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.

 

[N860CR]

Status: Diamond
Property: Hilton Bayfront San Diego
Date: Early May
Booked: Standard King
Received: Standard King
Rate: $179 USD +++

I'd heard online that this property had poor Diamond recognition... and it certainly did.

No special welcome at checkin, no upgrade, no lounge, no breakfast. Given vouchers for 1 (only 1) non alcoholic drink and an appetiser at the main bar and a voucher for a drink and food item at Starbucks. Breakfast in the restaurant was an extra $10 +++.

Hotel was nice and new and fairly busy. Visited the bar twice. First afternoon was pleasant enough, however managed to drop $50 on a few drinks (who sits at a bar and has a Coke and an appetiser???). Second afternoon was shocking. Service non-existant, staff rude, failed to provide table service then abused me for approaching the bar as it's a "table service" bar. Waited 45 minutes to be serviced and then half an hour for the bill to be provided before I'd had enough and stood at the bar until somebody bothered to provide it to me. Complaint was made to the manager and, to their credit, the situation was well resolved. Won't be a property I'll return to as a Diamond though as the perks are non-existant. The gaslight quarter Hilton is meant to be better... We'll see next time.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Status: Diamond
Property: Hilton Bayfront San Diego

no breakfast.

Perhaps a complaint to HH as well. Continental breakfast is supposed to be a benefit regardless or are you saying the Starbucks voucher was the breakfast offer?

 

[N860CR]

Yes the Starbucks voucher was the "breakfast" offering. It provided one coffee and one bakery item.

 

[ric_melb]

Seem to have read of Starbucks voucher being the breakfast offering in other US Hiltons. Not exactly what you envisage.

 

[boomy]

Status: Diamond
Property: Conrad Sanya
Booked: King Deluxe
Received: King Ocean Plunge Pool Villa
Rate: 128,000 points (4 nights)

Arrived on 3K SIN-HAK and took the bullet train to Sanya. Nothing interesting to do in the city and being a very warm and humid day we took a taxi strait to Haitang Bay. The location is quite isolated with only a few resorts there like Double Tree & Sheraton and a few more are coming soon (Sofitel, Westin).

When we arrived we were greeted by a staff member who put "aloha" flowers on our necks and welcomed us to a nice air coned room for check in. The GM of the resort (a nice German guy) came to greet us, gave the usual Diamond speech and upgrade to an Ocean Villa.

We were taken to our villa with a buggy (it's a huge resort with mostly villas).
We opened the heavy metal door and entered to the garden which led us to the front door. HUGE villa, very luxurious with Chinese style marble everywhere.
The pool which is called "plunge pool" was more similar to a real vila pool & outside area very spacious.
Lets say it makes the Qualia plunge pools look like bath tubs and the Hayman Villa look like an old shed
In the bedroom we found a bottle of Spanish red, fruit basket and a welcome card. The mini bar was full & free (chips,cookies,beer & soft drinks) and was refilled once a day. In the bathroom we had a choice of 3 amnesties, one from the UK, another from Shanghai and also l'occitane (my misses favorite).
They even put my initial on the pillow









The breakfast was good with nice Western & Asian selection + a la cart menu to choose from. There were 2 services in the outdoor lounge. The first at 3-4.30pm afternoon tea and then 5-6.30pm evening coughtails & nibbles.
For dinner they had 3 restaurants on site (Western, Asian & traditional Chinese) also the Double tree next door had a steak restaurant, a buffet & casual noodle place. Both properties are under same management so we could eat anywhere and charge our room. We tried the steak place on the first night and it was very good. 2nd night we tried the Hainanese chicken at the Asian and it was also very good. 3rd night we ate at the casual noodle place which turned out to be the best. The last night we went to the fancy Chinese. The food was ok but very overpriced.

The property itself is big and fancy with 3 swimming pools but all the guests were using the main one next to the beach. The beach was nice and clean but nothing special. People preferred to spend their resort time by the main pool or in their villas.

Things to do and see in the area:
We hired a driver for the day and went to visit a nice rain forest, the famous Big Buddha & we finished at a traditional Chinese hot springs (it started raining in the afternoon so timing was perfect).
There is a lot more to do and see in the area, like an island opposite the resort that is supposed to have good snorkeling, another island with monkeys and there is also the more developed Yalong Bay with its beaches & resorts.

Although the area is described by the locals as "Hawaii of China", its miles far from it. Hawaii will alway be my favorite holiday island. Sanya is a nice place to come to for relaxation if you're in the area and have a few spare days (flights from SIN & HKG are very cheap).
I would say that Sanya is almost as nice as Denarau in Fiji and it will be even nicer in 5 years when all the resorts and facilities in the area will be finished.

 

[Mollycram]

Beverly Hilton
Booked: Double Standard
Received: Cabana Double
Diamond recognition at check in, two bottles of water in room, welcome letter and two breakfast vouchers. Concierge staff at this hotel have been fantastic,,,,,

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Property: Conrad Sanya

Wow.......I'm suitably impressed.

My +1 has been itching to go to China so I think this property may now be on the list.

Thanks for the impressive report!

 

[Hvr]

Hampton Inn and Suites Downtown Denver
11 May, $122 including taxes.
Booked king size room, received suite, including water, free internet and breakfast (Diamond privileges).

The front desk manager emailed me prior to my stay introducing herself and asking if she could be of assistance. I asked that I had firm pillows on my bed and for parking directions.

Both provided and the parking directions meant I had free street parking.

Upon arrival she was on duty and I was greeted and welcomed as a Diamond member. I asked for directions to an Asian restaurant which were very clear and the accompanying map was actually useful.

Feedback has been provided about my excellent experience. Of the 15 or so Hilton brand hotels I stayed in during my USA trip this was the only one who contacted me ahead of time.

 

[Hvr]

Hilton Garden Inn Rapid City SD
Booked and received King Bed
US$103 including taxes.

Near Mt Rushmore and obviously used to international tourists with a welcome greeting and Diamond bag of drinks and sweets. This hotel has a laundry which was welcome and used by me.

This hotel has a first amongst the Hilton brands for me; it is the first Hilton brand hotel I have ever driven to, previously I have walked, travelled by tram, shuttle bus, train, taxi and even been driven to the hotel. But this is the first Hilton brand hotel where I have actually driven the vehicle.

Breakfast was typical HGI with cereal, fruit and some evil looking cooked stuff which may have at one time been a distant relative to eggs. As to what they do to bacon, well it might be against the Geneva convention.

Starbucks beverages (I don't think you could in all honesty call it coffee or hot chocolate) are the norm, fortunately they also have hot water where you insert your own Milo.

 

[dfcatch]

Well booked into HSW in a couple of night's time.

Booked Guestroom - see that I've been upgraded at T-48 to an exec room.

I can see suites and relaxation rooms still available.... so we'll wait and see what happens at check-in......

With Westin back on the radar for me thanks to the Earth Gold promotion...... it's HSW's to lose......

 

[ts911993]

I got upgraded from a standard room to a relaxation room last week at Hilton Surfers Paradise. HH Diamond.

 

[Flashback]

Status: Gold
Property: Hilton Sheffield
Date: 27-28 May
Booked: Queen Guest Room
Received: Queen Deluxe Room
Rate: £65

This hotel has yet again failed to leave an impression on me, I don't think I've had a single stay where everything that should have been provided has been. The usual small bottles of wine that are in here, are not. I rang to front desk asking whether it had been forgotten to be told that it's a Hilton decision worldwide to remove them. Interesting. I'll ring Coventry tomorrow who also does it and see what they say. Was asked whether I received the jelly beans? Nope. She then said would you like some nuts? OK. Anyway, she's just brought up the jelly beans. Right. The girl who brought them up said today was the first day of the new rules.

Interesting..........

 

[Danger]

The usual small bottles of wine that are in here, are not. I rang to front desk asking whether it had been forgotten to be told that it's a Hilton decision worldwide to remove them. Interesting.

Rubbish. It's still listed on the HHonors website.

I'd take the two most expensive bottles of water from the minibar and tell them out check-out that you've done so as it's a published HHonors benefit.

 

[markis10]

Rubbish. It's still listed on the HHonors website.

I'd take the two most expensive bottles of water from the minibar and tell them out check-out that you've done so as it's a published HHonors benefit.

Wine is a Hilton benefit?

The usual small bottles of wine that are in here, are not. I rang to front desk asking whether it had been forgotten to be told that it's a Hilton decision worldwide to remove them. Interesting.

 

[TonyHancock]

The usual small bottles of wine that are in here, are not. I rang to front desk asking whether it had been forgotten to be told that it's a Hilton decision worldwide to remove them. Interesting. I'll ring Coventry tomorrow who also does it and see what they say.

I was told something similar at Warwick earlier this year, but Bromsgrove was still providing them as part of the Deluxe package in March.

 

[Danger]

Rubbish. It's still listed on the HHonors website.

I'd take the two most expensive bottles of water from the minibar and tell them out check-out that you've done so as it's a published HHonors benefit.

Wine is a Hilton benefit?

Not that I'm aware of, no, but water is, as I stated. It was a misread of Flashware's post on my part.

 

[Fifa]

Status: Diamond
Property: Conrad Bali
Date: 20-24 May 2013
Booked: Deluxe Garden King
Received: Conrad Suite Twin (2 x queens)
Rate: 119,000 HHonors points (booked before devaluation)

This was a great upgrade considering the rooms were going for over US$500 per night. However, even though the suite was huge at 110m2, we agreed we preferred the Deluxe Lagoon King as it was great having direct access to the pool.
The lounge has a generous afternoon tea with a huge list of drinks including a large selection of teas, coffees, milkshakes, smoothies and juices. The evening drinks menu was extensive with lots of coughtails and the food consisted of a small plate of canapes and tasty chip things. We were asked if we would like seconds. We tried breakfast in the lounge and restaurant but preferred the greater selection and views of the restaurant. Also loved the suites adults only pool with cabanas.
Fruit and water were replenished daily.

Conrad Suites description:
Spacious & luxurious suite with Conrad Suite Lounge access
Situated on the private wing with exclusive Conrad Suites guests only entrance, these spacious 110m²/1184 sq. ft suites offer an enticing combination of space, luxury and style. Designed with marbled floor, Conrad Suites offer a separate dining area with private bar, dressing room with walk-in wardrobe and two queen size beds. Unwind in the living room with plasma TV and DVD player, stay connected with free WiFi or refresh in the spacious bathroom with rain shower and soaking tub with TV. Enjoy complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea and evening coughtail, exclusive access to Suite Club Lounge and Suite Pool, unlimited laundry and dry cleaning service and 15% discount on food and beverage consumption, spa treatments and business center.

 

[netgrom]

Status: Gold
Property: DoubleTree Sukhumvit Bangkok
Rate: 3400.00 THB (20% off in advance sale)
Date: 17-20 May
Booked: King guest room
Received: King guest room

Was told unable to upgrade as I had booked king guest, I guess this is because its brand new or maybe common in Asia if you are only gold. Hotel was nice, staff were good, check-in/out process was smooth and was given a nice hot chocolate cookie. As there is no lounge they offered a bottle of wine and was sent a Chilean white wine. This was my first Doubletree stay and to be honest didn’t quite meet my expectations and probably would prefer a Hilton. The new Hilton next door is coming along and was informed August it should be open.

 

[oz_mark]

This was my first Doubletree stay and to be honest didn’t quite meet my expectations and probably would prefer a Hilton.

This is quite normal where a Hilton and Doubletree exist in the same market. It will normally be the Doubletree that is a step down in amenity or service quality.

 

[HKGNZL]

Double Tree Philadelphia 4 nights last week. First time as HH Diamond. Upgraded room, lounge access, complimentary drink and breakfast. Quite impressed!