Tru by Hilton Columbus East Broad

This review is more about the Tru brand than this particular property, although the staff at this property were less than welcoming, failed to recognize my Honors status, and were unhelpful when I reported a problem with the breakfast bar. This brand is more about style than substance, but it doesn't really get the style right, either. The connected features of our room didn't work (I followed the instructions re: Bluetooth correctly), for example. The "Top It" breakfast bar might be fun if you're 5, but it disappointed adults who just wanted a decent meal in a reasonable amount of time. Pancakes are dispensed one at a time from a machine that makes them to order. Each pancake takes a few minutes, so it takes a while to build a small stack. Then, what comes out is undersized and undercooked (also, who thought this is a good idea for a room full of guests all jockeying to get a few pancakes on their plate). The bread choices are poor, and there are no pastries (a staple of other hotels' free breakfasts). Worse, what was there was poorly stocked; e.g., the oatmeal ran out at least 20 minutes before the end of the breakfast period and the staff shrugged their shoulders and said it wouldn't be replenished because it takes so long to prepare. Hey, Hilton, if you offer breakfast until 9, you need to make all selections available until 9. Our room was decent, although there was a lot of noise from the nearby highway. Security's an issue, too—I found a side door to the parking lot disabled, so it didn't latch (it was supposed to be accessible only to guests with room keys).