Hampton by Hilton Hotels in Manchester

I am on the fence about whether to give two or three stars but there is no 2.5 star option so here we go: Pros: the location is walking distance to a variety of restaurants and shopping venues. The hotel is away from the highway so one hears no traffic at night. The lobby and the front desk staff are very nice- one reception person, (perhaps named Tasha?) was professional, friendly and went out of her way to recognize me as a Hilton Honors member. The breakfast is nice. Cons: other than the lobby, the side entrances to the hotel needed more janitorial attention, the glass on the exit door was smeared with fingerprints and handprints throughout my stay. Immediately outside the entrance nearest the shopping center, a trash can stood next to the door. It was stuffed with garbage to overflowing with cans and wrappers having fallen to the sidewalk. This remained so for two days. The hotel appears to rent rooms to work crews of young laborers- at least that’s my guess; either that, or it’s a social service program of some kind. While they were on the whole quiet, there was a tendency to “loiter” at night, drinking in the parking lot and wandering around the perimeter of the building with no apparent aim. I was nervous about parking my car because upon arriving at night, I encountered these clutches of guys in darkened areas of the parking lot, a couple of whom were guzzling from what looked like a vodka bottle, others were leaning into the windows of visiting cars, sitting in the grass etc. The hotel should have some security rounds to help keep things in order in the parking lot so that arriving guests are not nervous about possible crime. If these are work crews, I appreciate that and after all, at least they are working. There just needs to be rules for comportment and the enforcement thereof. While my room was large and the bathroom was especially generous with a large walk-in shower, there was no overhead light operating on entry so I had to wedge the room door open with my duffle bag, to allow light from the hall to enter the room so I could find a lamp and have light. After encountering the loitering in the parking lot, the experience of entering a dark room with no functioning light in the hallway only added to my reservations. The place is ok and I would consider staying again if some tweaks could be made.