Very poor front‑desk experience — Guest wrongly accused by staff
We stayed at The Derby London City, Curio Collection by Hilton. While the hotel facilities were average, we were extremely disappointed by the unprofessional behaviour from one front‑desk member of staff, which fell far below Hilton’s expected service standards.
On check‑out day we were in a big hurry for our next itinerary. We tried to take the middle elevator to go back to our room to collect our luggage. We pressed the button, but the elevator did not respond at all.
We went back to the front desk to ask what was going on. A blonde female staff member was very unfriendly. Standing with her hands on her hips, she spoke to us in a lecturing, accusatory tone. She claimed there was a “Hold Off Order” notice by the elevator and implied we had simply failed to read it.
We immediately returned to check the elevator area thoroughly. There was zero notice, no sticker and no marking whatsoever to inform guests that this elevator was out‑of‑service.
The hotel provided no warning signage, yet their staff blamed and lectured us as if it was our fault.
We had tight timing and needed to rush off for our next attraction, so we could not argue the matter further on the spot. Even so, this unfair confrontation left us with a very bad feeling.
As a Curio Collection by Hilton property, the standard of guest service was unacceptable. We will not stay at this hotel again, will no longer prioritise Hilton‑branded properties
