Hotel Champlain

We stayed at Hotel Champlain by Hilton for three nights while attending a friend's wedding, and unfortunately it was one disappointment after another. The problems started at check-in. After a seven-hour drive, we arrived expecting a quick process since we had already checked in online. Instead, the hotel's check-in system was down. The front desk staff seemed very disorganized, and the process was chaotic and took far longer than it should have. There was no acknowledgment of the inconvenience or any effort to make things right. Ironically, friends staying at the same hotel experienced the same issue but received drink vouchers and didn't have to wait nearly as long. Once we finally got to our room, we were greeted by a strong musty smell. The bathroom is incredibly small and awkwardly designed—you'll find your leg pressed against the toilet paper holder while sitting on the toilet. The shower pressure was about the only positive thing I can say about the bathroom, as the shower itself was also cramped and awkward. Housekeeping was disappointing as well. There were cobwebs in the corners, a burnt-out light bulb, and brown stains on the bedding. Later that evening we met friends at the hotel bar, where the bartender was clearly in a bad mood and acted like they didn't want to be there. The drinks themselves were fine, but the service wasn't. When we returned to our room, our key cards no longer worked, forcing us to make another trip to the front desk. While helping us, the employee answered the phone and was largely inattentive, giving us little opportunity to explain how frustrating our stay had already become. The following night, a friend bought me an Old Fashioned at the bar. We waited an incredibly long time for our drinks—so long that other guests, whom we didn't even know, commented that they had ordered after us and had already been served. To make matters worse, my friend later discovered he'd been charged for another group's drinks as well. Hopefully the hotel resolves that for him. We also ate at The Skiff. After informing the staff about food allergies and specifically requesting certain ingredients be omitted, our meals still arrived with those ingredients included. Thankfully we noticed before eating. Breakfast was also incredibly overpriced and no better than the complimentary continental breakfast you'd receive at a much less expensive hotel. The only real positives are the excellent location and the fact that Burlington is a beautiful city. Unfortunately, we also witnessed people openly using hard drugs at the bus stop directly in front of the hotel, which didn't make for the most welcoming environment. Overall, this hotel fell far below the standards I'd expect from a Hilton property. Between the disorganized service, cleanliness issues, repeated inconveniences, poor dining experiences, and lack of attention to guests, I can't recommend staying here. There are plenty of other hotels in Burlington where you're likely to have a much better experience.

There can be no disputing that this hotel enjoys a premium location with spectacular views of Lake Champlain. Better, it is tidy, clean, and comfortable. On the other hand, it falls somewhat short of what it could be and doesn't quite achieve the deluxe status after which it seems to aspire. For one, the staff is inadequate in number and is easily overwhelmed. When I arrived, the line at the reception desk was six deep, the cars were piled up in the driveway, and the wait for check-in pushed thirty minutes. The somewhat overpriced hotel assesses an "urban destination fee" of $25.00 and a mysterious unexplained "fee" of $1.00, for which one gets very little other than a coupon for food in the hotel, and that food is definitively mediocre. When i asked for a fork at the in-house cafe, I was pointed toward a corner where no fork was found; when I reported this shortfall, I was given an airline-style plastic utensil pack. The decor of the hotel also needs help--it is emphatically and unapologetically generic. Overall, the hotel provides a decent stay, but it does very, very little to take advantage of the special character of Burlington, of Vermont culture, or of its premium location.

The only reason I’m giving this hotel two stars is because the location is fantastic. It’s within walking distance of everything in downtown Burlington, which made getting around very convenient. Unfortunately, the customer service and housekeeping were extremely disappointing. After the first night, housekeeping never came to service our room. We never had our “Do Not Disturb” sign up, and when we called to ask when housekeeping would come, we were simply told, “They already left.” The following day, housekeeping did come, but they left our hotel room door completely open when they finished, meaning anyone could have walked in and taken our belongings. They also failed to restock basic necessities like toilet paper. When we ran out and called the front desk, we were once again told that housekeeping had already left and that no one could bring us any toilet paper. We also ordered room service during our stay and placed our used dishes in the hallway as instructed. They sat there for nearly 16 hours before anyone picked them up. Throughout our stay, we constantly had to call the front desk just to get fresh towels or other basic items. Housekeeping never made our beds, and the hotel hallways were uncomfortably hot. For the price of this hotel, I expected much better service. While the location is excellent, the lack of housekeeping, poor communication, and overall customer service made this a very disappointing stay.

FYI: This hotel does NOT have a pool. After a long road trip, my group decided to splurge on a fancy hotel specifically so that we could relax at a nice pool. Based off this hotel's official Google listing, with multiple official photos of an amazing looking pool, it seemed like a great option. However after checking in, we came to the unfortunate realization that the pool had been removed almost a year ago. I feel like I have been bait-and-switched. Hilton corporate really needs to take down the official photos of the pool from their listing. This hotel was a splurge and it feels like I got scammed. To their credit, the front desk staff did offer to comp breakfast for out one night stay, but that does not make up for this disappointment. It is unfortunate that Hilton listings cannot be trusted.

Please read before you decide to book a room! We made a reservation at Hotel Champlain Burlington VT for our daughter’s birthday. She wanted to do something fun and hopefully swim! We arrived at the hotel and checked in. The person at the counter did not provide us with the direction we should head to for our room or tell us about the amenities. (No big deal) We navigated through the hotel until we found our room. Upon entering, we went to the window to look at the view (which was actually very neat overlooking the water). However, once we stood closer to the window there was water (condensation) running down the window; there was also a large amount of mold inside our room at the base of the window. We decided we would leave the room for a bit and check out the pool. (We only booked this room because it said the hotel had a pool online.) However, once we got dressed in our bathing suits, we went to the front desk to ask what direction the pool was located. We were informed the pool was closed in 2025 due to structural concerns. Disappointed, we retuned to our room to order room service for dinner. (The food was excellent—original Skiff Fish & Oysters). We set our dishes outside of our door assuming they would come through to pick them up. We woke up the next morning to go to the coffee, tea, and hot chocolate bar. We opened our hotel door; our dishes were still in the hallway from the night before (11 hours at least) and someone else placed bags consisting of vomit and garbage on top of our plates. Proceeding down the hallway was more vomit. Once we arrived to the coffee bar it had splashes/spilled coffee, and other debris on the counter and it was not freshly restocked. We went back to our room to grab our things to check out of the hotel. Upon exiting through the breakfast area there were crumbs and food present on the floor in several places from the night before. We expressed our concerns to the hotel they said they would refund us our money for our stay. Once home we all showered. My son immediately noticed a slight rash on his chest and neck. We took him to the doctors and were informed it was bed bug bites. We went home and decided to call the Department of Health as we were concerned about the cleanliness of the hotel for others. My husband made a call to follow up about a refund (as we still had not received one a week later). They were very rude on the phone. After a second week, with no refund, I made a third phone call and still have not received a refund. We do not want anyone to have the experience we did. We don’t stay in hotels often; however, when we do, we expect to have a clean bed to stay in, a friendly/honest business experience, and a feeling that we want to return for the experience. Unfortunately, this hotel has left us with a memory of mold, bed bugs, unfriendly, dishonest service and overall disappointment. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone—even if it’s their last resort.