Hotel Ballast Wilmington, Tapestry Collection by Hilton

Reviews

• EK

  Ephrem KITOYI

  2 days ago
  5.0
  On a Business trip in the Carolinas, I decided to stay at Hotel Ballast in Wilmington. The kingroom was spacious and suited my need. It offers a beautiful view of the river and a possibility to see the boats moving and the battleships in the waters. The service was great. I was welcomed warmly by a crew that was available and attentive to my requests. The cafe as well as the restaurant at the hotel offer a vast menu to suit most palates. They open early in the morning for breakfast and stay open late for lunch and dinner. The bar is open late for night caps. The clientele of the hotel is cordial. I will stay there again.
• IW

  Ian Wiggins

  2 days ago
  1.0
  I had a terrible experience at the Ballast. Located centrally in downtown Wilmington, it was walking distance from where I needed to go and had a good view. However, the toilet didn’t flush, maintenance took forever to come, and I had to use the lobby bathroom for most of my stay. Also, the sink was full of pubic hair from the last patron when I arrived. All I was offered in return was a restaurant voucher (why would I want to eat at a place that cannot stay clean?). I went to start the shower, and the handle fell onto the ground almost landing on my toe. When I went to wash my hands, there was no soap. When I went to dry them, the towel rack came off the wall. This place was far too expensive for the less-than Motel 6 experience I received.
• MB

  Marietta Bratton

  6 days ago
  1.0
  An attractive lobby is certainly not enough to overcome the unacceptable conditions of my room and the rest of the drab Hotel Ballast. First, I reserved a King Bed Historic View. The website stated Admire impressive views of historic downtown Wilmington from this stylish room decorated with unique local artwork. Views of the Hotel Ballast’s air conditioning unit and roof puddles are not historic. Second, In describing the bathroom the website stated I could refresh in the elegant bathroom with sleek granite counter tops, lit make-up mirror and complimentary indulgent bath amenities. My definition of an elegant bathroom does not include a cracked toilet that has been leaking onto the floor for quite a while. Nor does it include a sink with a faucet so close to it that I could barely wash my hands without touching the sink. How do you expect guests to fill a coffee machine using this faucet? Absolutely disgusting! Third, there were only 2 functioning ice machines in a hotel with 272 rooms and 9 floors. I stayed here 4 nights. I will never recommend or reserve this hotel again.
• NA

  Nelson Andrade

  Nov 6, 2025
  1.0
  Something I want you to understand about my review is that I'm giving it from the perspective of someone that has stayed in several different hotels across the United States for various reasons, the nature of my current stay was to attend a military ball function at the Wilmington convention center. I just needed a place to sleep for context, BUT I did plan on waking up early and doing some work. When I first connected to the Guest Wifi, I was prompted to either choose a free or premiuim version of connection. I choose free and I really regret it, I wish the prompt had more infor like the reality of the download speed: 1.51 Mbps. ping 32, 6.23 Mbps upload. Ping and Upload are fine. It's the download speed that is, horrendus. Put it this way, at a download speed of 1.51 (at 3 in the morning, when everyone is probably asleep) is like having to fill a pool (use the internet) and do so with an eye dropper; 1.51 download speed Mbps It took 5 minutes for my Work Google drive to load. It took 2 minutes for the speed test page to load, first the ads, then the actual interface of the speed test. One could argue this is not such a huge issue. At some point, pages and content load, like its 1998. What I am most concerend about is how my issue was handled. I called the Hotel Operator to get guidance on how to switch to the premium internet option (I do not know who else to call) So I want to switch to have a faster connection. It is my fault for being defaulted to slow speed internet. Had I known though that 1.51 Mbps was going to be the download speed, oh yeah, I am paying. The operator greets me, I report the issue, essentially trying to make money for the hotel by switching to paid internet. Operator states "I don't know how to do that" I do point that out that it would be helpful if he knew how to do that, so that he could help me. He then says "My computer is doing an audit, so I can't help with that right now" I don't know what that means, audit, but I guess it prevents him from leaving the computer, completely. In that moment it felt like my needs as a guest where not really important, and I was left to myself to figure it out. I ended the call with I'll do my best to figure it out. He said "Ok" His name is Carl, I stayed from 11-5 through 11-6. Room 311. At it was around 2:45 ish I called I believe. This manner of customer service is not what I expected with Ballast and Highly influences my idea and likelihood of returning as a guest. I don't expect to be treated like an Ambassador. I just wanted faster internet for my stay. But that didn't seem to matter to Carl, and it felt like he made little effort to assist me. Additionally the bathroom mirror in room 311 River side, is not working. I had to shave in the main room while holding my phones flashlight in one hand to illumiate my face. Really inconvinent. I will say though, everyone else I had a great expereince with. From booking, Checking in, Vallet (Professional Crew). It was at the point that when I really needed help, the designated representative for the Ballast didn't live up to the experience I was hoping and expecting for. I do hope this is a teachable moment to reassess what operators and hotel service staff are capable of doing troubleshooting and addressing for future guests here at the Ballast.
• MD

  Mallory Dean

  Nov 2, 2025
  1.0
  I will start by saying there is a vast difference in the day staff Vs. the evening staff. With that being said, either the evening employees don’t care about the guests or, they don’t care about their jobs. I called twice before arriving on my trip. Two days prior I made a phone call that I was on hold for 15 mins, while the staff had “no idea how the shuttle system works” to “I talked to valet and they said to call on the day of your arrival to be picked up from the airport” - the shuttle and location were the two main reasons for my decision to stay here. It definitely wasn’t the $600 price tag for two nights. I called during my layover in Charlotte, where I was told by the shuttle service to “call 10 mins before you land to see if we are busy or not” - I have no idea what this means. Most people are in airplane mode until they land. Nonetheless I called once I exited the plane where no one answered the phone. I ended up paying an uber to get me to the hotel. Once I arrived I saw two women sitting at the desk in the lobby. I waited and waited. One woman sat at the computer and didn’t even acknowledge a guest entering, never said a “one of us will be with you”, nothing. The second woman finally checked me in. I went into my room that had the AC blasting. Let me add that it was 50 degrees outside. I turned off the AC and switched it to heater. In the two nights I stayed there it never went higher than 63 degree's in that room. After I turned off the AC I went to the vending machine, and when I came back I was locked out of my room. I went downstairs because no one answers the phone. I was met with a brief, rude - didn’t care - reaction and was told “go wait in the hallway and I’ll send someone up” - thankfully the maintained man was quick and friendly. He replaced the door battery. Is there not someone who does regular checks on these so that guests don’t have to deal with this? And reading other reviews it looks like this is a common issue. On my day of check out I stopped in the lobby to confirm I had a late check out and the staff was nicer. I asked her to please communicate all of this to the manager. Not necessarily for me, but for growth of this hotel. Maybe they need some more training for their staff. Maybe the house keeping supervisor should be checking the doors, and maybe the lobby staff should remember that they are the first faces they see when entering this establishment. I verified that I would be able to use the shuttle service to the airport that afternoon. When I left the hotel the shuttle driver was nice and helpful and even had a friendly chat on my drive. The staff stated they would mail me a free stay. Whether or not that happens I will update my review. However, not sure if that can make me want to give this place another try. We’ll see. I will be back to Wilmington at some point. I had an uber driver ask me if I would recommend this hotel, and I replied with “that’s a hard pass” - he thanked me because he will recommend to his riders places to stay if they’re recommendable.

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