The Hilton University of Florida is located in a suburban neighborhood across the street from the sprawling University of Florida campus. The Hilton is a newer eight-story building clad with stucco and brick, in a contemporary/traditional architectural style. Appealing, but nothing extraordinary. It was formerly the Doubletree. There is complimentary self-parking on the street side of the building and free shuttle service to the airport.
The lobby is neat, done in a modern style with cool lighting, vibrant blue colors, wood finishes and checkered marble floors. The staff behind the front desk bordered on frigid. I hope it wasn’t because of my severely discounted rate. However, check-in was fast and we were off to our room.
Our room was clean and bright, with the windows framing a nice view of the Conference Center and forest beyond. It was average size and decorated in a contemporary style. At a glance, it looked like an ordinary room. However, if you looked a little closer, you could see that the fabric print on the sitting chair and ottoman had little orange alligators on the blue fabric (UF colors and mascot), and the nifty modernistic art works on the walls had newspaper clippings in them. There was a small closet housing an iron and board. An armoire held the TV and there was TV Internet and Broadband Internet available in the room. The A/C was controlled by a wall-mounted thermostat that cooled down our room well and fast. Other room features included a work desk with telephone, an alarm clock on the nightstand, voicemail and PPV movies.
Our bed was a king size with a nice comforter matching the room style, concealing the nice and clean sheets and pillows. The bed was firmly comfortable and about what you’d expect at a three-star hotel.
The bathroom was very clean and a little larger than industry standard. There was a nice tile floor and large corian vanity top. Bath amenities included wall-mounted hairdryer, coffeemaker, Neutrogena bath care products and a retractable clothesline.
The Outdoor Heated Pool is in a pleasant courtyard between the restaurant and the fitness center. It is quite large and attractively landscaped. Additionally, the adjacent fitness center is very large, but with only a fair amount of equipment, all shoved on one side.
The Hilton University of Florida also has a large conference center attached to the hotel. There was a wedding going on while we were staying there. Also, there is a Business Center available to hotel and conference guests, but it was closed on the weekend during our stay.
The Hilton in Gainesville is hands down the best in town, and quite convenient to all of the city. My only complaint was that every one of their staff I encountered was stuffy. Not one of them warm in any way. But no one was rude either. I’d stay here again.