so yeah I’ve done all I can do” seriously, you are providing hospitality and offering internet… call the internet company to fix the issue ASAP. I don’t get it. No urgency at all DO NOT GO HERE

    Room tip: Parking is horrible, no hot water, WiFi disconnects every 5 mins, no one knows when management works, upgrades are rushed
    Date of stay: April 2024
    Trip type: Travelled on business
    1  Thank Andrew K
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    Reviewed 3 April 2024

    Nice enough economy hotel that I've been using for business for 20 years, BUT, probably the new owner, and s/he's changed other things so in several ways it's no longer nice enough.

    1. There's only one employee at a time managing the whole shebang, even with busy season coming up. That's nuts, and if there's ever a safety issue and that person is away from the desk or tied up, lord help you!

    2. Because of the above, one can ring the front desk as many as 20 times and not get an answer.

    3. Breakfast is promised but it's gotten to where last time I was there they didn't even have oatmeal, much less bacon and eggs, because there kitchen server doesn't come in every day of the week. I now try to get up earlier so that I can eat breakfast at the nearby Cracker Barrel. Breakfast has been steadily deteriorating over the past several years.

    Owner: Don't be THAT cheap.

    Room tip: Look around -
    Date of stay: April 2024
    • Trip type: Travelled on business
      • Value
      • Location
      • Sleep Quality
      • Rooms
      • Cleanliness
      • Service
    Thank lanning m
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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