Hilton Hotels in Scotts Valley

We like this location because we have family nearby. The hotel is clean and comfortable. And the in-house restaurant is excellent. However, this ”housekeeping on request” policy is extremely irritating. Completely uninformed, we returned to our room at the end of our first day and it hadn't been cleaned. Apparently they only clean the room every five days. My wife called for housekeeping service and was told, ”they would try to fit us in”. Which they did. Including, thankfully, replenishing the in-room coffee supplies. This “full service” hotel actually expects you to collect your own coffee supplies at the front desk every day. I have been travelling for business and pleasure for over 50 years and I have never encountered such lame service at a so-called “full-service” hotel. And to add insult to injury, they call this housekeeping service-on-demand “complimentary”, aka “free”. Funny, I thought I was paying for it. Yes, there are fine-print placards everywhere that explain the policy, but I just tune all that crap out. I especially don’t like being scolded to “conserver water” when the faucet provides almost no flow and it has to run for five minutes before you get any hot water. If they want us to conserve water, they should install a hot-water recirculation system, as many other “full-service” hotels have done. Yes, a hot-water recirculation system uses more energy in order to use less water. Pick your poison. There is no free lunch. Next irritant: Pool and spa hours. Inside the pool enclosure, there is a permanent professional metal sign that clearly says the pool hours are from 5:00 am to 10:00 pm. Very reasonable. However, on the locked gate, there is a hand-made paper sign that says 8:00 am to 10:00 pm. A pre-breakfast swim is thus not possible. Not reasonable. Again, this might be expected at a two-star hotel, but not here. Next irritant: Lousy maintenance. In the fifth-floor corridor, 50% of the overhead lights are either broken, missing their bulbs, or hanging down from their wires. Not very classy. Next (minor) irritant: No task lighting over the coffee prep area. As you prepare coffee, you are literally casting a shadow over the work area. And all the lights in the room are very dim. Finally, a note about security at the front desk. We did not initially go to the front desk to check in. We checked in online while enroute and used a “digital” key to go directly from the back parking lot to our room. Which is very convenient because it’s miles (and two elevator trips) from the fifth floor (back building) to the front desk. Later, when I waltzed up to the front desk and asked for my plastic keys, the nice lady handed them over, with a very nice smile. Without asking for ID. Not good; I could have been any random criminal. I certainly don’t blame the nice front desk lady for this obvious gap in management policy. In summary, I might stay here again in the future, but if I do, my expectations will be way lower next time.