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.

 

[mel-world]

Looks like you got full size suite, not Junior.

I was luckier than I thought then. Tks for the correction. It was an excellent space.

 

[kermatu]

By far the worst Conrad I’ve stayed at and that was shortly after they switched from Embassy Suites (which is why it’s suite only hotel). Sad to see staff still not properly trained and queues for breakfast remained the same. Looks like nothing changed.

Sadly the Conrad brand really means nothing in my view. Each place is different. I’m having a rather ordinary stay at the London Conrad. Will wait until the end before passing final judgment.

 

[boomy]

Sadly the Conrad brand really means nothing in my view. Each place is different. I’m having a rather ordinary stay at the London Conrad. Will wait until the end before passing final judgment.

I’m a big fan of Conrad hotels and apart from that disappointing stay in NYC all the rest were fantastic.

I guess it all comes down to personal experience, while you have an ordinary stay in London I’ve only had great stays at that particular Conrad. Looking forward to your review I'm wondering what went wrong there.

 

[boomy]

Property: Curio Sydney
Booked: King Acacia Room
Received: King Waratah Premium

Checked in late and was happy with the double upgrade although room was quite small, especially if coming with large luggage. The built-in luggage rack in the room is not very practical as can only fit cabin size trolly.

Despite the smallish size I thought the room was well appointed and modern. There were power points in the right places, nice looking seat with ottoman, comfortable bed, Nespresso machine and free snacks in the mini bar. Room was on top floor with partial view of Darling harbour.

Bathroom again on the small size but with large walk-in shower and decent amenities (not the cough ones currently given at Hilton).

Breakfast had good a-la-carte selection and no coffee tax. It felt more like dining at a local cafe or restaurant rather than another overcrowded hotel buffet.

Diamond benefits included two drink vouchers in the bar and two chilled bottles of water in the room.

Overall I like this hotel, premium rooms are nicer than HSYD exec rooms although still on the small side, ok for one person yet not very comfortable for two. Luckily Sydney has a lot of good hotels to chose from.

 

[mel-world]

Property: Conrad Centennial Singapore
Date: October 2018 -- 2 nights
Status: Diamond
Booked: Deluxe King
Received:Executive Twin - refurbished
Benefits: Several waters, small bowl of fruit, chocolates, newspaper, bear and duck, turn down service (all standard).

Not much to add to many previous posts but has anyone thought that having breakfast and evening canapes on L4 is actually more relaxing than coping with the 'mob' on L31? I had room 3007 but, after 1 night waiting then sharing a table (the other guest was not happy), I thought I would try L4 for breakfast. Both lounges now have egg stations but the buffet about the same and much more relaxed in a bigger space on L4 rather than the numerous room on L31. The L4 space does not have the views but has been nicely refurbished recently.

Property: Hilton, Orchard Rd Singapore
Date: October 2018 -- 2 nights
Status: Diamond
Booked: Deluxe Twin
Received: Deluxe Twin Plus (Yes, really!!) - apparently it has a filled mini bar and an espresso machine (I don't need either) and its on a higher floor.
Benefits: 2 waters in a box, newspaper.

Not much to say - the Executive lounge did volunteer to change the room but after unpacking who wants to move. They did change the working chair that was so worn that I did not trust sitting on it. Overall looked like a North American Hilton room.


Not seen this in a Hilton before. Not sure I would want to take a box out on a walk through town. But better for minimising waste.

 

[kermatu]

Not much to add to many previous posts but has anyone thought that having breakfast and evening canapes on L4 is actually more relaxing than coping with the 'mob' on L31? I had room 3007 but, after 1 night waiting then sharing a table (the other guest was not happy), I thought I would try L4 for breakfast. Both lounges now have egg stations but the buffet about the same and much more relaxed in a bigger space on L4 rather than the numerous room on L31. The L4 space does not have the views but has been nicely refurbished recently.

In my past few days worth of stays since August I have not noticed the L31 lounge crowded at all. Anything but. The staff are in constant radio contact with the reception area on L31 which I assume means as soon as all tables are occupied people are turned away. Shame for them but good for the incumbents!

But now as a regular stayer, yep, I’d be happy with a quieter space as the view, while nice, isn’t new to me. Other than the night of Singapore’s National day where my window seat on L31 was pretty good for the flypasts and fireworks.

 

[kermatu]

I’m a big fan of Conrad hotels and apart from that disappointing stay in NYC all the rest were fantastic.

I guess it all comes down to personal experience, while you have an ordinary stay in London I’ve only had great stays at that particular Conrad. Looking forward to your review I'm wondering what went wrong there.

Stay finished and I’d rate it overall as fine, but not great. A few lapses and niggles but nothing outright bad. Will post details in a couple of days.

I’m generally easy going but am increasingly being told (and am aware myself) that I’m expecting more these days and easily irritated by such niggles. Also had pretty high expectations about this place based on comments here and elsewhere.

I like to take a bit of time before posting my views on a stay, particularly if it’s a new place for me. Gives me a chance to be more objective and compare it to other recent stays. Plus, as one of the things I will complain about is the DYKWIA attitude of several hotel guests, I need to be careful to avoid looking too much like such a w*nker myself!

 

[haymish]

Property: Hilton Parmelia Perth
Date: October 2018 1 night and this treatment has been relevant to 20 stays in this property this year.
Status: Diamond
Booked: Deluxe King
Received:King Suite
Benefits: Drinks/Tapas Vouchers and room upgrade.

Every single time I have awesome service here, always get an upgrade and the staff are very friendly and helpful.

 

[Aeolus]

New card sleeve introduced at HSYD.
Blue/Silver/Gold/Black for the respective tiers.

 

[benjy]

Property: DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur
Date: October 2018
Status: Gold
Booked: Standard Base King Room using Points redemption
Received: Standard Base King Room
Benefits: 2 Waters everyday, even if I didn't drink the previous 2.
Buffet breakfast every day. Filled up on breakfast meant I hardly had a big lunch meal.

Accommodated an early check in of 11am even though check in was at 3pm.

Staff everywhere were very friendly, happy to speak English and most were fluent.

If travelling by train, when you get to Ampang Park, do not turn right as the sign says, turn left.

My favourite hotel so far on my holiday.

 

[hydrabyss]

View attachment 141949
New card sleeve introduced at HSYD.
Blue/Silver/Gold/Black for the respective tiers.

How long do you think this will last ?. I think it was around this time last year they had the card and jar of nuts which did not last very long.

 

[kermatu]

Property: Conrad St James, London
Date: October 2018 -- 4 nights
Status: Diamond
Booked: Grand King Deluxe.
Received: Room as booked. 4th floor, inside of building.
Benefits: Lounge access, breakfast in restaurant.

So an acceptable but somewhat underwhelming stay, with a few glitches. And in comparison to some other Conrad’s I’ve stayed at quite lacking in polish.

Booked about a month out, and options in London were getting limited. My preferred Hiltons were ridiculously pricey (over £350 p/n for even base rooms). Saw a decent rate of about £200 per night at the Conrad and given very positive reviews here and elsewhere I jumped on it.

Received email a week out introducing executive team and asking if I needed any transport arrangements etc. After I gave my ETA I received a further email and told to turn left on arrival at hotel for Exec check-in. Arrived just about at regular check-in time as I advised — desk deserted. In fact, pretty sure I only saw someone there of a morning. Not the most common check-in time. A bit disappointed not to get an upgrade as some suites were still available even for my 4 night stay. But didn’t care enough and was too knackered to ask and potentially wait.

Room was small and not very comfortable. Easy chair was in the most impractical position, but at least served purpose as a clothes horse. No room for suitcase in the room. Had to be in the closet. Bathroom was big, but lots of wasted space between the vanity and the bath, and from both of these to the small shower and toilet stalls. But it was well appointed and the shower in particular was very good. Just could easily have been a foot or two wider.

No welcome note or amenity. Next afternoon I saw someone with a trolley of goodies on plates and a couple of bottles of wine. Clearly I didn’t qualify.

Staff everywhere were very friendly and helpful. Not surprising for London, but still notable. Breakfast team in particular were great. Had breakfast in the restaurant each morning and it was very good. Great fruits and selection of cold meats. Overall a good spread (though obviously not going to match the better Asian or Middle Eastern spreads). No coffee tax, but a £10 charge for anything off the card. That said, team was happy to make all kinds of fresh eggs and sides, so you could pretty much make the menu items anyway.

Exec lounge was a mixed bag. Staff friendly but the space was small and pretty uncomfortable. Full every time I was there for either afternoon tea or canapés, except for one evening. Afternoon tea was ok but had the exact same dull sandwiches each of the three tines I visited. Evening canapés were pretty good and did vary, but small. One night I was offered a second plate. Second night no such offer, although the person right next to me was. Rest of food was average, with some nice cold meats and cheeses, but that was about it. On two evenings the initially nice cold meats were replaced after about 60 minutes with basic, fatty salami, so clearly you had one chance to grab the good stuff. Drinks selection pretty good, and available for an extra 30 minutes after the food (17:30 to 20:00).

Housekeeping staff very nice, but on first two days the room had not been made up on return to the hotel (after 3pm each time). Had to call to get it done. The final day it was done by my return at 4:30pm. Could have booked the service through the app (and would do so in future). That said my one use of the app failed when I needed to ask three times for an amenity set to be delivered.

Biggest problem was air conditioning fail late in my stay, with the unit not responsive to any commands. Room actually became warm. Reported it twice on my last full day (in morning, and again in late afternoon). No note or message to say whether anything had been done. In the evening on return to room after 10pm the unit was still dead, room was warm but ok. Windows were open. At the time I just thought this was housekeeping but on reflection it was probably the ‘response’ to the aircon fail. On checkout I mentioned it and got a very generic apology, with no attempt to see what happened or offer to follow up.

This is not the hotel’s fault, and I actually felt quite sorry for the EL staff, as there seemed to be a greater than usual number of DYKWIA guests, who quietly but demeaningly berated staff for things like: the evening drinks starting so late (17:30); there being a period of 5 minutes when “no-one was walking the floor”; not knowing that she and her partner were lifetime diamonds. Ridiculous behaviour.

Finally, I appreciate I’m being quite DYKWIA in this post. But a few reasons why this hotel doesn’t quite match the standards of others, including some Conrad’s I’m familiar with (Singapore and Dubai, even Tokyo):

- No attempt to know and address guests by name.
- limited table service in EL and no proactive offers of food or drink refills
- the same food for afternoon tea each day.
- evening canapés not replenished and quite limited offerings.
- no call for last orders or even advice that the service would be ending in xx minutes.

Only my first stay here, and my expectations were high. Aside from the aircon nothing was actually bad. But not as polished as I had thought. IM(not-so)HO.

 

[Aeolus]

How long do you think this will last ?. I think it was around this time last year they had the card and jar of nuts which did not last very long.

Just implemented yesterday, I think it will be rolled out to all Hiltons gradually, so that one could really be a DYKWIA as you can now differentiate the tier of each guest in the lift if they carry their access cards in the card sleeve.

 

[HeavyElectricity]

Property: DoubleTree Melbourne Flinders Street
Date: October 2018, 2 nights
Status: Silver
Booked: King Room, city view
Received: King Room, "city view"
Benefits: Water, cookie

First time staying here, and not at all impressed with this place, especially for what they were charging (thankfully I received the rebate offer on my AMEX). I chose the slightly more expensive room when booking, as I didn't like the idea of 'interior' rooms. Turns out the outside was a construction site, so wasn't worth having a window anyway (they helpfully leave a note in the room suggesting to keep your curtains closed, and collect ear plugs from reception). Didn't have breakfast, but apparently it's over $50 per person.

Definitely won't be returning unless the rate becomes much more competitive. Later in the week I stayed up the road at the Swanston Hotel Grand Mercure (Pullman), and it was half the price and much more comfortable.




View from the 8th floor room:

 

[kermatu]

On the one hand it is a bit hard to blame a hotel for construction works next door. But on the other it is laughable that the response is complimentary earplugs! Were you forewarned that construction was happening?

Earlier this month I stayed at a hotel in Bombay that has a metro station being constructed in the adjacent block. From my room I could look down into the excavation and tunnelling work which went to 9pm. I think I heard 4 bangs during my 4 night stay. I was on the 17th floor and there’s a reaonakble amount of general Bombay noise, but the hotel had great insulation and between it and the metro/government had erected a number of noise dissipating barriers to keep sound away.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I'm guessing they would have had a warning banner at the top of the booking (where the CC surcharge warning gets displayed, but if they didn't, they should comp the room. It is not acceptable to pay extra to get an "outside" room, only to have to put up with that. You would have been better with an inside room.

 

[HeavyElectricity]

I don't remember seeing a warning message on the site when booking the room, but I'm willing to believe that there was one and I just didn't pay attention. In fairness, I wasn't disturbed by noise either for the two nights I stayed - just found the note suggestion about ear plugs and curtains a bit amusing.

I think I was more disappointed in general with the rate/price vs the room size and furnishings, compared to other nearby alternative hotels. It was my first time staying at a DoubleTree and I was expecting something between a Garden Inn and a regular Hilton, where as I found it pretty much the same level as a Garden Inn.

It wasn't bad - it was just overpriced IMHO.

 

[boomy]

It was my first time staying at a DoubleTree and I was expecting something between a Garden Inn and a regular Hilton, where as I found it pretty much the same level as a Garden Inn.

Your logic is correct but from my experience often GI properties are nicer and more modern than DT, particularly in the US. Some even offer amenities for gold and diamonds like welcome meal and drink at GI HK.
It’s best not to rely on brand name and always read guest reviews before booking, especially when more than one option available in the area.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Property: Hilton POM
Date: October 2018, 2 nights
Status: Diamond
Booked: Not sure (booking made direct with hotel as web wasn't active)
Received: King Executive Suite
Benefits: 2 x water

Brand new hotel so a few bugs in the systems. All in all, a nice upgrade but the hotel will hopefully be more on-line next stay ( in about 3 weeks time).

I've written a hotel review for anyone interested here.

 

[kermatu]

Property: DoubleTree Glasgow
Date: October 2018 -- 4 nights
Status: Diamond
Booked: Base King
Received: Executive King on top floor (8th) — two level upgrade.
Benefits: Lounge access, breakfast in lounge or restaurant, two waters on check-in plus two in room, two cookies (redeemed on a later date as not available on check-in); 2:30pm checkout (had requested 4pm but could not be accomodated - given key card back to lounge however).

Had the opportunity to be in the region for 4 days, with flexibility to stay in Glasgow or Edinburgh. Given limited time to research options and my status I stuck with Hiltons. From quick look at reviews the DT seemed to tick most boxes for me and was a decent rate (and my credit card needed some relative relief).

Contacted the hotel to ask some questions about room types — particularly bathroom setup of walk-in shower or tub only, lounge access and what it offered etc. that kicked off a terrific set of exchanges with Marianne who answered all my questions about the hotel but also some queries about the area and access to transport. While not everything we arranged followed through, all the essentials were and what didn’t was minor and not in her control.

Not that I knew or still know Glasgow that well, but hotel seemed pretty well located for the city. Close to Central Station and to Queen Street station. About 10 to 15 minute walk from each, albeit uphill from the stations so not really manageable with luggage in my opinion. Taxis to/from were under £5. Friendliest cabbies I’ve ever encountered too, as an aside.

Exec Room was good. Small bathroom but had a walk-in shower as requested (albeit on a raised and somewhat flimsy platform). Bedroom was large enough for bed, table and two easy chairs. Not much of a view despite top floor. Hotel has some suites on floor 6 but they only have showers over bath tubs and I ruled these out with Marianne.

Breakfast in restaurant was good. Reasonable spread, particularly of hot foods (great bacon, sausages, black pudding, haggis and of course, great porridge). Cold options somewhat limited. Anything not in the buffet incurred a charge, including any barista coffee, and items off the card (including omelettes). Rates were very reasonable however, and clearly advertised. Lots of staff and best of all, on the three mornings I attended (one early, one late, one in the middle) it was peaceful and no more than 50% full. Such a pleasure to have a bit of space, including to often be the only person at the buffet.


Occupancy at 9am.

The lounge was interesting and overall very good, especially for a DT.

It is open 24 hours. And throughout the day and night there’s access to a very good coffee machine, fridge of soft drinks and a great snack bar, with muffins, packets of crisps and popcorn, shortbread biscuits, grain and nut bars, and lollies.





Evening canapés were great in terms of food! But woeful on others.