Review: Hilton Dallas/Plano Granite Park Executive Level

Background:

I booked the Hilton Dallas/Plano Granite Park because I wanted to be in the area and it’s a newer property with really good reviews. My first choice would have actually been the Renaissance Plano Legacy West as it right on the shopping + restaurant street but rates were almost $300 a night. I ended up using 36,000 Hilton Points to stay here as rates were just around $200 a night.

Check In:

The lobby was nice, and we quickly checked in. They ran out of rooms on the Executive Level, so we got a room two floors beneath but still had access to the Executive Lounge as I have Hilton Diamond.

For the Diamond breakfast benefit, you could also opt for a buffet breakfast downstairs in the restaurant Caruso, rather than eat in the Executive Lounge.

The lobby bar, called Prairie Fire was bustling with lots of guests even at late hours which made the hotel quite lively.

The Room at the Hilton Dallas/Plano Granite Park:

The room was actually quite spacious. Two queen beds plus two chairs near the window. I liked how each side of the bed had a nightstand which comes in handy. Plenty of USB charging as well which was nice!

The room is new, and considered a “Hilton Concept Room” so you could control the television with the mobile app which was pretty cool!

Bathroom was large, but quite impractical. Standard 3 piece bathroom with ample elbow room. For how big it was, they could have definitely added a door to the toilet making it easier to share the room with others. But no, no door.

The insulation could use work, as I could hear when the room next to us was taking a shower because the pipes were so loud! But, my sleep quality was good and the beds were comfortable!

The room came with a coffee maker, and a microwave as well!

Executive Lounge:

The executive lounge was nice and had plenty of seating. It’s open from 6am-11pm daily. It was never crowded whenever I visited, and I ate my breakfast in there on my last morning.

Breakfast in the lounge is served from 7-10 Monday-Friday and 8-11 Saturday-Sunday. It’s quite a small breakfast but I was in a rush. They still had bacon and scrambled eggs, plus the normal continental breakfast items. Not bad for an executive lounge! If you have more time, I’d recommend you eat a full buffet breakfast in the restaurant downstairs (and let me know how the buffet is because I didn’t get to try it). Hors D’Oeurves are served Sunday-Thursday from 5-8PM but I didn’t have time to try it. During the day, soft drinks + tea/coffee are readily available as well as some chips + snacks.

Breakfast Downstairs in Carso:

Breakfast buffet hours in the restaurant Carso are from 6:30am- 10:00am Monday-Friday, and 7am-11am Saturday and Sunday. When I messaged on the app, the agent told me breakfast was served until 11 Monday-Friday and 12 on Saturday and Sunday. He was wrong and so on Friday when I got to breakfast at 10:15 the breakfast buffet was over sadly. Thankfully, the hostess let me order a la carte and she felt bad that I was told the wrong hours. The breakfast tasted pretty good!

Elevators:

Sadly, the elevators here were a joke! Often we had to wait 3-5 minutes for an elevator. And they always creaked and sounded like they were going to break. One morning only one elevator was operating out of 3… all the guests were complaining about the elevators.

Hey let’s rent out the hotel to a high school basketball conference on the weekend?

Saturday morning the hotel was packed in the lobby as about 50-100 people were in line to get checked in for a high school basketball conference? I mean sure you gotta make money, but for a business hotel that charges $200 a night, I’m not sure if filling your lobby with large groups gives off a good impression. Perhaps you should create a separate check-in away from the main lobby?

Area Shuttle:

There’s a free shuttle around the area 3 miles away, and it’s first come first served. I think it runs up til 10:30pm.

I requested the shuttle to pick me up from the Legacy West area where all the shops and restaurants are as I didn’t want to walk back. Unfortunately, it took 30 minutes for the shuttle to arrive despite the hotel  only being 1 mile away! I had to call twice because the driver “forgot” to leave the hotel…. not impressed. I would have walked, but from the north part of Legacy West there are no crosswalks over the tollway!

Location:

The Hilton Dallas/Plano is located in Granite Park, and surrounding the hotel is essentially all companies. I walked to the Shops at Legacy which was easy (1 mile) but over the freeway where Legacy West was didn’t have a crosswalk close to the Hilton so I’d have to walk all the way down back to Shops at Legacy and then back up to the Hilton.

Parking:

Parking for a Diamond Members is discounted to $5 a day! This is a nice drop from the normal $17.

Gold and Diamond members get to park at the lot right outside but it’s a surface lot. I opted to park in the structure and just walk a bit more instead 🙂

The Verdict:

The Hilton Dallas/Plano Granite Park is a solid choice to stay in, but closer to more of your average Hilton. For the $200 price tag, I’d probably stay elsewhere if my travels bring me back to Plano, specifically the Renaissance in Legacy West right on the main shopping street!

Happy travels,

Ty

Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!