Stay Report: Tru by Hilton Salt Lake City Airport (Salt Lake City, UT - October 2020)

Stay Report: Tru by Hilton Salt Lake City Airport
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I concluded my trip in Salt Lake City and since my flight departed from here, I wanted a hotel that was near the airport.  There were many options to choose from - it is an international airport and hub - but I had never experienced Tru by Hilton so I looked into it and the price was right so I booked it.  It was easy to book the hotel through the HHonors website and easy to manage through the app.  Given the look, the pricepoint, and the plethora of complimentary amenities, it seems the hotel is competing with Fairfield Inn by Marriott and other mid-scale brands. 

The hotel is near the airport and is located in a business park surrounded by offices, parking garages, and other hotels.  It is an odd-location in that there are no services - no gas stations, no restaurants - nothing close by so you need a car to access everything.  Also, the hotel is on the on the main road but set behind a huge parking lot and faces the highway - and shares a parking lot with a Comfort Inn; so an odd location.  When you enter the hotel, there is an open lobby with a circular check-in desks in the middle.  There are couches and lounging areas against the walls and surrounded the check-in desks, and in the back corner there was a pool table (now covered due to pandemic).  The chairs and desks would be ideal to lounge, work, meet, or gather all in one area.  Check-in took a while but eventually I received the key and proceeded towards the elevator to the room. In front of the elevator was a 'community board' which listed the temperature for the area, sights to see, notes from the staff, and other items; it was a cross between a dorm, a hostel, and an office.  

The room itself reminded me of an bigger IbisStyles room (review here).  As you entered, on the left

was the bathroom on the right-side wall was a mirror and hooks.  The bathroom was contained a sink with decent counter space, a toilet, a shelf running along the wall for decoration and more storage space, as well as shower with a glass door.  There were toiletries in the bathroom next to the sink and inside the shower - next to the sink was hand soap and lotion while in the shower was shampoo, conditioner, and body wash; like the Ibis they were in the squeeze bottles but they did not smell good at all so I avoided them.  There was an open closet in between the bathroom and the main room and the closet contained a shelf to store your luggage on, an open rack and hangers to hang your clothes, and against the wall was the iron and ironing board.  Underneath the luggage storage was the refrigerator - it was a nice addition but an odd location.  Further into the room against the left wall were the two beds with a nightstand in the middle.  The beds were a decent size and provided a good nights sleep so no complaints there; there were also plenty of outlets next to the bed and on the nightstand to charge all the electronics.  An interesting feature is that underneath the bed, part of it had been hollowed to allow for additional luggage or shoe storage; it was a good use of space.  Along the right side of the wall was a long shelf which contained the TV on stop, outlets against the wall (and you could place the electronics on the shelf) and underneath the shelf was a movable desk and chair.  There was a room AC and ontop of the AC was another shelf so I was not sure if this was a decoration piece to cover the AC or another storage area.  Overall, the average room size had decreased but the use of space was better and there was nothing extra in the room so it did not feel crowded or overstuffed - it felt comfortable and basic.

There were plenty of amenities for the guests including complimentary parking, complimentary wifi, complimentary airport shuttle, complimentary breakfast, fitness center, pool table and congregating area, and lots of space in the lobby to hang out, do work, or meetup.  The wifi was really strong and you were able to get lots of work done, and complimentary breakfast was still being provided; you could stop by the front desk and grab a to-go box which contained two hard-boiled eggs (in costco package), a bagel + cream cheese, yogurt, and utensils.  Coffee, hot cocoa, juice, and water were also available so overall it was a nice option and glad they still offered it.

In the end, I was not sure what to expect from Tru by Hilton but what I experienced was a more European-style hospitality with some American-features.  The room design and utilization of space was very European but the availability of lots of amenities for the guests to enjoy was definitely American; however, for the price point the room and amenities provided were a great bargain so definitely a good competition.