In the past few years we’ve visited Tallinn and Vilnus. This year for American Thanksgiving we wanted to continue our Baltic travels in Riga.
When booking hotels for vacation I do often look for more unique, smaller properties, but we planned this trip really quickly so I ended up booking the Hilton Garden Inn here in Riga. The Hilton Garden was a great choice for this trip. The location is great, right in old town and close to public transportation. The rooms are large and clean, they have amenities like clothes washing, and the hotel breakfast is decent(and complimentary for Hilton Honors Gold and above status holders).
Bottom Line: Hilton Garden Inn Riga Old Town is a perfect hotel for people wanting to stay right in the heart of Old Town Riga. Don’t let the mass market brand fool you, embrace it.
Hilton Garden Inn Riga Location
Hilton Garden Inn Riga is located right in Old Town. This is a great location for walking around Old Town Riga. There are tons of great restaurants in the area along with fun bars. This location is also great for public transportation, there’s a tram and bus stop just 2-3 minute walk away.
House of the Black Heads, one of the oldest and most unique museums in town is located right behind the Hotel. The National Library of Latvia is right across the bridge. You really cannot go wrong with this spot, it’s just great for exploring town.
Hilton Garden Inn Riga Lobby and Check-in
We arrived at the Hilton Garden Inn Riga pretty early in the morning. I was expecting us to just drop our bags and head to breakfast.
At the front desk, the clerk welcomed us and said that she could get us into our room right now. We arrived pretty early in the morning on our Air Baltic Flight from Copenhagen(Full Review). How great is that, it’s only 10 in the morning. I don’t think November is the high season for Riga.
In the lobby, there’s a little shop area with snacks and drinks. Just liked you’d have in any other Hilton Garden Inn.
On the opposite side there’s a bar and behind that is the breakfast area.
Hilton Garden Inn Riga King Room
We were given the key to our king room here on the top floor of the Hilton Garden Inn. We walked in and I was pleased with how big the rooms are.
The king bed was clean and comfortable. Both sides of the bed had outlets and side tables to charge devices. There’s also controls for the lights and individual lamps for two people.
Next to the window there was a kinda useless table and chair. While this is a good sized room, it’s not huge, furniture like this doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. With two people in the room, the chair just ends up being used as a luggage rack.
In the corner of the room there is a small desk. This I don’t mind. It’s nice to have at least one flat surface in the room. In the cabinet of the desk there is a refrigerator.
The closet area doesn’t have a door, but it’s big enough for two carry on sized pieces of luggage. It’s also near the door so in the winter is perfect for hanging up coats.
Hilton Garden Inn Riga King Room Bathroom
The Hilton Garden Inn Riga bathrooms are clean and bright. I liked the large stand up shower.
They aren’t huge, but there’s more than enough space to get cleaned up.
Hilton Garden Inn Riga Room View
Our room was on the front of the hotel so we had a nice view looking out on the old town architecture. I think the other side of the building would have a nicer view, but you’d need to be up on the top floor too.
Hilton Garden Inn Riga Breakfast
In the Hilton Garden Inn Lobby, there’s a buffet breakfast. This isn’t included in most room rates, we were given complementary access due to my Hilton Status. The selection was good, but not amazing. Mostly continental cold items.
The best thing was how clean everything was. Like the rest of the hotel, the staff was on top of their game keeping things stocked and fresh.
I don’t mind a light breakfast, especially at a hotel. I prefer to eat my meals out, not in the hotel. We only had breakfast at the hotel once during our 4 night say.
Hilton Garden Inn Riga Final Thoughts
For a boring mass market brand, the Hilton Garden Inn Riga is a great choice. I’d usually avoid this type of hotel, but glad I didn’t for this trip. I couldn’t ask for a better hotel. Great location, friendly staff, clean rooms, plenty of space. And in the off season, the rates were very good.
Val and I loved the location most of all. Being able to get to the tram/bus was great for getting around town and to the airport. When we waned to just explore old town, all we had to do was walk.
I’d gladly recommend the Hilton Garden Inn Riga, and would love to stay here again.
Follow this trip
Flight Review: SAS A330 Business Class ATL-CPH
Flight Review: AirBaltic A220-300 Economy. CPH-RIX
Hotel Review: NH Collection Copenhagen
Lounge Review: Primeclass Business Lounge Riga RIX