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.

 

[tgh]

Status : Gold
Hotel : H Doubletree Flinders St (Melbourne)
Booked: Queen with a real window
Received : King with a window and view , water , cookie, Breakfast and two drink vouchers

Good Stay, Good Hotel

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Hotel: Hilton Adelaide
...to see the Impressionist exhibition at the gallery ...

Don't tell anyone, but I'm not a huge ADL fan (unless the Buzz Bus is operational), but the impressionist exhibition is almost enough to draw me down there again! How was it? Did you and Lady L enjoy it?

 

[kearvaigskewer]

Status : Diamond
Hotel : Hilton Tokyo
Booked: King Hilton (award booking)
Received : King Tower Suite

Selected a King Executive in the app that afternoon as it was the best I'd seen showing showing. Arrived quite late at the hotel and the desk said they were sure they could do something better - but wasn't expecting an upgrade to the best room. Executive lounge was closed by the time we arrived so a bottle of wine was brought to the room. Breakfast in the lounge the next was good (though small). Late check-out.

This was my fourth stay there and I was keen to try the Conrad next time but after such good treatment I'm reluctant to eschew the Hilton.

 

[Lord_Lenny]

Don't tell anyone, but I'm not a huge ADL fan (unless the Buzz Bus is operational), but the impressionist exhibition is almost enough to draw me down there again! How was it? Did you and Lady L enjoy it?

I can take or leave ADL, we went down for the fringe a couple of times, this was actually the first non festival trip...it was a bit quieter at this time of year

I loved the exhibition, they brought out quite a good spread and traced the movement pretty much from beginning to end, but arranged it thematically almost so each room concentrated on a dominant colour rather than a chronological journey. I am a fan of the Impressionists though, and gladly spent quite a few hours at the Musee d'Orsay when we were last in Paris. They didn't have one singular drawcard painting but I liked that as it didn't dominate the exhibition, they'd built it around a spine of good Monet's including one of his best winter paintings (The Magpie) as well as a small waterlilies and Rouen Cathedral view. Then filled it out with some Renoir, Seurat and a couple of Belgian artists as well which was really interesting.

I'd say go, it's a very different experience to seeing them in Paris, they're in what I believe is the gallery's main 19th Century rooms, so it's high ceilings and a lot of light, plus it wasn't packed so it was great to actually be able to wander at your own pace. A lot of these works would probably be missed in the crush of the Musee d'Orsay.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I'd say go, it's a very different experience to seeing them in Paris, they're in what I believe is the gallery's main 19th Century rooms, so it's high ceilings and a lot of light, plus it wasn't packed so it was great to actually be able to wander at your own pace.

I think you may have just talked me into it! +1 will be in Italy for a few weeks soon, so I might just take myself off there and have a look! I too am an impressionist fan.

 

[Lord_Lenny]

I think you may have just talked me into it! +1 will be in Italy for a few weeks soon, so I might just take myself off there and have a look! I too am an impressionist fan.

Awesome, if you're a fan and you can get down there I'd say go for it

 

[Lord_Lenny]

Status: Diamond
Hotel: Hilton Sydney
Booked: King Hilton Deluxe
Received : King Relaxation Suite

Lady Lenny and I attended a Uni/Art Gallery of NSW event last night and decided to treat ourselves to a Hilton night instead of dragging ourselves back out to the mountains late at night and back into the city for work.

First time I have ever received an actual upgrade (not including Regular to Executive room as a proper upgrade) at Hilton Sydney, the relaxation suite is quite nice, much bigger than their regular rooms which was great. Didn't have time to check out the exec lounge as we were straight in, drop stuff and off to the gallery. Full breakfast at Glass was nice as always, it was quite a novelty to be eating a full breakfast at 7.30 rather than sitting on a train staring out the window.

Upgrade aside it was the usual standard Hilton Sydney stay - everything worked well, check in and breakfast service was efficient, Glass was reasonably quiet. I have noticed now both here and in Adelaide on the weekend that the lounge staff are texting me to check in on how the stay was going, and they have changed their in room soaps etc. to Crabtree & Evelyn - Lady Lenny was most pleased

 

[cxthomps]

Status : Platinum
Hotel : Hilton Doubletree Flinders St (Melbourne)
Booked: Twin Interior (cheapest rate)
Received : King accessible room city view (I didn't ask for this especially) 2 x water , 3 x cookie, 6 x Drink Vouchers, Breakfast

When I checked in I was with a couple of colleagues as we were going straight out to dinner so not sure if the 6 drink vouchers is normal but most certainly welcome. Only issue was they were all gone by the time I had put my bag in my room, checked in with Mrs and headed down

 

[boomy]

Property: Conrad London
Booked: King Deluxe Room
Received: Junior Suite (top floor)

Nice upgrade, good service as usual by all staff.
Needed an extra bed and proper one was provided (not cheap folding or open sofa) at no extra charge.

Table service in the lounge with good quality canapés.
Drinks were basic, something I found in most Conrads.

Breakfast at restaurant is buffet plus basic eggs to order, no more complementary a-la-carte. there is a menu but it cost £10 to order, even eggs Benny. Coffee was cough as usual in UK hotels.

I should add this it was my 7th stay and although I’m usually quite lucky with suite upgrades, Junior is as high as I ever got as this property. Not complaining tho, this is still my favourite London hotel.

 

[MicoPico]

Status: Diamond
Hotel: Hilton Nagoya
Booked: Twin Hilton Deluxe
Received: Twin Hilton Deluxe

Was offered the Twin Executive but the Twin deluxe actually has bigger beds than the exec room (135cm vs 110cm wide). With 2 adults and 2 kids, it was better to stick to the deluxe. Tried to ask nicely for a suite, but no luck given the high occupancy. Did get a paid offer though, but Mrs petertwister prefers to spend the money elsewhere.

 

[2tall4Y]

Status: Diamond
Property: Conrad Dublin
Date: last weekend
Booked: King Junior Suite
Rate: €341/night (pre-paid sale rate)
Received: King Junior Suite

OLCI only showed one room available on the 1st floor, which was the room we ended up with - I got a text around 10am saying the room was ready, and seeing that they were hoping to sell the bigger suites for about €700/night, I didn't bother chasing an upgrade at the front desk (token acknowledgement of diamond status when we picked up the keys, with the usual welcome letter). As it turned out, the room was perfect for our needs (2 adults + 1 child), with the sofa bed already made before we arrived and plenty of space - they had even left a 'kids activity hamper' in the room with lots of toys (including an unopened box of Lego) and brand new activity books in the room, which was a big hit my 5-year old daughter. Some chocolates and a bottle of sparkling water also awaited us in the room, and they were very generous with the complementary (still) waters too. No ducks or bears though, and I forgot to query this

Other than the room (apparently the rooms have been recently refurbished) though, the property looks fairly dated - it was almost surreal stepping out of the modern room into a hallway which wouldn't have felt out of place in a fancy 1980s office building, and Mrs 2tall4Y's (whose last Conrad experience was in Tokyo) first impression of the outside of the building was something like "I can't believe Conrad would put their name on a property like this" . The location close to St Stephen's Green worked well for us though, which was part of the decision to stay at the Conrad.

The service was generally very good; for example, after requesting our preferred amenities on the night of our arrival, the housekeeping staff left additional sets the following day, which was a nice touch (and will put off my next trip to the Refinery at Knightsbridge to buy their excellent shaving gel for a couple of weeks ). We ended up dining in the pub downstairs (Alfie Byrne's) on both nights, as it wasn't easy to find other pubs that would have kids in the evening, and we enjoyed the range of craft beers at reasonable prices + the food was pretty good too (importantly, they had a kids menu). We all loved the breakfast (no discussion of being charged for my daughter, despite the welcome letter only saying diamond breakfast only free for me and one additional guest), particularly the pancakes - the concept (buffet + complementary a la carte items) was very similar to Conrad Tokyo, except that the Dublin menu made it clear that 'specialty coffees' were €5/each - needless to say we declined the coffee tax.

 

[boomy]

Property: Hilton London Park Lane
Booked: Queen Guest Room
Received: Mayfair Suite

My first stay at this hotel, the flagship Hilton hotel in London and usually the most expensive. This time was lucky to score cheap(er) rates during Easter to finally check out this place. I should say it was still more expensive than Conrad, Curio, Waldorf and all other Hiltons in the city.

Let’s start with the positives:
- Suite update two days before check-in, on my first stay, impressive!
- The view is stunning. It’s the tallest building in the area hence enjoys unrestricted views of the city, something very few hotels in London can offer.
- Service was kind and professional by all staff.

Here are the negatives:
- Location is not so good IMO. On paper it looks close to many attractions but actually not really close, also no tube station near by. Personally I prefer Conrad, Curio and Waldorf locations but opinions may vary on this one.
- The property looks tired. The foyer, lounge and our suite felt outdated. Nothing luxurious about this place, feels like another Hilton in a big city.
- The suite was small. Just to be clear I’m not complaining as I got free upgrade and we needed the extra space so it was much appreciated. However, if I would pay almost £600 per night (the real cost on the day) I would not be happy at all. Bedroom was ok but living room was small and bathroom even smaller than Conrad’s Junior Suite. Furniture in the room looked old and cheap. While the view was fantastic the outside windows were very dirty.

Executive lounge was very simple, no style whatsoever. F&B offerings were on par with Hilton standards.

The breakfast restaurant was being renovated so we ate in the main ballroom. Offerings were actually better than the average Hilton standards, it was good breakfast.

Overall I couldn’t form a clear opinion about this hotel.
On one hand they offered generous upgrade and everyone treated us very well, yet I can’t see why would anyone pay so much to stay here given so many better options in the city, even within the HH group.

 

[turtlemichael]

I've done a report on our stay at the Hilton Sorrento Palace in a trip report thread for anyone interested. We totally enjoyed it. South Africa, Mauritius and Italy.

 

[Aeolus]

Property: Hilton Fukuoka
Booked: King Guestroom
Received: Panoramic Suite
First thing I noticed when the door swung open was the spiral staircase! As it turned out, this suite spanned across 2 floors with living and dining on lower floor and bedroom on the upper floor. Both floors have expansive views from the stadium to Fukuoka tower and beyond. Due to high occupancy for a number of the nights, the evening drinks/canapes relocated to the Ocean lounge on 34th floor. The Ocean lounge was more than twice the size of their exec lounge with similar views to the suite. Huge credit to their staff for their ability to maintain such high quality operations despite having to move exec lounge nightly, etc. and considering the property has 1053 rooms, the service were fantastic and amazingly seamless from check-in to check-out.

Some information which could be of use to anyone thinking of getting there using public transport. The hotel runs free bus shuttle from Tojinmachi subway station (every 20 mins on weekends and public holidays only). Pick up is right outside of Exit 4 but to avoid the stairs, use the lift on Exit 7 and you'll see Exit 4 less than 30m away. Without the bus, it's about 20mins walk (quite flat, no hills) but could be a bit troublesome with big luggage. Alternatively, from the airport, catch the subway then W1 bus from Tenjin or 306 from Hakata with both buses stopping just across the road from Hilton (can't miss it as the bus stop is called Hilton Fukuoka).

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Property: Hilton Fukuoka
Booked: King Guestroom
Received: Panoramic Suite
First thing I noticed when the door swung open was the spiral staircase!

My computer seems to have misplaced the mandatory photos ... could you post them again please?

 

[Aeolus]

My computer seems to have misplaced the mandatory photos ... could you post them again please?

Here you go. Photo (and lousy photographer) didn’t do justice to the size and layout of the suite.

 

[Lord_Lenny]

View attachment 123263 View attachment 123264
Here you go. Photo (and lousy photographer) didn’t do justice to the size and layout of the suite.

Yeh so that looks...ok I guess

 

[Deleted member 29185]

OK! My dear Lord Lenny, I was going to ask Aeolus, if I could move in!

ps ... knowing Aeolus and knowing me ... I wasn't confident of a positive answer, so I didn't bother!

 

[straitman]

Conrad Singapore
31st March 2018
Booked award night at 49,000 points.
Room on 27th floor.

On the app when checkin became available the cost became 49,000 points plus $151. At checkin this was reinforced and then confirmed by the duty manager and I was told I was mistaken. I then produced my copy of the booking and it suddenly became a computer glitch and the $151 was removed. I have only ever had something similar happen once and that was at the Hilton Garden Inn in Singapore. On that occasion I couldn't prove my version and had to go with theirs which I still maintain was wrong.

There is quite a bit of discussion on FT, and the strong feeling is that this *is* happening. That is based on conversations with staff. There is apparently a new room type to avoid upgrading Diamonds to 'Exec' rooms.

So the 31st floor for exec room guests, and the 4th floor for diamonds.

As a BiB Diamond for the last 5 years it is pretty poor I reckon.

The lounge was still on the 4th floor and was pretty ordinary at best. I queried what was happening with the renovation and was told that the 4th floor would, after its renovation, become the Diamond Lounge and that the 31st floor would become the Conrad Club. There was no real explanation as to what this meant but they were quite emphatic that this is what was happening.

On arriving home I sent a query to Conrad Singapore via their FB messages. ie so not seen in public. The following is my message and the response which I'll leave for people to work out for themselves.

We love staying at the Conrad Singapore however I really think you have lost the plot recently. At checkin last week my reward booking suddenly had a $151 dollar component added. The duty manager would not budge and was emphatic that it was correct until I produced the original booking at which point it changed to being a computer glitch. It's strange that I've only had this glitch in Singapore and at several properties.
The Temporary/permanent Executive lounge was substandard. I like the location but it was over crowded, the hot food almost inedible and the service almost non existent. Certainly not Executive lounge standard at a lower grade hotel let alone at the Conrad Singapore.

The concept of a seperate Conrad lounge for people who actually book executive rooms as distinct from people who have earned it via Diamond, or other, status may or may not be appropriate but it certainly isn't acceptable as it's currently set up.
I have posted my experience on The Australian Frequent Flyer Forum and the consensus amongst the HH Diamonds, of which there are many, is that if the current arrangement continues that they will stay elsewhere.
I like the Conrad but it is not substantially better than Singapore Hilton and people will now be staying at the Hilton instead. With this enhancement I believe that the Hilton is actually much better value and I have cancelled my next Conrad booking and moved it to the Hilton.
Please feel free to contact me if you need any further information on this.

Hi Bill, thank you for your feedback and we sincerely apologize for the inconveniences caused during your last stay with us. Perhaps you may have mistaken or been miscommunicated with, as it was never our intention to have a separate lounge for Diamond members. Our intention is to have two lounges to provide the best service and better cater to the needs of our guests as well as valued members like yourself. With the completion of the space on level 31, we will be embarking on refurbishment works to the space on level 4. Please bear with us while we work through this transition period and fine tune to differentiate the two lounges with access details. In the meantime, please do note hesitate to let us know if you will be visiting us anytime soon.

 

[Cynicor]

That sounds like BS to me. I'll be there end of May and my folks were just there and told the same. Luckily I have "club" access as I threatened to walk. Won't be staying again myself, though, after that.