This review focuses on the conduct of the general manager of the Dubuque Hilton rather than the hotel staff, who were consistently pleasant, helpful, and courteous. I checked in on December 23, 2025, for a two-night stay while visiting Dubuque for the holidays. At check-in, I advised the front desk that I am a Hilton Gold member and asked about the availability of a room upgrade and the $15 per guest breakfast credit. I was informed that neither was available, which I accepted without issue. The following morning, we chose to purchase the full breakfast to support the hotel. Unfortunately, the buffet food appeared to have been sitting out for an extended period and was both unappealing and inedible, despite our arriving at approximately 8:00 a.m. We ultimately chose not to eat and returned to our room, though we still left a generous tip for our server. As part of my Gold status benefits, I received a text message requesting feedback on my stay. I responded honestly, noting my disappointment regarding the lack of an upgrade and having paid $35 for a breakfast I could not eat. I rated my experience a 3. Shortly thereafter, I received a voicemail from the general manager asking that I call him. During the call, his demeanor was confrontational, aggressive, and unprofessional. Rather than addressing my concerns about the stay, he focused almost exclusively on my rating and repeatedly demanded personal information about a family member who had enrolled me in Hilton's Friends and Family program. His tone was accusatory, and he spoke over me while insisting that I "should know how the program works," The conversation included what I perceived as intimidation and implied threats related to my status and future stays, leaving me feeling pressured and uncomfortable. After subsequently speaking with Hilton Corporate, I was informed that my Gold status benefits should have been honored regardless of the Friends and Family program. Based on the general manager's conduct during the call, I no longer felt safe or welcome at the property. As a result, I immediately checked out of the hotel, forfeiting my second night despite still being charged for the full reservation. I later learned that the general manager had contacted the Hilton Friends and Family program and had my benefits revoked. When I contacted Hilton to inquire why future reservations had been canceled, I was told that I had been labeled "rude and disruptive." This characterization is inaccurate and unjustified. I spent less than 18 hours at the hotel, used digital check-in and a mobile key, and had no confrontational interactions with staff beyond routine, respectful inquiries about my benefits. read more

The General Manager was the most vindictive person ever. I truly feel sorry for his team. The Hampton Inn is a much better place to stay when in Dubuque with limited options. read more

This is a really nice hotel. The room was clean and the beds were comfortable. I think the morning breakfast should be included in all the stays. The breakfast was good though. I would stay here again. read more

I have not stayed here in a few years. The hallways smell like a bathroom. I would not have posted a review other than my experience in the lobby just now. I went down to get a little dessert. A Hershey bar was five dollars. The smallest ice cream in the world, about 2 ounces was seven dollars. I could've bought whatever and my company would've paid for it. No problem. I bought nothing, this is insulting. Whoever is in charge of this place is clueless. read more

Be careful with your personal belongings while staying here. If housekeeping throws one of your belongings away, they WILL NOT work with you to remedy. The GM will use lots of legal speak of not being liable and only offer the advice for you to work with your homeowner's insurance to file a claim. Absolutely not a choice here since the deductible is far more than the item but it would have been good business practice for them to have offered something to help us offset the cost of replacement. In short, only bring into the room what you can afford to replace at your own expense. read more

Excellent breakfast with attentive and pleasant staff - especially in the dining area! Prestine rooms and in the heart of Dubuque. Definitely will be back! read more

Hilton Garden Inn Dubuque Downtown - Breakfast buffet - Hotels Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

Carpets are dirty. Lighting in our room was terrible, even in the bathroom. I was mostly put off that the breakfast was not free. We weren't told until after we ate, even though it's set up as continental breakfast. Mind you its not in one of the restaurants, just off the lobby. $27 for breakfast for 2 people is ridiculous. Also one of our room keys never worked for our door. We also ate at one of the on site restaurants, Houlihans. Food was excellent, service not so much. Bed was comfortable. Overall our stay was just okay. read more

Disappointing to say the least. Whirlpool tub had hair in the jets when I turned the jets on. The shower had mold in the mount. The side of the tub came off when I opened the bathroom door. This is supposed to be clean and sanitized for our "safety". I did not feel safe at all in regards to the cleanliness of the room. Charged a $60.00 fee for cleaning and damages etc. I've seen 20 or 30 but never $60. And this was not disclosed until after I purchased from their site and no cancellations accepted after 10am and I made the reservation at 2:00pm. So my $159.00 room became $219.00 which really hindered the travel budget. This hotel does not offer complimentary breakfast, either. I would stay anywhere in this area but here if I had it to do over. read more

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I booked a room though Hilton Customer Service by phone. I received a message from Emily G. stating that they cancelled my room due to discount fraud code that I entered online. I explained to her that I did not book online and it was through their client service center and I didn't give a discount code. She wouldn't even look into it and treated me like I was lying and trying to get a fraudulent discount. She told me that I had to make a new reservation at a much higher rate than was originally given. I assumed my 1st rate was because hilton honors points were applied. At the end of our discussion she was lightly laughing. Very rude and unprofessional On a better note. I contacted corporate client services again and Sam and Mariam were very helpful and actually research to find that it was an error on there end. I thank them for their help read more

The hotel lobby was clean. The room was a little weird. It had super tall ceilings so it echoed from the minute we set foot in the room. The carpeting was kinda sticky (yuck). I am a germ-a-fob so it creeped me out a lot. It made me wonder how clean everything else was in the room. Each bed had three pillows which was weird. How do you decide who gets two pillows and who gets just one? Rock paper scissors? LOL Also The staff were friendly and helpful when asked for assistance with directions. read more

Wonderful weekend stay at the Hilton Garden Inn in Dubuque, Iowa. Beautiful very well-maintained lobby and rooms. Near Q Casino. The staff was excellent with a special Shout Out to Emily. Thanks for a great stay! read more

Definitely not worth $178 a night for sure. I checked in online and used an electronic key. I didn't have to have contact with the front desk the entire visit. I did stop in the little convenience shop and purchased a drink and paid at the front desk. The woman was very nice. I also checked out online so I had not much contact with the hotel employees. The hotel itself was clean. It was recently remodeled so it looks nice. I would expect to pay $50-$75 for a room like we got. It was pretty noisy in the hallway. The room really had no view of anything except trees and flooding. The room had a coffee maker, microwave and fridge. They had a pool and business center. They also had a Farm Table restaurant and a Houlihan's restaurant there. There was an indoor connector walk to the casino. read more

Hilton Garden Inn Dubuque Downtown - Same flooded road - Hotels Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

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We scheduled to stay this last weekend. 3 weeks ago I tried to call to cancel for medical reasons. Sent an email as the "mailbox is full" EVERY time I would cal... also meaning No Answer... well... I was charged $350.00 Plus on Sunday... very upset!!! I emailed them once again as there was no answer and the mailbox is still full. NOT IMPRESSED!! told they have mailbox full and don't answer for this reason!! PLEAS REFUND ME!! I notified you three weeks ago we COULD NOT MAKE IT!!! thank you read more

Stayed here overnight as a quick Labor Day getaway. Beautiful hotel, all the staff very friendly & helpful, like Pam when we checked out (supplied us with some cold water bottles for our drive back home. Sweet!). Hotel has lots of amenities. Had a great time at the Greyhound Park on the property. Also spent time just down the hall in the Q Casino (and was a winner!). The front lobby had delicious fresh cookies out for the guests in the afternoon. Breakfast is a buffet, except for hot food made to order from a server. Which, since the area was full of guests, we had to sit an area away - so we had a delay for that. But otherwise the breakfast was delicious and did have a wide variety of choices. read more

Hilton Garden Inn Dubuque Downtown - Q Casino - Hotels Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

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This is a very nice hotel. Check-in service was great, although I was already checked-in when I walked up. :-O Odd. But that was quickly fixed. My room is a standard two-bed with a desk. The TV is old and small. The proximity to Houlihans and the casino is nice, especially in the confining winter season. Breakfast (free to Diamonds, $10 for purchase) is good. The omelette was freshly made but only average. Pancakes and hash browns are options too. The cold food bar is good, with granola bars, yogurt, fruit, juice and cereals. The exercise room has a couple of treadmills, an elliptical, a workout machine and a stationary bike. The provide a spray bottle to clean the equipment. They get a little bump for that. Located not far off US 61, it is convenient. This place is recommended. read more

Newly re-done and done right. I'm don't know exactly when this hotel got its refresh, but whoever did the work, did an amazing job. I stay at a lot of hotels that have been "refreshed" and they are almost always a train wreck. This refresh was done correctly. From what I can tell the rooms were completely gutted and re-done in the HGI modern design. Everything in my room was completely new. Super clean. read more

Didn't look to nice from the outside view or the lobby but it turned out to be a decent place. The check in was easy with pleasant service. The room was spacious clean and equipped with everything I needed! The bedding was most comfortable which made for a great slumber! The checkout was seamless too! It's perfect for the weekend with your DU student a couple blocks away! Very convenient and affordable. read more

More like 3.5 stars bc the toilets in the accessible bathrooms are extremely low and there are no grab bars and there's only a bench to help disabled ppl in the shower...the disabled room is big enough for small wheelchairs but there are just too many fall risks... read more

We stayed here this weekend, expensive... sadly due to covid it was really lacking some of the amenities we enjoy in a hotel. No pool, no gym, no hot breakfast, no hulahans restaurant on site open due to covid. I was offered an upgrade online and didn't find out until we arrived that I was not allowed the upgrade. Oh well, just a place to sleep... nope, no sleep either. Lol The beds are very uncomfortable and the pillows weirdly too soft, the sheets were not tucked correctly into the bedding and so very little movement made them come off the bed, exposing the bare mattresses. The duvet blanket and three sheeting made the bedding difficult to work out and felt rather unnecessary. At some point in our stay, a fuse must have flipped because when we finally did get around, none of the lamps, nor the TV worked. Our neighbor next to us in 214 waiting in the hall for some time because the seal on her room was broken and she was afraid to go in her room... weird stay for what looked like a very clean at least hotel. If you are planning on going to Galena however, it's not nearly as close as it appears. It's actually a good 15 miles away... not very convenient for what we were trying to do. In the end, I left my boots and I called to see if they were found, left a voicemail and I am definitely not getting them back, but we shall see. read more

We stayed here for 4 nights over Christmas and during one of the coldest winters they had in a long time, so it was pretty lifeless there. We checked in quickly and everyone I came across (3 different front desk clerks and 2 housekeepers) were very pleasant and helpful. Our room was clean and HUGE, we had a suite with 1 and 1/2 baths, a semi full kitchen, living room, and bedroom. It was nice stay. We were left alone as we like and had no overcharges. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because the parking lot is a long walk in negative degree weather, and the parking lot was not plowed until the afternoon, which for a casino, hotel and restaurant is odd. We would stay here again. read more

Hilton Garden Inn Dubuque Downtown - Our view from 315... - Hotels Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

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Nice clean updated rooms and public spaces. Large indoor pool. Hey what do you know, it still had a 4 cup coffee pot and hair dryer - yay for that! The room had a fridge and microwave, so that was great. They are a little high on the per person charges though, so factor this in if you are planning to travel in a group as this added $30 to our stay per night. This hotel is connected to a Houlihan's restaurant and to Mystique casino. Lots of parking. Breakfast was high for the area at $13.95 and was serve yourself. read more

Typical great stay at HGI. Centrally located, and a great stop for us road dawgs. This location actually had a Hoolihans attached to it that did roomservice. Great food and it came up hot every night. Didn't get a chance to enjoy the casino....maybe next time. read more

I will guess it has recently been renovated. Rooms were very clean and updated. The entrance did smell like cigarette smoke, but no surprise there as it is connected to a casino. Staff was very friendly and smiling faces! read more

Beautiful hotel. Newly decorated and well maintained. Staff was attentive to requests. Chlorine in pool was strong - irritated hubby's eyes. We did not eat here. Considering we were traveling with kids and the casino was next door, it was still very nice and you wouldn't know the casino was there except for a few 'interesting' looking folks walking through the lobby. Rooms are lovely and I slept well. There weren't a million blinky lights all over the place which was nice and the room darkening blinds worked well. read more

Stayed here last minute so it was nice to get a room with such short notice. We Arrived with lobby smelling heavy like smoke but receptionist explained that it happens due to the casino next door. Lobby was nicely decorated. Room service was great. Remote didn't work and sheets kept slipping off bed but the bed was very comfortable. Breakfast wasn't ready early in the morning like usual hotels and both of our to go coffee cups leaked. Overall nice place but a few little bothersome things read more

This hotel is the best in Dubuque and I have stayed at several other hotels. This Hilton Garden Inn is by far the #1 hotel in Dubuque. It starts with the staff at the front desk. Pam is the smiling face of it. She is willing to go above and beyond the call of duty. Tracy has a good attitude and very conscientious. Harrold is a great guy. The entire staff deserves a raise. In addition to a fantastic team, the hotel is very clean and quiet. The rooms are wonderful. I would highly recommend this Hilton Garden Inn to everyone. The staff is very professional. Please continue to provide outstanding service. It's amazing!! THANKS!!! read more

Stayed here for a night on a get away weekend from Chicago. The hotel is clean, the rooms are large, beds are comfortable, and it is attached to the Casino and Houlihan's so you don't have to walk outside if you don't want to. Our room overlooked the dog track so we could watch the races from our room if we wished. The rooms have Keurig machines for coffee or tea. I discovered a walk, run, bike path behind the hotel that will lead to the end of the island that also goes across the river for about 1.5 miles down the Mississippi. It was really a nice area to do a morning run/walk, or just watch the river flow. I really enjoyed my stay there. I did not try the breakfast. read more

For Dubuque I would say this place is pretty good. They have a morning breakfast that's pretty much all you could eat for $11 and change and it's pretty good quality. They also have a Houlihan's Restaurant on site, a casino at a dog racing track. The rooms are in good repair and they are clean. There's plenty of parking. It just doesn't seem like a Hilton from the big city. It seems like one of the lower grade chains the Hilton bought and then rehabilitated and redecorated. So compared to most of the hotels in the area I would say this is probably one of the better ones in a few ways what's on expected to be like you're at a resort or something. The swimming pool and hot tub are adequate but it closes up at 10 p.m. . They don't have much of a vending area outside of cold drinks. But if you go down to the front desk they actually have some good stuff back there, like beer, frozen pizza, various candies and other stuff. I did ask for extra pillows and they said that they didn't have any, and I find that to be sort of bizarre. If I was in Dubuque I would go back there for sure. While there is a casino connected to the place, no smoking allowed in the hotel and I could not detect the smell of smoke anywhere! read more

Attentive and courteous staff! The woman at the front desk even remembered my name when I would walk by later on. It made me feel very at home. Free internet is a huge plus! My favorite part was the attached Mystique casino and the Houlihan's of course! The lobby was beautiful and I enjoyed eating my breakfast in there. Get the breakfast - it has everything! Hotel also has vaulted ceilings and lots of windows allowing for lots of sunshine. My room looked out onto the track, which was pretty cool! Also, the one thing that stands out the most in my mind about this hotel is the smell: a very good, clean smell. Everywhere I went, it smelled this way and there's something about that detail that puts your mind at ease when you're away from home. And, I believe the walls are thick because at most hotels, you hear lots of noise in the halls and neighboring rooms, but not here! Is was as quiet as can be. Now you combine that with a comfy bed and you've got a great night's rest. Now, don't let all that fool you into thinking this hotel is away from everything, because it isn't. If you don't want to the temptation of eating out or gambling, you might reconsider. This hotel is right off of Highway 151 and is literally one exit down from Wisconsin. It's located directly on the Mississippi River and is very close to the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, the Dubuque airport and all the widely known Dubuque attractions. Check out the nearby skiing! Famous Galena, IL is just moments down the road. I'd highly recommend this hotel to a business traveler or a family. Perfect stay! read more

Clean place, it's convenient location to the restaurant and the casino. Major downfall: hard bed. I could tell right when I sat on it. Definitely stiff and feeling it today. We got the room with two Queen beds, they said the room with just one has the nicer bed mattresses. Whew. These are VERY firm. read more

Easy check-in via app on phone. 30 secs to get room key! Beautiful hotel. Super comfortable beds. Breakfast was great. If I'm ever back through, would definitely stay again. read more

I had a horrible experience with the GM, Ken. He ruined the whole experience so much I called corporate HQ to file a complaint. They overcharged me and thought a cheap bottle of wine was compensation of not having the money they overcharge. I Hardly. I think re-training in customer service for Ken is in order. I hope corporate talks to him. I dont think it is acceptable to overcharge and think that ita ok to make the person wait on the money. especially, when i explain we were in Iowa for a softball tournament and had to travel on to indiana. they refused to even apply a discount on the hext night's hotel stay at yet another hilton in south bend. i dont think the potential of bad service is enought to chise another hotel On the other hand it was clean. read more

Crap Hilton!!!!! Only bright spot was the poor overworked woman at the front desk! We got some rain TV goes out!! Very unprofessional not enough help!! Only 1 person at the counter and she was always busy!! Very bad managed hotel and I travel for work every week I will not be back!! read more

Good service and clean rooms. The room had a view of the dog racing track which was a lot of fun to watch. The breakfast was too expensive and was not up to par. The egg omelet was runny and the toast was cold. Coffee was so so. There is a casino attached which held for a great late night. read more

This hotel costs too much for the overall rating. The room was clean although they were small. The bed was hard and lumpy and difficult to sleep on. On top of that, maneuvering past the bathroom door to get through to room was a pain. It opens out and completely blocks to main entry door and hallway. It felt more like a dorm room than a hotel rooom. Breakfast was low quality and expensive. You are better off leaving the hotel to get your first meal. Being connected to a decent restaurant and casino are, I believe, the only reason why this hotel gets customers. Overall rating: 3/10 read more

Really good staying here tonight for 2 planned nights. Could use more bedside electricity outlets but is adequate...barely. Good iron, board, tv and internet. Was placed here via Dubuque Jet Center. Just right. read more

Second time at this hotel, love it. Can't say enough good things about this hotel. Has inside walk way to the Q casino, awesome sports bar restaurant, great views of track and wooded park area and the most awesome hotel staff I've encountered. Staff was more than welcoming and treated us like family. Rooms were super clean and modern. A lot of people we're complaining about the hard bed, but I can tell you that it was one of the best mattresses I've ever slept on. They also have these awesome cookies that are complementary, if I could, I would have taken them all home. read more

The hotel itself was ok, nothing special. The majority of my complain is with the front desk manager. She checked me in and was down right rude. As someone who stays at hotels as a business traveler several times a month this was the worst I've been treated in a long time. Apparently I was not worth her time. I tried to get her to add my Hilton Honors number and she wouldn't and claimed it was because the booking was done on Booking.com. The next day at check out another (nicer) person say that was the one company that you could break up the reservation and charge a different card. But when it came time to do it the mean lady was back and begrudgingly did it....or so she said. Got home and she had charge my brother's card for both room and I didn't get any hotel points. As a Hilton Honors member, I'll just stay at the Hampton Inn in town (which I've stayed at before) next time. read more

Hilton garden inn here's the good part they have nice clean rooms a nice pool nice work area the problem I have with it is if you have kids watch out!! You turn on the tv there is movie previews not happy cartoon previews wich you would think there would be for a family friendly hotel, NO there is horror movie previews and r-rated previews. I don't know if its just me but I don't think a kid should be seeing that it wasn't on a tv channel either it's right when you turn the tv on so parents go to that guide quickly because trust me you don't want your kid seeing that. Oh, and don't even get me started with the houlihans connected to the hotel I will say some food was good others not so much so the waitress asks us if we want a starter we say Yeah we saw the spinach dip wich my aunt and I both like. It gets there we both take one bite of it our mouths are on fire we tell the waitress she said its not supposed to be spicy. So we just sat there until the food came. The service was good at the restraunt don't get me wrong but get the kitchen in order don't have them put something spicy in something that's not supposed to be spicy. Because really I expected way more from them!! read more

We stayed here for one night....king size bed for my husband and I. I would say this hotel is average at best. The toiletries provided were scant, room overlooked another building, average cleanliness, but the price was $269 for one night. The hotel was completely overpriced and not busy. We've stayed at lesser chains that were cleaner, cheaper, and provided a nice free breakfast. Breakfast here was $11.99 per person. Find another place nearby to stay. read more