If first impressions are as important as they say, then the Hilton Garden Inn in Hamilton has got its priorities in order.
Visitors to the hotel on U.S. 130 in Hamilton are welcomed in a spotless, well-kept, bright and airy lobby that looks as new as the day it opened in October 2007. Since then, the Hilton Garden Inn owned by local entrepreneur Chris Vernon has been establishing itself as a venue for weddings, meetings, seminars and, of course, a night’s stay.
The hospitality industry grows more competitive by the month, but the staff at the Hilton Garden Inn in Hamilton say they are ready to differentiate themselves by offering better service, better amenities and more convenience to area attractions and businesses.
Considered the mid-priced brand in the Hilton hotel chain, Hilton Garden Inns usually feature cozy public spaces, restaurant service, guestrooms and suites, and ample event space, and the Hamilton location is no exception.
Its 81 guestrooms and 24 suites offer a variety of overnight options, while more than 4,000 square feet of event space can be configured for anything from a collegial board meeting to a rollicking Sweet 16 party to an intimate wedding.
Helena Chin-Sang, the Hilton Garden Inn’s director of sales, said prospective brides and grooms are often enticed by the hotel’s “Wedding Weekend” package. It includes a rehearsal dinner, reception with cocktail hour and sendoff brunch for the morning after.
Rehearsal dinners can be held in the ballroom space or outside (in good weather), while brunches can take place in the downstairs dining area or in the private space. The garden patio and gazebo with custom landscaping offers an outdoor option in the summer for cocktail hours, and the hotel has plans to make additional upgrades to its lush flower gardens around the patio.
“It’s beautiful in the spring and the summertime,” general manager Mollie Fisher said. “Even in the fall, they put some great fall landscaping out there. It’s a great spot to have a cocktail hour, and also a little afterparty, under a tent.”
Brides and grooms get complimentary suites in the wedding packages, and the hotel will reserve blocks of rooms for guests who would rather stay where the action is than have to get into a car after the celebrations are over.
The hotel also hosts anniversary parties, retirement parties, reunions and other special occasions. Catering is handled by Alan Meinster of famed Chambersburg restaurant Marsilio’s.
The ballroom isn’t the largest in the area—Chin-Sang said it’s ideal for 200 guests or fewer—but the windowed Mercer Ballroom is well appointed with plenty of room for dancing. A nice and uncommon feature of the ballrooms is the elongated dining tables, which offer guests more opportunities for conversation than the traditional round tables.
Chin-Sang said the hotel has become a prime spot for corporate meetings and seminars because it is located at the midpoint between New York and Philadelphia. Meetings can be held in the ballroom, which can be divided into three sections, as well as in the “board room,” which has a look and feel as if it belonged in the building of a major corporation. The rooms can be configured for a number of purposes, including classroom and theater-style settings.
During the week, the hotel books a lot of business travelers into its rooms and suites. It offers free parking, free wireless Internet and a business center and a fitness center, as well as a hot breakfast buffet daily.
But on weekends, leisure travelers are the most common guests. Chin-Sang said hotel guests often choose the Hilton Garden Inn if they plan to go to area attractions such as Great Adventure, the Sun National Bank Center, the New Jersey Horse Park or Princeton.
Fisher added that these days, guests don’t only come from far-off locations.
“The new thing with the recession was the idea of the ‘staycation,’” she said. “We have an indoor pool, so people have a little weekend away without really going anywhere.”
Anyone who is interested in having a special occasion or meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn can call the hotel or stop in to meet with the sales staff, who can go over customers’ needs and make recommendations.
The Hamilton Hilton Garden Inn is located at 800 U.S. 130 South in Hamilton. For more information, call the hotel at (609) 585-6789. Website hamiltonhiltongardeninn.com has information on the various packages the hotel offers.
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