Hilton Garden Inn Albany Medical Center

Somewhat small HGI located directly across from the main entrance to Albany Medical Center. Parking can be a challenge, especially during busy times. Well appointed but small lobby with convenient access to a Starbucks and sports bar from the first level entry. I found my room clean, comfortable and quiet. Most ideal for out of town families of patients at AMC.

I really enjoyed my stay here. It’s a pretty small hotel with a small parking area (which we passed by driving around the block at least 4 times). The guy at the front desk had a great sense of humor and made us all feel like we chose the right hotel. The lobby is really nice and clean.
I used to love hotels and would get really excited at the idea of staying in one when I was a child, and somewhere down the line and so many ²⁰⁄₂₀ episodes later, I began bringing my own cleaning supplies; but the room didn’t require any help from me. All together, my family booked 5 rooms, and we were all very pleased with our accommodations. We didn’t request any special upgrades, so this, I suspect, was your basic room, which was just fine for an overnight stay. My room came with double queen beds, so I would just switch beds at random to ensure I got my money’s worth. Honestly, we all booked on
for $ 116/​night I think, so it was a pretty good deal. I would definitely stay here again if I was in the area. I thought I took more pictures, but check out what I was able to upload.

Huge thank you to Lindsay at the front desk. She went above and beyond for all our needs. Management, take notice you’ve got a gem.
The rooms are nice. But where this hotel excels is in their customer service. Wow. We had a small issue in the room, not only was the staff extremely nice including the maintenance man, but they upgraded us to a master suite for the remainder of our stay. I was very pleased with this location. Thank you guys keep up the great work!

I had an amazing stay in this hotel. The staff was more than helpful when I needed to navigate around Albany. I didn’t have any of the room service, but heard it was subpar. I am also a picky eater, and the staff at the breakfast buffet was more than accommodating, and brought out a whole box of bananas for me to choose from. The hotel restaurant, was also great. I would highly recommend staying in this hotel.

Good hotel option in Downtown Albany.
I stayed here for 3 nights. It’s a fine hotel, and I had no serious problems during my stay here. It’s a downtown location next to the medical center. So, it’s not a quiet neighborhood. For the most part, I wasn’t disturbed by street noise. But, sometimes there are sirens. That happens next to a hospital. The noise level didn’t cause me any problems in getting woken up during the night.
Parking can be a bit challenging. They have a small lot. The website says parking is $ 10/​day, but I was not charged for parking. I was always able to find a place to park when i got back around 5pm, but I was often taking one of the last spots available. I was a little concerned about not being able to find a space if I left and came back. I ended up eating at places in walking distance, which was possible because of the weather. I asked at the front desk, and they said if they ran out of parking, they direct people to the attached parking garage, which is $ 6 per day. Not a horrible price, and I suspect the reason they don’t charge for parking anymore. Finding the parking lot took me 3 attempts, but it’s there.
I used the breakfast buffet one morning during my stay. It’s $ 10 something per person, and includes a made to order section, plus a small buffet of prepared food. It was OK. I had finished the food I got from the ready to go section before my made to order pancakes were ready. So, a little slow. But good quality food. The glasses available for the juice/​water are a bit small, so I had to make repeated trips. Full size glasses would be a nice addition.
Walking to places around downtown is fairly easy, and there are several food, coffee, and snack shopping options available. The lobby was very nice, and the staff were all friendly. I would have no problem staying here again.

Although past experiences with the Hilton chain have been positive, my experience at this location was the worst. I spent around $ 185 per evening to stay here for 3 nights while my grandmother was in the hospital. On my second night, I left a bottle of very expensive Chanel cologne along with a couple of other items in the bathroom. I checked out that morning only to have to unexpectedly stay one more night. When I realized I had left my products in the last room I notified the front desk where I was told that they were not turned into lost and found and that there was nothing they could do. When I expressed my frustration and let them know that whomever cleaned the room had taken the cologne, the front desk supervisor did nothing more than shrug his shoulders at me.
I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and so I emailed the GM (Nick Boulas) letting him know what had transpired. Please note that at NO point did I suggest I was looking for compensation for the loss. I just wanted someone to take ownership of the situation and I wanted an apology. The emails that followed from Nick were dripping in sarcasm and he took a firm stand that they would not apologize for the «alleged missing cologne». What!!! Why would I lie about that??? Especially given that all I was asking for was an apology. Ive stayed in hundreds of hotel rooms ranging from Hilton to Motel 6 and never had a GM or a staff take such an «you don’t matter, we’re right and you’re wrong» approach to a situation. Based on my experience I would never recommend this hotel to anyone. Unfortunately they are attached to the hospital so I’m sure my post will not have much impact as they cater to families who are staying close to their sick loved ones. If you can avoid staying here, DO!

Staff was great esp DJ. Hotel well located. Clean room, decent size. Didn’t try restaurants. Good to have Starbucks right there. Lots of places around ie restaurants, etc.

Nice hotel with attractive lobby area (on second floor) and restaurant. Price for room was competitive although breakfast buffet was an additional $ 10.00 per person. Complimentary coffee and tea in lobby in morning, but there’s a Starbucks downstairs in building lobby if you would like something to grab and go. Unfortunately I left some clothing in the room after we checked out but cleaning staff didn’t report it or turn anything in (disappointing, although I’m sure it’s a hassle for them). Front desk staff very professional and friendly.

An enjoyable and exceptional value for a three star hotel.
After spending time using comparison web sites, wife Susan arrived at the same lowest price on
. One advantage of using
was that Susan was able to modify our reservation to include breakfast for both of us for only $ 10 ($ 5 per person) for Hilton’s breakfast in their restaurant.
For reasons to be explained shortly, sign up for and then use a Hilton Honors loyalty number when making your reservation.
Online check-​in presents you with a map of available rooms to choose from.
If you are being guided by your GPS, be careful. The hotel’s official address is on a main street with no parking. However, if you enter 198 Holland Avenue, Albany, NY, in your GPS, you will be directed to street in back of the hotel where hotel parking is located. Use the Holland Ave address to arrive to the parking lot.
At the front desk, we were greeted by a cheerful person whose name I regret I have forgotten. He explained that Hilton Honors entitled us to 2 bottles of water and that our parking, which would have been $ 10 per day, was free.
In total, we paid $ 135 per night including breakfast, parking, and complimentary waters. Hilton Honors also entitled us to free Internet WiFi.
We then went to our room. Like the rest of the hotel, every aspect seemed clean and either new or well-​maintained. The room has a microwave, an empty refrigerator, and complimentary coffee.
The hotel has two restaurants, «Garden Grille» and «Recovery Room.» (The hotel is across the street from a hospital.) The Recovery Room is a sports bar. Think of Applebee’s, but with better video screens, better food, but very competitive pricing.
On the first night, we arrived at the Recovery Room and were greeted by Stephan, who mixed our martinis perfectly. The chicken wings have zero breading and arrived hot and crisp, having been fried in oil that was obviously fresh. From multiple choices of sauce, I choose the Garlic Parmesan, which was terrific.
Had we returned to the Marriott up the street, we would have had to go out to a restaurant (perhaps this one) and then return, with one of us as the designated non-​drinking driver.
We retired to our room for a good night sleep.
We awoke Saturday morning and arrived at the second floor restaurant for breakfast. For people in a hurry, there is a full hot and cold buffet. But for egg lovers like me who want their omelet freshly prepared, the staff cheerfully takes your order at the buffet, prepares your meal, and brings the food to your table. My omelet was perfectly prepared with the vegetables requested and brought to me by Shannon, our server, who also professionally prepared my Ice Coffee. Sue chose from more than a half dozen varieties of tea.
As compared to the Marriott’s limited breakfast, Hilton’s offering truly stands out.
After a long day of visiting with family, we returned exhausted, but happy. We dined at the Recovery Room. My steak was a perfect medium rare and my broccoli and asparagus delicious. Susan had the Ahi Tuna salad which she raved about. If you order the steak (any steak), request a side of the dip that comes with the Ahi Tuna for dipping bites of steak. It is fabulous!
We safely took the elevator back to the room for a second night’s sleep. Our invoice was slipped under our door before we awoke so no checkout was necessary.
Our second breakfast was as terrific as the first.
On this trip, we did not have time for the gym, indoor pool, or the first floor Starbucks, but appreciate their availability for future trips.
Before I finish with too harsh a comparison with Marriott, Susan pointed out to me that the Marriott suite we had last time was beautiful, the TV of higher quality, and while the Hilton bed was satisfactory, that the Marriott bed was superior. While had a room at the Hilton. We had a suite at the Marriott where my son used the sofa bed. Also, the Marriott’s web site welcomes pets. While Hilton permits service dogs, pets are prohibited. Suddenly, the choice for some travelers is not as clear cut.
According to Google maps, the distance between the hotels is less than a half mile, an eleven minute walk.
If the weather is good and the Hilton is 100% booked, one strategy might be to stay at the Marriott and walk to the Hilton for its other benefits. But as long as they are competitively priced with each other, for many, the Hilton is a fine choice.

Disclaimer: This review focuses on the breakfast buffet and not the hotel or services itself. I was brought to the breakfast buffet my friends were raving to me about. I’m not sure how it works if you’re a guest of the hotel and if it is complimentary with a stay or charged to the room. They told me it was unlike several other hotel breakfasts and needed to give it a try after talking about it for quite awhile. I knew nothing going in except that the buffet is $ 10.95 per person and has a chef manned omelet station.
The buffet is just right past the check in and lobby area. A friendly hostess welcomed us in and immediately sat the three of us at a table, then poured some coffee (reg or decaf). I saw a variety of guests… some probably conducting business in the area and some very casually dressed. We were told the price of the buffet and the set up of the area up front. There’s a section of cold items including danishes, mini croissants, bread, bagels, boxed cereals, and condiments. There was a large toaster oven next to these items for those who please. Next up was the chef manned station, menu of items available hung on the left side listed create-​your-​own omelets (bacon, ham, onions, green pepper, mushrooms, cheese, tomatoes), any style eggs, or pancakes. I had the omelet with ham, mushrooms, tomatoes, green peppers, and Feta cheese. I also had a side of pancakes (2) with syrup. You get a number on a plastic placard to place on your table and the server will bring it to you when the order is ready.
A hot items area in front of the omelet station held bacon, sausage links, buttered toast, home fries, and oatmeal. Waffle machines were located on its far left side of the self help area. Alongside the wall there were a variety of fruit (grapes, pineapples, strawberries, honeydew, canteloupe), yogurts, cottage cheese, milk assortment (chocolate, regular, soy), and fruit juices (apple, orange, grapefruit, cranberry).
My omelet was filling and delicious but then again I love breakfast food in general and wouldn’t mind having it any time of day. The bacon was the star… perfectly crisp and never soggy. The home fries were meh so I took advantage of the condiment bar. The worst were the pancakes. I was expecting nice fluffy and soft hot cakes but they were tough and doughy. Unfortunately it tasted like they were pounded waffles. The coffee was always filled by our server.
Overall a nice place for breakfast if you are in the area or a guest of the hotel. For the price the options really are not bad but I wouldn’t say it was spectacular either. At the end, we three content and no longer hungry souls left with a fulfilling smile on our face.

Nice hotel however not fond of finding a roach in the bathroom of my hotel room. The great thing was house keeping never saw it. I ended up having to remove it myself.

I stayed here while taking the New York bar. I would recommend this to any other fellow test takers — they were accommodating, and hassel-​free. They have a shuttle to pick up from the airport, and even provided shuttles to the convention center on test days. They put out a map and extra test supplies such as pencils, bags and highlighters (even though these are not allowed in the test, but still it’s the thought that counts!). The rooms are standard hilton rooms, but still were comfortable after a long day of testing. There is a Panera less then a block away and a CVS within walking distance as well. There is a tiny gym that I found useful to decompress. On the last test day i walked back to the hotel for a bit of fresh air, the testing site is less than a mile away.
The only thing was the noise level. My room faced the road across from Albany Medical Center and was a bit noisy. But the noisiest thing was my heating/​AC unit — I could hardly hear the TV and had to turn it off when I went to sleep.
The price of the room went up from when i booked it, and they brought the price down to the rate it was at when I booked :) great customer service.
All in all I would stay here again, but hopefully I’ll pass and won’t have to! While it may not be the cleanest or fanciest place, I was happy with the service and convenient location.

Been here 2 times and without a doubt this Hilton is stellar! Check is painfree and very very friendly staff willing to catering to all you needs and help out with all the questions!
In the lobby they usually have brownies and cookies along with fruit water! And they have a bar and a restaurant!
Gym is very nice located on the first floor across from the recovery room!
Best of all they have keurig in all the rooms so best coffee at your footsteps!
If I come again to Albany I would definitely stay here!
They also have a pool and jacuzzi

Everything was great. The rooms were clean, there is a nice sports bar downstairs, Starbucks and Panarea on the same block.
Close to Albany Med, and local colleges. Lark St and Washington park are a short walk.
The staff at this hotel really made our stay. The front desk staff was especially nice but everyone we met at the hotel went out of their way to be pleasant and helpful. The hotel was spotlessly clean and very well maintained.

Much like some of the other reviews here and my other hilton stays, my room was again filthy and falling apart. Third Hilton the past two months with zero standards for cleanliness. Stains on the carpet, toenail clippings on the floor next to the bed, water stains on desk, a ceiling that was stained and repatched several times due to leaks, and filthy walls and hallways. The front desk was incredibly disorganized, giving my coworker paperwork to park her car and nothing for me. When I asked if I needed it, the young girl gave me a deep sigh and handed me paperwork to fill out– sorry I didn’t receive it on check in. Am I inconveniencing you?
2 stars go to location, restaurant, and friendly parking attendants… Otherwise you’d get no stars!

I am a hotel junkie and travel frequently. Hands down this hotel hits all the right notes! They are honestly the nicest (sincerely nice) staff members I have encountered. The place is super clean and the breakfast is spot on, with the nicest chef. I really give it 4.5 stars because the Room Service is limited to only a few hours in the evening and is served from the connecting restaurant The ReCovery Room. Their room service order was mixed up and the food was mediocre. Please partner with Panera Bread or Starbucks for better food options. Hell, let the breakfast chef take over! He was amazing.
Congrats on making my visit to Albany medical center stress free as the hotel was the least of my worries during a rough patch in the family. It was all covered and taken care if.

I am usually hesitant to write poor reviews but I simply could not find a positive from this hotel, leaving it at a 2-​star rating. I have it with two stars only because the hotel was attached to the Albany medical center garage, leaving our overnight parking cost at 6 bucks. The hotel had their own lot and garage but it was full. Also the foyer and hallways were presentable, they had an historic meteoroid for show with an excerpt which interested others. The negatives begin from 8am and returning at 930pm, the room was not cleaned, no new linens, no clean towels, and trash full. I thought maybe we left the «do not disturb» sign by accident but that was not the case. Slightly irritable I called the help desk and their only response was «oh, we don’t have a housekeeper today.»
What kind of hotel does not have housekeepers staffed? And on the weekend! They did not seem sympathetic or even concerned. I had to ask for towels, linens and bags for the trash. The location was alright, I expected more noise being attached to the Albany Medical Center. Their bathroom fan was also not functioning! I do not recommend this hotel.

MEDIOCRE. Despite taking the location into consideration and having relatively low expectations, this Hilton can surely use an update and frankly some more love from the housekeeping staff.
Layout is odd no matter which entrance you’re coming in – parking lot (which is free) or off the main road — as the check in desk is located on the second floor. Check in was a breeze, front desk agent was friendly and helpful. Not much character for the lobby, in fact there isn’t much to it. Room is of course decent size considering space isn’t such a commodity upstate. Décor is fine, relatively blah but some things definately stand out (for the wrong reasons)…
— Toothpaste and coffee stains on the wallpaper in the bathroom
— The room phone is YELLLLLLLOW (I used a tissue to push the buttons. Thank god for the speaker option)
— Bed skirt had very obvious stains that surely shouldn’t have been missed by the cleaning staff… if they actually gave a crap
Plus is that it is conveniently located near the medical center and a relatively good area of town, but so is the Marriott Townplace Suite down the road.

We had an incredible night for our wedding held in the Fireside Lounge and the Atrium and I would recommend this venue to anyone! Our Sales Manager /​Planner, Colleen Whitaker, went above and beyond in helping make our day go so smoothly. She was very responsive, help me plan out details I hadn’t even thought of, and was very friendly to family and guests. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Colleen and the Hilton Garden Inn for another event. She took an idea I had for a casual wedding and ran with it. It felt so comfortable the day of, because she had all of the details arranged for us.
We had excellent service from The Banquet Captain (Christopher), Servers (Maria, John, Felicia and Melissa), Coordinators (Carney & Ana). Our bar service wouldn’t be beat (Henry) who served every drink with a smile, and often a joke to all of our friends. Chef Christopher and Kevin had plenty of delicious food available, and we had many compliments on our selection for the night. Lastly, the rest of the staff including Saja made sure the night went seamlessly.
We had a great night, and many of our friends complimented how smooth the evening went because of the Hilton.

I stayed here for a few days for a conference.
Pros: Comfy bed, tasty conference buffets, wonderful view from window, pool, free internet, decent room service
Cons: Probably one of the worst bathrooms I’ve ever had in a hotel. It’s incredibly small and the tub has awful scratchy things in the tub which makes taking a bath awful.