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.

 

[hydrabyss]

Yes, definitely.
I don't think points bookings come up if you're not signed in.

Points will show up if you are not signed in. Its only when you hit select that you need to sign in. But if you are using the app disregard what I have said as you are signed in.

 

[sinophile888]

I gave it a go and booked the five nights one at a time for 140000 points total, rather than the 5-night block for 202000. I have 5 confirmation emails.

One of the nights was 21000 points and previously when I had looked at a points and money booking, it was 20000 points and $111.

I do hope it all goes through, There was no mention of the 5th night free that I could see but I still got a better deal this way than the higher amount with the discount.

I am happy to use up quite a few points as my husband prefers the HSW which won't be available soon.

 

[straitman]

I gave it a go and booked the five nights one at a time for 140000 points total, rather than the 5-night block for 202000. I have 5 confirmation emails.

One of the nights was 21000 points and previously when I had looked at a points and money booking, it was 20000 points and $111.

I do hope it all goes through, There was no mention of the 5th night free that I could see but I still got a better deal this way than the higher amount with the discount.

I am happy to use up quite a few points as my husband prefers the HSW which won't be available soon.

I just tried a 5 night booking from 16th April. The initial page shoed 39000 points per night but looking at each day gave 25, 22, 22,25 & 22 thousand points per night. Booking 5 nights as a block would have cost 100000 points so a saving of 16000 points which does not correspond to a free night. Other times I have done this each night has been equal points and the total was the same as only 4 nights.

Weird OMHO.

 

[Daver6]

Mods, if you feel this isn't the right place for this, please feel free to move to another thread. However, I think some of the response is relevant to how HSYD treat their customers.

So I sent an email to both the diamond email address and H-SYD guest relations manager.

The contents of my email were....

My booking was for a deluxe plus room which was to be on the top four floors and comes with a half bottle of wine. Upon check-in I was “upgraded” to an executive room on level 37. Not on the top four floors.

Here are the problems with this. I’ve had it previously confirmed from the hotel that the only difference between a executive room and a deluxe plus room is the former grants access to the executive lounge. As a diamond member, I have this privilege regardless of room type. Hilton clearly state that a room upgrade may include such things as a higher floor or corner room. I received a lower room that was exactly the same. Therefore a room downgrade.

At check-in I queried this stating I’m sure there are better rooms available. I was told while there was suites, they can only upgrade me to a relaxation suite and none were available.

Two issues with this. Firstly, I know that to be a total lie. I know for a fact upgrades have occurred from lower level rooms to suites above a relaxation room. Please don’t tell me lies. This is the worst possible thing to do to a customer one, especially a loyal one.

Secondly, I went to the room I was given and the first thing I did was check online. There was availability for a relaxation suite. I could have booked it then and there. So again, I’ve been lied to about it not being available.

I notice in my room, the half bottle of wine that is meant to be in the room is missing. I went back down to reception and queried why I was told there was no relation suite when in fact I could book one. I did not receive a satisfactory response to this. In lieu of the missing half bottle of wine, a full one was provided.

Finally, I question how thoroughly the rooms are cleaned. On day two I opened the little tube of moisturiser to find someone else’s hair under the lid, suggesting a previous guest had used to the product and it hadn’t been replaced.

To be clear, I don’t expect an upgrade to a suite per se. However, I expect the spirit of the diamond benefits to be adhered too. I received a room downgrade and multiple lies. This is not acceptable to me.

I’d appreciate your thoughts on why this happened and what can be done about it?

I’m more than happy to discuss this further if you wish.

Thanks for your time.

I received this response from the duty manager...

Personally I feel the response is a lot of waffle without addressing the specific issues I raised. I also feel like they just make up the rules as they go with different staff making up different rules. See my bolding below.

Good Evening Mr. Daver6,

I hope this message reaches you well. Thank you for contacting our Guest Assistance team in regards to your recent stay here at Hilton Sydney. I was disappointed to read that as a valued and loyal Hilton Honors Diamond member you were not satisfied with your stay, particularly the room allocation and the cleanliness of the room.

In reading your comments about the room you were allocated, I can understand why you felt as though this room was a downgrade despite the hotel selling an Executive Room as a more superior room. Please know that it was certainly not the intention of the hotel to make you feel as though you were being downgraded as we had allocated this as an upgraded room due to the pricing levels of our room categories. While I was pleased to hear the team organized a full complimentary bottle of wine for you, I have shared your feedback with Senior Management about the way in which these upgrades are allocated when our guests originally book a King Deluxe Plus room as I can understand your disappointment in the room you were given.

I would also like to take this opportunity to clarify the room upgrade benefits we offer at Hilton Sydney to our Diamond members. Diamond member are entitled to complimentary upgrades based on availability and up to the room categories of Relaxation Room and Junior Suite. On rare occasions, we do award premium suite upgrades however these are not included within the Diamond Honors benefits and as such we do not guarantee upgrades to these categories even if available. Please accept my sincere apologies if this was not communicated to you as such and rest assured that I will be personally addressing the matter with the team members whom you spoke with.

Furthermore, our Housekeeping team prides itself on maintaining and delivering exceptional room standards and I was therefore deeply disappointed to read about the tube of moisturizer you found in your room. This issue has been shared with our Executive Housekeeper as she will conduct a full investigation into who prepared the room for your arrival as this is certainly not of Hilton Sydney standards.

Mr. Daver6, we truly value and appreciate your loyalty to Hilton Sydney and it was therefore disappointing to read we did not meet your level of expectations but you also did not feel appreciated as a Diamond member. In addition to addressing the relevant issues with our teams, I would like to offer you 20,000 Honors points as a gesture of apology from the hotel for these matters. More importantly though, I would like the opportunity to welcome you back to Hilton Sydney on a future stay and personally attend to your reservation to try and ensure the best available upgrade and that your next stay with us is memorable for all the right reasons. Please contact me directly for this next stay and do not hesitate to reach out in the meantime using the below contact details.

Warm Regards,

 

[hydrabyss]

I just tried a 5 night booking from 16th April. The initial page shoed 39000 points per night but looking at each day gave 25, 22, 22,25 & 22 thousand points per night. Booking 5 nights as a block would have cost 100000 points so a saving of 16000 points which does not correspond to a free night. Other times I have done this each night has been equal points and the total was the same as only 4 nights.

Weird OMHO.

I am unsure if it's a bug in the system since they changed or how they value points for each night.

 

[oz_mark]

I just tried a 5 night booking from 16th April. The initial page shoed 39000 points per night but looking at each day gave 25, 22, 22,25 & 22 thousand points per night. Booking 5 nights as a block would have cost 100000 points so a saving of 16000 points which does not correspond to a free night. Other times I have done this each night has been equal points and the total was the same as only 4 nights.

The Points required is linked in a roundabout way to the cash rate represented by the Honors Discount rate. If you chooses either you'll see what I mean when you play with the slider.

Almost certainly, this is a case where the rate for a 5 night stay is not the sum of the individual nights. You will likely see the Honors Discount cash price bolt upwards when you try to book the lot together. This is something that has happened for a while.

 

[JessicaTam]

For those who have missed the news: Hilton Melbourne will be rebranded to Pan Pacific from May 31

 

[drross]

For those who have missed the news: Hilton Melbourne will be rebranded to Pan Pacific from May 31

bu**er ...what next?

 

[wannabeinvestmentbanker]

Lamenting the loss of HSW as I will not get to stay there before the rebrand being relegated to the UK for work

A few data points as a diamond booking cheapest room available:

Hilton Canary Wharf:
Booked: cheapest room (approx 140 pounds last minute)
Received: junior suite

Great hotel for weekend stays as Canary wharf is desserted but close to Greenwich and not that far from the city or LCY. Executive lounge has good food and appropriately sized. Breakfast in the restaurant was great. Definitely recommend here for the right price.

Hilton Stockholm:
Booked: cheapest room (approx 90 pounds)
Received: executive room

Not a bad Hilton with a decent location. Plus point is the intimate executive lounge with fire and chess board. For the price paid its not bad value.

Hilton Prague Old Town:
Booked: cheapest room (approx 55 pounds)
Received: Executive room

Perfect location for exploring the Old town and all parts of Prague and definitely beats the Hilton on location. Executive lounge was not too bad with attentive service for drinks which was nice.

Hilton Prague:
Booked: cheapest room (approx 70 pounds)
Received: executive room

An expansive hotel with an impersonal feel. The executive lounge was quite big and the offerings were not that impressive. It is further from the main part of Prague so would definitely recommend Hilton Old Town. I did receive a personal greeting from the Duty Manager but this was not enough to make up for the impersonal feel and adequate exce lounge.

 

[Danger]

I received this response from the duty manager...

Personally I feel the response is a lot of waffle without addressing the specific issues I raised. I also feel like they just make up the rules as they go with different staff making up different rules. See my bolding below.

I would also like to take this opportunity to clarify the room upgrade benefits we offer at Hilton Sydney to our Diamond members. Diamond member are entitled to complimentary upgrades based on availability and up to the room categories of Relaxation Room and Junior Suite. On rare occasions, we do award premium suite upgrades however these are not included within the Diamond Honors benefits and as such we do not guarantee upgrades to these categories even if available. Please accept my sincere apologies if this was not communicated to you as such and rest assured that I will be personally addressing the matter with the team members whom you spoke with.

Umm. What happens if you book a junior suite to begin with? Apparently you're SOL to get the Diamond upgrade you're membership entitles you to because this hotel draws a line at that level. That's against the T&Cs.

 

[mingzie]

Umm. What happens if you book a junior suite to begin with? Apparently you're SOL to get the Diamond upgrade you're membership entitles you to because this hotel draws a line at that level. That's against the T&Cs.

Not really, the hotel says it does award upgrades on premium suites but rarely. Furthermore, the T&C states that upgrades can include standard or junior suites (relaxation room/junior suites) and executive suites can be excluded (which although not very clear could easily cover relaxation suites, king suites and master king) which is completely true, and that this determination is subject to the discretion of the hotel, which is completely allowed. I mean, nothing is outside the T&C, technically they're allowed to move you one floor up or in the corner of the same room type and they'd still be within the terms.

 

[Danger]

Not really, the hotel says it does award upgrades on premium suites but rarely. Furthermore, the T&C states that upgrades can include standard or junior suites (relaxation room/junior suites) and executive suites can be excluded (which although not very clear could easily cover relaxation suites, king suites and master king) which is completely true, and that this determination is subject to the discretion of the hotel, which is completely allowed. I mean, nothing is outside the T&C, technically they're allowed to move you one floor up or in the corner of the same room type and they'd still be within the terms.

Fair
point about the T&Cs putting an upper limit on the upgrades.

As for simply bumping you to a room one floor up, I've been saying that for some time. The Hilton T&Cs leave a lot to the imagination (or to the hotel's imagination, at least). Again, as I've said previously, under Hyatt Gold Passport a Diamond was guaranteed a club room if one was available.

 

[TiredOldFlyer]

Booked 2 nights in a standard room with breakfast at Evian Les Baines
received upgrade to Executive Suite. Booked two nights at Zurich Airport
In a standard room with breakfast received Junior Suite.

 

[bullerdude]

Date: March
Property: Hilton Sydney
Booked: Guest Room (Points + Pay)
Received: Executive Room (According to them)
Status: Gold

From reading other peoples experiences at the Hilton Sydney, i was pleasantly surprised at getting an Exec upgrade with exec lounge access as a Gold. Granted I don't actually know if the room itself is an exec room but it seems fine, the lounge access was the main benefit.\

Quite happy.

 

[zig]

March 2017
Property : Hilton Brisbane
Booked : King Executive Room (advanced purchase to take advantage of Amex offer)
Received: King Executive Room
Status : Gold

 

[earlyriser]

Date: March
Property: Hilton Sydney
Booked: Guest Room (Points + Pay)
Received: Executive Room (According to them)
Status: Gold

From reading other peoples experiences at the Hilton Sydney, i was pleasantly surprised at getting an Exec upgrade with exec lounge access as a Gold. Granted I don't actually know if the room itself is an exec room but it seems fine, the lounge access was the main benefit.\

Quite happy.

What night of the week was this? Not sure I like my chances on a Friday night, even as a diamond.

 

[boomy]

Property: Waldorf Astoria Shanghai
Booked: King Deluxe X2
Received: King Deluxe City View & Junior Suite

No full suite upgrade for either room but we did get an early check-in and complementary breakfast, include on the day of arrival.

The hotel is very elegant and glamorous. It has quite a history, especially the Long Bar which used to be the world's longest bar when opened in 1911.

Rooms are decent size, well furnished. Huge bathrooms, all marble with double sinks and Ferragamo amenities. Love the automatic Jap toilet.

Breakfast at restaurant included a-la-carte and buffet selection, both Asian and Western. The buffet was bit disappointing for a hotel of this caliber but a-la-carte was quite extensive so I basically ignored the buffet and ordered everything from the menu.
The coffee was not the best, either too much milk in the latte or burnt taste espresso. It's a shame as they have fancy coffee machine but not well trained Barista.

Service was generally good but not amazing. I've experienced more friendly service in Chinese hotels but also much worse so all in all it was acceptable.

The Long Bar was, for me the highlight of this hotel.
It has fantastic atmosphere and the live jazz music takes you back to a different era. We finished each night there and spent a lot on their overpriced drinks.

Location is perfect, right on the Bund. Walking distance to ferry, metro, restaurants and shopping area.

We took taxi from PVG (cost ¥180).
We used metro to PVG (cost ¥7 p/p).

 

[hydrabyss]

Property: Hilton Sydney
Date: Sunday 12th March 1 night
Booked: Guest Room
Received: King Junior Suite
Status: Diamond

When I checked my booking the night before an Exec Room was showing and I figured I may as well use checkin to atleast to get level 36 but the system would not allow me. When I tried half hour later the Junior suite was showing and I was able to checkin. This was my first Suite upgrade here since august last year(not including relax. rooms) and about 2 years since last getting a Junior Suite.

Lounge was still moderately busy for the evening service. I am still blown away by what they offer regarding canapes, large spring rolls, pizza, dumplings, salads and halfway through service a large salmon fillet which I would guess was poached (my best uneducated guess) was brought out. I have been told the chefs are a little competitive and try to out do each other on what they can send up to the lounge.

Glass for breakfast was as good as it always is with a few new dishes which was a nice change.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Property: Waldorf Astoria Shanghai…………………..The hotel is very elegant and glamorous. It has quite a history, especially the Long Bar which used to be the world's longest bar when opened in 1911.

And to think that not long ago Long Bar was a McDonalds restaurant also!

Love the automatic Jap toilet.

Aint it a doozy? Hours of fun for the whole family!

Breakfast at restaurant included a-la-carte and buffet selection, both Asian and Western. The buffet was bit disappointing for a hotel of this caliber but a-la-carte was quite extensive so I basically ignored the buffet and ordered everything from the menu.

I had this exact conversation with Hotel mgmt – buffet totally underwhelming for such a quality hotel – they asked what could we do to improve it? I suggested they send mgmt down Nanjing Lu to see the buffet at Le Royal Meridien – I don’t think they liked that suggestion. I last stayed there last May – 4nts for a trade show – early start each day so was at brekky at 7am each day – no Western mgmt on duty at that time – breakfast was a shambles – 30min wait for eggs benedict and when they came they were cold.

The coffee was not the best.

Don’t beat about the bush – coffee shocking

The Long Bar was, for me the highlight of this hotel.
It has fantastic atmosphere and the live jazz music takes you back to a different era. We finished each night there and spent a lot on their overpriced drinks.

Still offering the nuts and olives with all drinks in Long Bar? They would need to as they seriously don’t miss with prices. One night when I was in there General Manager strolled by and sat and chatted for like an hour – he picked up the tab for the coupla Qingdaos and 2 or 3 G & Ts I had – that softened the blow a bit.

Location is perfect, right on the Bund. Walking distance to ferry, metro, restaurants and shopping area.

I so meant to tell you about a fabuloius Italian restaurant just out the back and across street – Goodfellas – genuine Italian ownership and management – aint cheap but it is seriously good.

 

[drross]

I so meant to tell you about a fabuloius Italian restaurant just out the back and across street – Goodfellas – genuine Italian ownership and management – aint cheap but it is seriously good.

thanks for the tip - there next month