Ok, this has to be peak boring. This is not an interesting hotel. I’m reviewing a Hampton Inn of Hartwell Georgia. I’ve stayed at some really mundane hotels, the Holiday Inn Express Calhoun, Ga and Home2 Suites Troy, Oh both come to mind. At least those towns have an Interstate running though them, actually it’s the same Interstate, I75, just 500 miles apart. Hartwell Ga is a tiny town on the south end of Lake Hartwell. The lake was created in the 1950 and 60s by The Army Corp of Engineers as a hydroelectric project. It provides power to Georgia and South Carolina. It’s also the border between those two states.
Hartwell is not that far from my house, about an hour and a half, but I didn’t want to drive 3 hours per day for a week. We’re also working long days and I just didn’t feel like driving that much. Not sure if I’ve talked about it before, but I don’t really enjoy driving. For several years I covered a lot of miles by car, 40-50k/year, I just got tired of it. These days I mostly fly, but obviously not to Hartwell Ga. Don’t get me wrong, I love cars, but I just don’t enjoy long road trips anymore.
Anyway, Hartwell has very few hotels, and this Hampton was the only major brand hotel in town. Because I’m traveling for work, I’m discouraged from booking AirBnb, motels, and regular BnBs. This Hampton was built in the last few years so I figured it should be perfect for me.
Welcome to the Hartwell Hampton. A very boring hotel.
Nice modern hallway, the “spill proof” carpet always amuses me. It doesn’t resist the stain, it’s just busy enough of a pattern that it doesn’t matter.
This hotel doesn’t participate in the digital key in the Hilton App so I had to stop by the lobby. I’m not really a fan of this.
Into the room was very bog standard Hampton Inn. They didn’t have any king beds so I had 2 queens.
Two queen beds, plenty of outlets in the center, but none on the outside of the bed so if you have 2 people in a bed, the person away from the middle will have to charge their device somewhere else.
Smallish TV for a 2 year old hotel.
On this trip I did use the desk area quite a bit, these longer trips I tend to need the work space, even after a long day of work.
Fridge, microwave, and coffee maker under the TV. About what you would expect for a Hampton Inn. I did use the fridge for my water bottle.
Generic bathroom, nothing fancy at all here. You can see some more art here, it’s all nautical themed because of the close proximity of the lake. Nice little local touch.
This hotel kinda had a cheap feel. This tub surround is an example of that. Just doesn’t feel that nice or solid. The tile is real and the tub is fiberglass.
This is where I noticed some more cheapness. This exhaust vent was very crooked, it was also very noisy but that’s a different issue. It was always drawing a ton of air from the room, this has to be made-up from somewhere…
And here’s where it came from, the gaps around the AC unit below the window were huge. The view also wasn’t great. Because the air was constantly being pulled into the room from outside, the heater in the AC was constantly turning on and off to keep up. It was very noisy so that didn’t help.
Lots of other little issues. This trim around the door just hasn’t been painted, ever. It’s not worn off, it just never existed. More of that cheap feel.
Same thing here, the base board was so thin and not correctly installed. You know, just a little bit of giving a damn goes a long way. I know it’s a Hampton inn, but the whole room just feels cheap.
Some more of the art. I do like old inboard boats. Looks like a Chris-Craft to me.
Another stair well. After getting my room key I used the stairs. This hotel only has 3 floors, and my room was somewhat close to these stairs and I could park right out side.
Ok, so there’s a Guthrie’s in Hartwell. I love Guthries and we don’t have on in Greenville, even Clemson doesn’t have one so it’s got to be the only small southern college town without one.
Final Thoughts
This hotel is meh. It’s clean enough but really I just couldn’t get comfortable here. The AC was loud, the finishes were poor, and just for some reason I never felt relaxed. They are the only major brand hotel in town so if/when I got back to Hartwell, I’m sure I’ll end up here again, but I really just didn’t enjoy it.
I guess I’m also glad the hotel was kinda empty and I was on the top floor. I’m sure the walls are thin and I would have heard lots of noise from other guests. If they added digital keys, painted everything, and did something about the ventilation, I’m sure it would be fine. For being such a new hotel I would have expected better.
On my way back home I took the southern route and passed by the dam. I always love a good bit of infrastructure.