"DoubleTree by Hilton presents a freshly baked, warm chocolate chip cookie with walnuts to each guest at check-in. Used to suggest DoubleTree hospitality, and symbolize its culture of care, it has been used to differentiate the DoubleTree hotel brand from its competition."
DoubleTree in Madison might as well present you with a slap in the face at check-in to show how uncaring and shady they are. During my two night visit, I would have rated them much differently as the hotel was great and so was the service. My 3 year old son was with me in my hotel room and on the second night he had a sudden stomachache and threw up on the comforter. Mind you, it covered less than a 6" x 6" area, and consisted of nothing highly stainable, such as red Koolaid.
I felt terrible about the incident, but the comforter was nowhere near ruined. In fact, a good wash in the washing machine would have cleared it right up. Even if that didn't do the trick, a bit of bleach could have been applied and all would have been saved.
I expected a modest cleaning fee to be tacked on to my credit card for the trouble.
I found out days after my stay, that I was charged $150 to replace a comforter. So instead of washing a perfectly good comforter, DoubleTree of Madison threw it out! I can't believe that those comforters cost $150, but if they truly are, I also can't believe they would just throw out a $150 comforter.
I called and politely explained my situation to the woman at the front desk, the woman in billing, a Manager by the name of Anthony, and the GM, Tom Ziarnik. All, but the GM, were helpful but unable to credit my account. The GM was able to credit my account, but was not willing to, helpful, or caring. I've also contacted their corporate customer support, who have made no effort in getting in contact with me for the past week.
*UPDATE (3/27/2013)* I got in contact with someone at the corporate office. They were very sympathetic with my specific situation and were willing to refund the charge. In response to their quick and kind actions, I've revised my star rating from 1 star to 4 stars. This is a great hotel, but be sure to keep your room clean.