How do Hilton treat you as an Elite?

[QF WP]

Just thought I'd create a thread for this - looking back over the last year, I thought I'd done a thread here as well as on Priority Club.

I'm a Gold member.

Friday, 22 May to Sunday, 31 May (yes, 9 nights)
Property: Hilton Cairns
Room booked: King Room
Rate: Travelzoo $135 package rate (included bottle of red wine)
Received: Upgrade to King Suite, card from GM and the wine, obligatory 2 free water bottles per day

Wednesday, 8 July
Property: Hilton Parmelia Perth
Room booked: King Room
Rate: Award room
Received: Upgrade to King Suite, card from GM and the obligatory 2 free water bottles

Thursday, 9 July
Property: Hilton Adelaide
Room booked: King Room
Rate: Award room
Received: Upgrade to Exec Floor, card from GM and the obligatory 2 free water bottles

Saturday, 11 July
Property: Hilton Brisbane
Room booked: King Room
Rate: Met Package (birthday present for Mrs LW, included 2 buffet breakfasts at Atrium Cafe & 2 tickets to Qld Art Gallery for Impressionists Showing from Metropolitan Museum New York - to get some culture)
Received: Upgrade to Exec Floor, card from GM and the obligatory 2 free water bottles

Got some more travel to do to Melbourne this Friday, so hoping to fly down Thursday night to sample the new Hilton.

 

[Cynicor]

Also the Peter Thomas Roth shower gel in both Hiltons has changed. Used to be the clearish liquid with microballs (super bad for environment I know). Now an Orange liquid. At Hilton KL this was thick and hard to use, at Hilton PJ better consistency. Is this a global change??

Global change, yes. If cold it is very viscous. Needs warming up in the shower!

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Anyone else experienced overselling of hotel rooms?

Not me, but I do recall a thread where a diamond member was given the old heave ho. I can't remember who or where but it was in an Asian Hilton somewhere (Indonesia rings a bell).

EDIT: My apologies to Indonesia.....it was Hilton coughet. Here's the link to the thread I mentioned.

 

[wannabeinvestmentbanker]

Anyone else experienced overselling of hotel rooms?

I have read on FT that guests are occasionally transferred from the Doubletree to the Hilton in Bangkok, I presume because of the proximity of the two hotels.

Thanks moa999 for the review of the KL Hilton properties. I have a stay at the Doubletree KL coming up shortly and the hints on how to get there and getting around KL are much appreciated.

 

[markis10]

An interesting experience that happened to me today. I'm on a mattress run/holiday in BKK and booked a Superior Room in doubletree. Was overbooked and was sent to Hilton instead. Got the lowest category room, told them wasn't happy so they gave me lounge access.

Anyone else experienced overselling of hotel rooms?

They should also pay for your room so it's free

 

[vitagen]

Yup didn't cost me anything when they transferred me across

 

[jackthomas]

Also the Peter Thomas Roth shower gel in both Hiltons has changed. Used to be the clearish liquid with microballs (super bad for environment I know). Now an Orange liquid. At Hilton KL this was thick and hard to use, at Hilton PJ better consistency. Is this a global change??

I hope they haven't changed it! Still the same old one with the balls in HSW and SYD last week when i stayed.

 

[markis10]

I hope they haven't changed it! Still the same old one with the balls in HSW and SYD last week when i stayed.
However; the balls thankfully aren't bad for the environment at all, they break down on the skin ( they are like moisturising bubble things) so if you press on them, it will dissolve

They don't dissolve, they are poly ethylene which is why they are being discontinued

 

[jackthomas]

They don't dissolve, they are poly ethylene which is why they are being discontinued

Seriously? I must be applying way too much pressure then to make them pop....

 

[Cynicor]

Seriously? I must be applying way too much pressure then to make them pop....

Just because they pop doesn't mean the plastic surroundings dissolve. They just open up, and are starting to have an impact on the environment.

 

[markis10]

Seriously? I must be applying way too much pressure then to make them pop....

They are a serious hazard

No Cookies | dailytelegraph.com.au

 

[Katie]

Doubletree by Hilton Edinburgh
Status: Gold
Booked: 2x King Guest Rooms, requested interconnecting rooms.
Rate: GBP85/night per room
received: 2x King Guest Rooms next to one another. No adjoining door :shock::shock: This property has only three adjoining rooms, and they were all occupied when we checked in for our three night stay. 28-30 Dec, so just a few tourists around Edinburgh.
Received: Breakfast daily in the restaurant & 1x ~250mL of still and sparkling water on checkin. Still was consumed, sparkling went un-touched.

Fine property, friendly staff in restaurant and reception (ever so patient with curious Little Miss).
Disappointed by the small number of adjoining rooms.
Bathrooms were cozy. We had views of the back of the Dragoons museum at Edinburgh Castle from our rooms. Blackout curtains worked effectively for the Conference Centre lighting around our windows which was on 24x7. Slow lifts. Haggis and potato scones in the breakfast buffet.

 

[Danger]

Property: Hilton Tokyo
Status: Diamond
Room booked: king deluxe
Rate: JPY94,555 total for five nights last month (~AUD960)
Received: early check-in, king deluxe, several bottles of water, lounge access, breakfast in restaurant, fruit bowl.

Property: Hilton Kuwait Resort
Status: Diamond
Room booked: queen deluxe plus
Rate: KWD32.81 plus 24k HHonors points per night for two nights (~AUD300)
Received: super early check-in, queen deluxe plus, several bottles of water, breakfast in restaurant, fruit bowl, pre-arrival email and post-departure email.

 

[mel-world]

Property: Hilton Tokyo
Status: Diamond
Room booked: king deluxe
Rate: JPY94,555 total for five nights last month (~AUD960)
Received: early check-in, king deluxe, several bottles of water, lounge access, breakfast in restaurant, fruit bowl.

Hi. Could I ask for a little more about this property as I am about to book for a stay in April - as a Diamond. Is it central to the tourist sights? Did you get an airport transfer from/to NRT? Were the beds typically Asian (i.e. hard) or more like an Australian bed. I do not mind either way but good to know.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Daver6]

Stayed a couple of years ago. Can't recall anything about the beds. So I'm going to say the were regular beds.

Tokyo is huge! Its close to some tourist sites. It is about a 5-10 min walk to Shinjuku station. The Hilton also run a shuttle bus to the station. I think we used it once as the walk was easy and enjoyable.

To get to the hotel from NRT we used the "limousine bus". Could have used trains, but wasn't familiar with the train system, had several bags and just wanted not worry about much after the flight.

Views from the lounge are great and on a clear day you can see Mt Fuji in the distance.

Hi. Could I ask for a little more about this property as I am about to book for a stay in April - as a Diamond. Is it central to the tourist sights? Did you get an airport transfer from/to NRT? Were the beds typically Asian (i.e. hard) or more like an Australian bed. I do not mind either way but good to know.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Cynicor]

Hi. Could I ask for a little more about this property as I am about to book for a stay in April - as a Diamond. Is it central to the tourist sights? Did you get an airport transfer from/to NRT? Were the beds typically Asian (i.e. hard) or more like an Australian bed. I do not mind either way but good to know.

Thanks in advance.

There is nowhere in Tokyo that is "central". Your best best is near to a station on the Yamanote line. This Hilton is, the Conrad is, the Westin is.

Is there something specific you want to be nearby?

Think of Tokyo as 20 cities that have grown into each other. Each stop on the Yamanote is like a city, and most have their own feel. I could spend at least half a day in each one just walking around, before all the specific sights.

Also, very few people would get an airport taxi or transfer from NRT. Taxis are in the realm of 200AUD and hotel transfers would be worse. I imagine if someone else is paying, however...

No, most people would get the "friendly airport limousine" which is a bunch of buses with preset routes, times and stops. The website is not too hard to decipher by Japanese standards. The other option is the NEX, a train that connects at Shinjuku and Tokyo stations (I.e. The Yamamoto line again). Both these options are generally cheap and reliable. Bus is easier as it goes direct to many hotel doors, train is quicker if you are near a stations and can hike your own luggage. I generally get a train, but I try to fly via HND too.

I think there is a Japan travel thread if you have any more questions, or PM me. I'm on the way home from Japan right now, waiting for an MH flight, and will be back in Tokyo on Sunday.

 

[Gonetroppo]

They don't dissolve, they are poly ethylene which is why they are being discontinued

The wash doesn't contain the main micro-bead nasties to watch for - polyethylene or polypropylene. I'd guess it's the contentious "micro-bead" labelling that has seen the changeover. Where micro-beads have been banned it's specifically polyethylene or polypropylene, which don't dissolve. In the ingredient list you can see the blobby bits are based on acrylates copolymer (it does dissolve but probably still not great for marine life as it's still part of the plastics family). Moral of the story - if you like seafood (or just living on a suitable planet), watch out for polyethylene, polypropylene and anything else that sounds like a science experiment.

 

[mel-world]

There is nowhere in Tokyo that is "central".

No, most people would get the "friendly airport limousine" which is a bunch of buses with preset routes, times and stops. The website is not too hard to decipher by Japanese standards. T

I think there is a Japan travel thread if you have any more questions, or PM me. I'm on the way home from Japan right now, waiting for an MH flight, and will be back in Tokyo on Sunday.

Many thanks for the advice and the ideas - I had a look for a thread but will look again. We do not much like group travel but finding the best things to see in a giant sized metropolis is also difficult. We are only in town for a couple of days before heading to Osaka and Kyoto etc.

 

[Buzzard]

Can somebody please tell me, of I book a room on another site eg Expedia, will Hilton still give me status benefits eg breakfast and exec lounge access?

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Can somebody please tell me, of I book a room on another site eg Expedia, will Hilton still give me status benefits eg breakfast and exec lounge access?

Officially no, but plenty of reports of members doing it and at least receiving the status benefits and sometimes the points and stay credits.

 

[QF WP]

You're better off using the Best Rate Guarantee - call Hilton with the third party rate and they should match.