This is a typical Hampton Inn, but right from the start I had a negative attitude about it because the entrance was dirty - glass, floor, rug, outside around the door. First impressions, people!! Five or ten minutes of cleaning would have taken care of it.
How different this was from another Hampton Inn we stayed in on the same trip. It was spotless from the get-go and got a 5-star rating from me. The hotels were nearly identical, but that negative first impression in Carlsbad pretty much ruined my opinion of the place.