Embassy Suites by Hilton Arcadia – Pasadena Area

A nice & comfortable place to stay. But because this hotel is old, there are places where the paint is peeling. Also, some metal objects such as faucets have small rust spots.
Breakfast with cooked to order eggs and other choices is included with your stay. Nice relaxing courtyard to enjoy breakfast and free drinks and snacks at happy hours.
Inside rooms at corners of hotel, the free Wi-​Fi is so slow, it becomes useless.

I had a positive experience overall but since I paid big bucks for a night here, I’d have to hold it up to higher standards, hence only 3 stars. Had i only paid, say, $ 100 a night instead of $ 275, they’d receive a raving 5 star review.
Since it’s Hilton, you can be assured that your basics will be more than met, especially having clean rooms (something many sub-​$ 100 a night places might not fulfill.)
But problems emerged right from the start beginning with the checkin: i waited maybe 30 – 45 minutes for it to be complete, owing to «computer problems». When i got to my room, the Internet was notoriously slow, even when using the special login for HHonors members.
The water pressure is also very inconsistent and goes hot and cold very randomly. The door entry card was akso flaky, sometimes requiring countless attempts to open.
What really saved this review and possibly added an extra star was the generous complimentary breakfast with a delicious omlette and all you can eat bacon, yogurt, coffee, hash browns, fruit, etc.
My recommendation: don’t pay full price for a stay here if you can; use your HHonors points or get your employer to pay if coming on business. It’s decent overall but way overpriced for what you get.

This hotel has a lossy Internet service. It is impossible to even send or receive text emails. I do not recommend this place to anyone that needs to communicate with the outside world.

I wanted to go with three stars but I just couldn’t do it… 2.75 and holding…
—Early check in was not an option, even though my bf is at the top of the elite customer food chain with this corporation and the kind of money he has spent over the years at this location could easily pay the salary of the desk clerk who checked us in.
—The lobby is a dream come true for a plant freak like myself, who was mesmerized by the foliage around the lobby. Fifteen stars to whomever is responsible for caring for these plants in the lobby. The pristine quality of these plants is amazing!
—The room was a typical embassy suites room, comfy beds, lots of space, great water pressure in the shower, and a very cold refrigerator.
The complimentary cocktail hour is always an added bonus. I adored the bartender who waited on me. He definitely made up for the sub par «snacks» that were offered. Nachos with canned ro-​tel ish cheese and some weird dark blueish gray stuff on the side I had no clue what it was supposed to be (and I’m a chef). And some plain potato chips that had to have come out of a big bag from Costco.
—I will say that I greatly appreciated the way the room service staff accomodated me though. Having been unable to get any dinner, I had to drive an hour away and knew it would be tricky to get back and be able to eat anything other than drive thru that didn’t require sitting in a restaurant and I was too exhausted to do that. I called them from the road and they allowed me to place my order and told me they’d deliver it upon my return. I had a hot meal I got to eat in my pajamas and I greatly appreciated it. I won’t hold the fact I ordered no mayonnaise and got extra due to my ordering from my car while driving a noisy and busy freeway. The food wasn’t the best I’d ever had, but it wasn’t the worst either.
—Breakfast was a freaking joke! I didn’t have time to have anything «cooked to order», but the selection of what one would expect for a «grab and go» breakfast was non existent, and this was thirty minutes after they started serving. My banana was ready to be smashed and made into banana bread, and my apple tasted old. The oatmeal was good and I devoured it while sitting in traffic and wished I had left the fruit and got more oatmeal. I poured myself a cup of milk and somewhere between the check out counter and my car (less than 10 minutes), the temperature was well above the safe serving of milk without the possibility of getting sick. There’s no way that milk’s temperature increased that greatly above 41 degrees in 10 minutes. I dumped it out before I left.
—I told my bf next time I’m in town and he wants to «treat us» to a «fancy» hotel, I hope he finds one worth the money he paid for this one…

We have stayed at this hotel at least seven times in the last year. Last time was the last time we will stay at the Embassy suites because their service has gone so far downhill, considering that we are returning guests and we stay there about once a month, we were so blown away by the service.
We specifically chose to stay at the Embassy suites because they have a shuttle service and we were going to the Renaissance fair. I checked ahead of time and the shuttle service travels less than 7 miles from the hotel so it should be included. When we checked in we were running late and wanted to get the Renaissance fair for the last two hours of the event. This was our entire reasoning for staying in Arcadia on this trip. when we checked into the hotel the Manager informed us that the shuttle does not go to places in Arcadia that are popular it only goes to non-​popular places. So it does not go to the Renaissance fair because that destination everyone wants to go to today. This reasoning makes no sense whatsoever. Also the shuttle was parked outside obviously it wasn’t even use and it’s so frustrating that we purposely stayed at this hotel and not the Doubletree down the street because for one thing we are returning guests and stay there once a month or more and have always loved the service and the great free breakfast and the complementary happy hour that we get at this hotel. They really should have a disclaimer on their website that says the shuttle does not go to places that are popular at the moment, places people might want to go. The shuttle does not go to the race track if it’s during racing season. It doesn’t go to the Rose Bowl during Rose Bowl season. This kind of thinking makes no sense to me whatsoever. So The shuttle only goes to places that people don’t want to go. How on earth does this make any sense?
Because of this when we have to stay down in Arcadia monthly now we will stay at the Doubletree for sure even though it’s farther away from the race track. At least their shuttle actually goes to the race track during racing season.

Very disappointed with all areas of the hotel. a large group of friends and I, booked this hotel for the Renaissance Faire package deal so we could stay over night and worry about the drive home the following day. Upon arrival and check in, we informed the clerk at the desk that we wanted that deal and that we also had AAA. Mind you, the clerk did not greet us when arriving and was not very friendly; after our cards were ran and we are signing our receipt, we noticed we did not receive the discounted deal and tickets for the Renaissance Faire, instead he charged us only for the AAA discount which wasn’t even a discount at all! We complained and asked if we could please do the Renaissance Faire package and we were told that we could not because they did not have any tickets on hand and that he already ran our cards and couldn’t provide us with a refund! Seriously?! Because of this, we ended up having to spend an extra $ 45 per person for our room and single ticket — what a rip-​off!!! Plus, for some reason, our floor was the only floor that didn’t have a working ice machine! We could tell the ice machine had been out of service for a very long time as the «out-​of-​order» sign was ragged, discolored and faded. What a disappointment from what we thought was saving us money and the hassle of not having to buy tickets at the box office. NEVER AGAIN will we be coming back here!

We reserved a room through the renaissance faire package. We have been wanting to do this for years and we’re so excited! However everything went downhill by staying here. We booked two rooms where you get two tickets per room and my husband, Brett Richardson put in his AAA discount, we paid and couldn’t wait for the weekend. However when we got there they had no tickets for us and they said that by putting in the AAA discount we lost the promotion which the website neglected to mention. So not only did we have to pay the full prize we also didn’t get 4 tickets that we were expecting, and had to pay an additional $ 120 for tickets. It was frustrating and really put a damper on our day. We only booked with this hotel because of the tickets that came with the room, so when they told us that we couldn’t get them because they had to pre-​order them, we felt very cheated and taken advantage of. Rooms were decent, certainly not worth the price. Continental breakfast was delicious. Still would not stay here again.

I am a bit surprised at the amount of negative reviews! Nothing realllllly bad or spectacular stood out to me on my stay. I travel a lot for work and have stayed at many Hilton hotels. Walking in, the place looked nice and cool. I got checked in fairly quick. Most embassy suites that I have stayed at so far have pretty dated rooms. The furniture in the living room always look pretty old and dated. I rarely ever chill in the living room. I always go straight to the room where I know my bed is at least clean.
Ok, so I love embassy suites for its breakfast and happy hour! Free breakfast and free drinks (open bar) in the evening. Win win! For breakfast, they have a omelette bar. You choose what you want in it and they’ll make you a good size omelette. They don’t skimp! Along with the omelette, they also have other sides, such as bacon, potatoes, and sausages. Aside from this bar, they have many other things placed out. Cereal, muffins, bagels, yogurt, bread, fruits, coffee, juice, and so much more.
The one thing I loved about this location was how many food places there were around me. I was tired from driving all day for work and I just walked a block down for some phở. There are just sooo many restaurants to choose from that you can easily walk to. Totally a plus!
Yes, the room is a bit dated. Don’t come here I guess if you are looking for a nice elevated room. They have great FREE breakfast and an awesome complimentary happy hour. And this location is prime! So many food places around that you could walk to. 4 stars.

Came here for a conference so I’m only rating in that as I did not stay in a room. The staff was friendly and helpful. The facility where the conference was held seemed clean but a little dated, I believe it was called the Pasadena room. The women’s bathroom near the lobby was clean and nicely decorated. The downstairs fountain and wrought iron gate décor was gorgeous.

This is one of the more dated hotels in the chain.
Positives: The room was clean and a nice size. The breakfast was really good, typical embassy breakfast. The bed was comfy and I slept really well. It is also in a good location, surrounded by a lot of restaurants and not too far from Pasadena, it took us about 12 minutes with traffic to get to downtown pasadena.
Negatives: The staff here were very underwhelming. The front desk people were very flat and seemed as if we were bothering them. Not very helpful or how you would want to be greeted. This was my first time at the hotel, I had no idea how to get to the elevators, some direction would have been appreciated lol The rooms are a bit dated. There was chipped paint and other signs of wear (like super stained and first curtains, which were pretty gross), but even that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part about the stay was the morning we were due to check out, we were awakened by probably a housekeeping manager asking us when we were leaving. She was incredibly rude and the whole act was in poor taste. We will leave when it is time to check out… That incident left me with a bad taste in my mouth about this hotel, Ive never experienced that at any other embassy or any hotel ever, actually.

Yes, this is an older hotel… but the location is right. Normally, I’d give this hotel a solid three stars BUT the service stinks. One gets the impression the guests are an inconvenience and distraction. Closing the breakfast bar at 9 am on a Friday is silly, but copping an attitude (in chorus), «We’re Closed!» at 9:15 is rude. Both good and bad here… I fear more bad than good now a days. Some customer service training is in order.
Update on same day: Went back to the breakfast bar to fill my travel cup with coffee before starting the long drive home. One of the same two employees told me the coffee was all gone, as they «Closed at 9AM.» She then promptly locked the gates, with me and my empty coffee cup on the outside.
Management: I went to the front desk and voiced observations. I also informed them of this Unilocal post. Managers George and Luis were very professional and responsive. I declined their kind offer for consideration, including a cup of coffee.

All these folks saying «this is the worst hotel I have stayed at» must not be world travelers. Try the Westin SF some time or one of the European «grand hotels» where the staff looks as if they really want to spit on your croissants and stuff your bed with fleas.
EX: I once put a friend in the St. Francis in San Francisco. $$$$$$$$$ That hotel relies on its marquis name and not because it is ALL THAT. People stay there to say they stayed there and not because the rooms are spacious and clean and perfect. (they ARE NOT)
This is Arcadia, folks. You aren’t in Beverly Hills. Want to be treated like a star– go to LA and stay in one of the 5-​star joints and mortgage your house to pay for it.
In Embassy Suites, Arcadia has itself good, reasonably priced hotel with nice staff like Ms. Felix, our manager-​on-​duty during our stay, and the cooks at the breakfast bar.
Do they fluff the pillows and leave Godiva chocolates on the pillows? NO. Do they kill you with obsequiously ingratiating fawning? No… Do they send over some Harry Winston jewels for you to wear on your date with George Clooney? NOOOOOOOOOO. Are you likely to spot an A-​list celeb gnoshing on omelettes in the dining room? NO.
In a hotel, what do you need except:
1. Clean room
2. Soft bed
3. Wi-​fi
4. Staff that leaves you alone except when you need them
5. Breakfast
6. Pool and spa
???
You get all that here. It’s in a safe neighborhood. Near Pasadena.
My biggest gripe was (and this isn’t the hotel’s fault) that the pool area was filled with noisy and obnoxious, screaming children whose parents were more interested in texting than in calming them down. Not very relaxing to be in the spa with kids playing Star Wars.
Oh well… I am giving this hotel a high rating because they fulfilled ALL my requirements and the omelettes were yummy.

Shut up! I can’t believe this hotel has 2.5 stars! This hotel is by far the best hotel I’ve stayed at in all my time. Just to give you some perspective, I used to work in the hotel industry and got the opportunity to travel often!
I made a reservation and noted that it was mine and my husbands anniversary. Didn’t add anything special just that comment. We checked in around 6pm, to a smiling front desk agent, and then she told us about breakfast in the morning and our room, and recommended (after we asked her) a place for dinner. We went up to the room only to realize that we had been upgraded to their top floor Hilton Honors suites (WHAT?!), got into the room to find a chilled glass of cider (I’m pregnant) and two glasses, chocolate covered strawberries, a note from the manager congratulating us, AND a gift card to enjoy a meal at their restaurant… We were astounded.
The room smelled GREAT, was clean as a whistle, and of course had the most comfy bed ever.
The next day my husband and I woke up to go enjoy the complimentary breakfast, yes it’s free, this is why I always prefer Embassy Suites! Only to notice that in addition to all the regular items they provide (standard for every embassy, remember I said, I’ve been to a few, shoot I even worked at one!) they also provided donuts, from a donut shop, not crappy store bought ones, real delicious donuts from a shop!
That means, someone from this staff had to go purchase these as an ADDITION to their regular items… There were so many people I saw enjoying these donuts (including me)! I think it’s so special for a hotel to go out of their way just to add a special touch most people take for granted.
At breakfast it was SO busy, we found a table but there were some tables with dishes left on them and you could tell some guests were getting upset, please realize these people are working so hard, purchasing special donuts, refilling creamer, doing so much, give them the grace they deserve to clear those tables. I promise, they know the dishes are there.
They sent me a survey and I responded and said the same things I’m saying on this Unilocal,get this, the general manager PERSONALLY emailed me back thanking me for my stay.
I asked for a really late check out and I think my total for just one night came out to $ 250 or something close, but guess what I’d pay that any day for service like this.
Embassy Suites Arcadia — YOU ROCK!

Absolutely appalling condition. The photos posted by many others echo mine. General lack of maintenance of the property. The water in the shower would change temperature by 100 degrees in the matter of seconds while in use. The manager obviously does not care one iota.
The front desk staff comped half my stay but honestly that isn’t what I was after. I would have expected that after my front desk complaint, follow up letter to the manager and detailed report to the Hilton Diamond Desk that the manager would have responded. Unfortunately he has chosen to remain silent and my guess is that he has no intention to remedy the situation.
I expect better from an Embassy Suite Hotel and Hilton should be embarrassed that this abomination carries their name. In my opinion this is more Motel 6 than Embassy. They won’t need to leave the light on for me anymore. VERY disappointed.

I travel a lot and always stay in hiltons cause of their rewards program and this place has got to be the worst hilton property I ever stayed at. Kinda expected it because of the bad reviews but was the only hotel available… yea figures. That one picture kinda says it all. This place is so gross I’m gonna do my best to work somewhere else until late at night, then just come here, sleep and hope I don’t get any bed bugs.
Also when attempting to check in the first time, the staff uttered a «hi» like she wanted to kill herself and then got a phone call, immediately picked it up and that’s when I gained the super power of invisibility so I just left.
Never dreaded going to a hotel more then right now…
Oh! The shower was leaking water non stop, not just dripping but full on stream! Maybe this hotel is the cause of the drought in CA.

I stayed here for a week and didn’t mind it that much. Check-​in was a royal pain in the ass, though. We got there around noon and they said the room wasn’t ready and told us to check back at 2. So we decided to go grab some lunch and explore the area and I got a haircut. We come back at 2:30 and they tell us that the room is smoking even though we asked for non-​smoking. So again we play the waiting game, except now there’s nowhere to go. Didn’t get in until 4:30 which is stupid. And there was another dude with his family who were also pissed because of the same thing, except they waited even less.
Room was comfy, clean, and large but the furniture was a bit dated. This was only a problem for the first half of the week because mid-​week the furniture people came in and replaced all of the furniture. A minor inconvenience, but still an inconvenience. The new furniture is much nicer and more modern.
Elevators are pretty slow. Staff is friendly. Ummm what else. Oh yeah, breakfast isn’t bad and the elevators have signs that tell you when they are least and most busy — a nice touch. They have a station where they’ll make you omelettes although I was pretty sick of them by the end of the week.
So not bad, but not great. I would stay here again.

I’m not sure how to even describe the condition of our hotel room. My wife is a Hilton Diamond status and says that this is perhaps the second worst room she’s ever had on a Hilton property. This is not about bad service, this is not about bad cleaning staff — this is about a lack of investment in a property. The furniture is nicked and beaten the walls and door frames are nicked and beaten there’s dust and mold in places that look like its accumulated over the years. Yes the bedding looks new the sheets look new but the room itself seriously need to refresh. Be forewarned.
Our rating was originally 1 star, but honestly staff was so friendly and gracious it is hard to knock.

This is unequivocally the WORST hotel I have ever stayed at. When we first checked in and walked to the elevator there were two other guests who had just bought large fans. They said their air conditioning wasn’t working, they have complained for two days and the front desk wouldn’t call them back. We then went to our room. There was facial hair all around the sink, a dirty washcloth left in the bathroom, the bathtub faucet leaked all night long, the air conditioner didn’t work, the room smelled like stale cigarette smoke, the tracks on the sliding door was beyond filthy, the wallpaper in the bathroom was peeling. It was just gross. And if it hadn’t been so late we would have just left.
It was so hot I had to move out to the tiny couch as it was a tiny bit cooler, had to sleep with my feet hanging off the ends while my better half was stuck alone in the bed. That was at 3:30am and I MAYBE got 2 hours of sleep before I had to leave to work. Then to top it off, I was packing everything up in the morning and I hear someone trying to open the door to the room. There was no knock, no announcement. Just someone repeatedly banging the door open and fortunately I had the lock in place. They comp’d the room. Great for my employer but it in no way makes up for truly one of the worst nights I’ve ever had. I would NEVER recommend staying there.
UPDATE: We moved across the street to the Hilton Garden Inn. Cost of Embassy per night $ 137…cost of Hilton Garden Inn…$ 140. Hilton Garden Inn was fantastic. Air conditioner worked, clean sheets, clean bathroom and didn’t smell. Well worth $ 3!

I was in the bar. Grabbed a quick drink before attending a presentation. Didn’t stay over night. I have before YEARS ago in Pittsburgh. It was also the location of my high school prom (also back east) I wasn’t impressed with the hotel bar. and it was expensive. The whole hotel felt outdated and in need of a good polishing. Location wise it was convenient to a lot of places in walking distance. That fact grants the extra star
I probably wouldn’t think of it first as a place to stop overnight.

A great location and you can’t beat the breakfasts included in the stay.
Being central to the Pasadena area I come here often… But I’m wondering if it’s time to branch out to a new hotel.
If we are not being confronted by the untrained staff who are tired and grumpy (obviously not paid enough to care), then it’s broken down rooms with showers that don’t work, a/​c that only turn on when the hotel deems it warm enough and run down interiors. They try but they don’t have much to work with.
At least the breakfasts and nightly hosted appetizers and drinks are included.
I try not to give bad reviews but after a dozen stays I thought it time…