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| - I stayed two nights at the Hampton Inn in Tempe to see a football game at ASU. It was a good visit, and I'd stay there again.
The hotel is set up resort-style, with two buildings, each surrounding a pool. The rooms open to the outside, but the doors face the pool, rather than the parking lot, so there's not as much of a security issue. I was originally assigned a room in the building that surrounds only a pool, as opposed to the other that surrounds a pool and a spa. I asked to be moved to the spa building and it was done quickly and with a smile. The front desk here is very helpful, particularly one young man (I didn't get his name) who seemed to be working 24-7, at least while I was there.
My room was a bit small, but serviceable. One oddity was that the room with the shower and toilet was completely separate from the sink area. Not a big deal, just weird. A refrigerator and microwave would've been nice, but I got along without them. I gather that some rooms have them.
The flat-screen TV was fine, as was the free wireless internet. There were no obtrusive movie menus on the TV, which was nice.
The pool area was great. The fitness room was carved out of a small guest room and had only two treadmills and one bike. A bigger room with more equipment would be appreciated.
The breakfast was just OK. The first day the egg selection wasn't something I wanted, so I figured I'd just have an English muffin. Too bad--there's only one two-slice toaster, and I've been in DMV lines that went faster than this appliance. I gave up and went to Waffle House. The second day, the egg dish was more appetizing, and there wasn't a line at the toaster, so I stayed. I mentioned the toaster to the server. She acknowledged the issue, but it didn't seem like they were in a hurry to solve the problem. She was also a bit slow about refilling breakfast items on the buffet.
The hotel is great about shuttle use; they'll take you anywhere within five miles. I took the shuttle over to ASU for my football game. They couldn't really pick me up because of the traffic restrictions after the game, but I was able to walk back to the hotel in about a half-hour.
This hotel was a good choice, and I'd stay there again.
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