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.

 

[Harthagan]

On a recent stay at Hilton Surfers we learnt the hard way that they don't do complimentary upgrades if you book an apartment.

I had booked a 2 bedroom apartment and it was an extra $30 p/n to upgrade to an ocean view 2 bedroom apartment. They were quite clear that while their was plenty of availability they would not offer us the complimentary diamond upgrade as it doesn't apply to the apartments. Ended up just paying for it lol

 

[Harthagan]

My only stay there was a decade ago, but from memory breakfast was continental only, with a charge for the full buffet / hot options. I somehow doubt it's any better value today.

Yup just asked and was told it's continental breakfast only. Pretty disappointed overall with their indifference and non compliance with the regular HH treatment but it's on me as I didn't research it at all.

It's also an expensive uber from the city centre so I wrongly assumed there would be a complimentary shuttle in and out. But no, only other option is the very infrequently run water taxi service which is $7 each way per person. Oh well, first world problems I guess!

 

[bits]

That's my experience. No extra charge. Eat whatever you like

I think the mention of the +$10 charge is them just trying it on, and/or the policy intended for Golds rather than Diamonds

 

[justinbrett]

At a lot of US hotels, I think continental means anything on the buffet - but the hot upgrade is the CTO options.

Well that's how I've been applying it anyway!

 

[jase05]

It's also an expensive uber from the city centre

Are those roadworks still in place. The delays were horrendous when we were there recently

 

[cbourl]

Hilton MEL LQS, Status -Diamond - staying to maintain status for extra year 1 night challenge
Booked 1 night 86K Points, 1 night HHon Rate 312 King Deluxe Room with View
Received (prearrange by contacting hotel) King Premier Corner Room - view of Bourke Street but floor to ceiling windows, walk in shower and very small bathtub -
Nice room in "new " part of building 9th floor - no welcome gifts, but received 2pm checkin and 1pm checkout Lounge dark, no view and poor "food" offerings didn't bother with second night
Breakfast as Diamond - continental - coffee $5 extra, hot buffet $10 extra - continental good so stuck with that for 2 days
Hotel well situated, easy with luggage from Skybus straight to 86/96 tram Bourke street

 

[dairyfloss]

Sad to report Diamonds get treated same as any other guests at Hilton Queenstown. No upgrade from the most basic room, no early check in available, no executive lounge. Oh and also they don't participate in the "dine like a member" 25% discount offer.

All we got was one complimentary basic drink each. Thats for a 7 night stay, well over $2000. Almost afraid to ask what the breakfast situation is here.

As a HH Diamond, I was very close to booking for a visit in Jul/Aug with pricing at extortion levels, pretty much based on the lake views alone... but reviews on various spots later inspired me to back off and book elsewhere (non HH). Too many negatives from guests of all kinds (from nada status through to HH Diamond). I've had great experiences at Hilton in AKL & Lake Taupo, and had hoped it would be nice at ZQN too. Oh well...

 

[jase05]

As a HH Diamond, I was very close to booking for a visit in Jul/Aug with pricing at extortion levels, pretty much based on the lake views alone... but reviews on various spots later inspired me to back off and book elsewhere (non HH). Too many negatives from guests of all kinds (from nada status through to HH Diamond). I've had great experiences at Hilton in AKL & Lake Taupo, and had hoped it would be nice at ZQN too. Oh well...

Hilton Lake Taupo is fantastic and their treatment of Diamond status members probably exceeded my expectations.

 

[Berlin]

Hilton Lake Taupo is fantastic and their treatment of Diamond status members probably exceeded my expectations.

Yep- as is the Double Tree in Wellington which we love. The Queenstown hotel had been a total nightmare for a while now and is, like almost everything in Queenstown, a total rip off. You’re paying for the beauty of the place I guess (and I’m not talking about the coughpy old Hilton here!).

 

[DAC1]

Catching up on some stays in the last 6-7 months

Property: Hilton Waikiki Beach
Date: September 2022
Status: Diamond
Booked: King Deluxe Oceanview
Received: King Deluxe Oceanview (on a very high floor)

They were packed and I was not going to receive anything more in terms of an upgrade. Hotel was not too bad although I was fortunate that I had a very cheap corporate rate. Would stay somewhere else if it I did not get it for as cheap as I did.

Property: Hilton Sydney x 2
Date: October 2022 and December 2022
Status: Diamond
Booked: King Deluxe
Received: Junior Suite

This place just gets elite treatment. I have always been treated very well here and while it is not my preferred location in Sydney for a stay, it is hard to go past in terms of value.

Property: Hilton Garden Inn Seoul Gangnam
Date: December 2022
Status: Diamond
Booked: King Deluxe Room
Received: As booked

Very nice hotel for a HGI. Breakfast had a lot of options and hotel was very reasonably priced.

Property: Hilton Paris Opera
Date: December 2022/January 2023
Status: Diamond
Booked: Deluxe Room
Received: Queen Junior Suite

This hotel was a major winner. Excellent Executive Lounge and I loved their dedicated restaurant which only did breakfast. Hotel itself is getting older but I was still incredibly happy and cannot wait to stay here again. It is also in an excellent location.

Property: Hilton Lake Como
Date: January 2023
Status: Diamond
Booked: King Deluxe
Received: King Deluxe with Balcony

This is a beautiful hotel and the rooms are very well designed for the most part. Seems very new. Rooftop pool comes with amazing views and is heated. Despite the temperature in early January, I could not help myself and had to have a swim. I can imagine this would be one of the better places to stay come summer although I suspect it’ll cost an arm and a leg.

Property: Hilton Tokyo
Date: January 2023
Status: Diamond
Booked: Queen Hilton
Received: As booked

Based on the prevailing accents of the guests, it nearly felt like this was the Australian Embassy. Hotel was decent and very accommodating. I was given the choice of a late checkout (4pm) or an upgraded room and as I wanted longer in the room, took the late checkout. Executive lounge was reasonable although very crowded.

Property: Parmelia Hilton Perth
Date: February 2023
Status: Diamond
Booked: Queen Guestroom
Received: King Deluxe

Pre-COVID, I stayed here frequently although with the exception of a stay in 2021 when the borders were (briefly) open, have not been here for a while. The renovation looks great although they need to roll it out to all rooms. Executive lounge is okay, the selection is not particularly comprehensive so I did not feel a need to spend an extended amount there but as it always has been, it has been well located for me and is close to the office for when I am in Perth.

 

[Spacetravel]

Does anyone know if I book 2 rooms in the same booking, will this hurt or help any chance of an upgrade for at least one of the rooms? As a Diamond.

 

[Freq Flier 2013]

In the past I had both rooms upgraded at Sydney. One was to exec room and one was to a suite.

 

[sudoer]

Property: Hilton Tokyo
Nights: 3
Status: Diamond
Booked: King Hilton
Received: King Executive
Rate: Two nights standard reward rate (70k HH per night) + one night Aspire
Comments: Very thankful to have secured the room with points during peak cherry blossom season AND get an upgrade. At the time of booking the room rate was 50k JPY++ per night, a month out it had risen to >100k JPY, and a few days before arrival the hotel was fully booked.

Hotel was heaving as expected but well staffed. We arrived very early (8am) and while the room wasn't ready, we were given access to the fitness centre to use the shower facilities which were excellent. It was an onsen style shared shower/bath arrangement but I didn't see a single other guest in the ~30 minutes I was using it.



The room was ready shortly after midday. It was exactly what I expected for a King Exec room at a Hilton, although I found it interesting that the room didn't have a bath which is normally essential for the Japanese market.



The EL is not massive, and it was sometimes difficult to find a table during breakfast and evening drinks. The food and drink selection was quite good, the canape spread in a particular had a changing daily selection including grilled chicken wings, salads, makizushi, pizza squares, pasta, etc. Beer was available in the EL soft drink fridge all day - not just during evening drinks.



On a clear day it's possible to see Mt Fuji from both the EL and the west facing rooms numbered XX01-XX06.



I took breakfast at the lobby restaurant on the 2nd and 3rd day, and found it more comfortable, less claustrophobic, and had a better buffet selection and layout compared with the EL. While there was often a queue of 3-4 groups at the EL during the peak 7:30-9am breakfast period, the lobby restaurant rarely had a queue, and barista coffee was proactively offered with no surcharge (although they did warn it could take 10-15 minutes - which it did)

Compared with my stay at Conrad Tokyo about 6 months ago, I think they both offer similar value for money/points, and next trip I would probably pick whichever is most convenient for my Tokyo itinerary. Service levels at both were on par, and while I got an upgrade at the Hilton but not the Conrad, the Conrad provided a welcome gift which the Hilton did not.

The direct Airport Limousine service to/from Haneda Airport is good, but unfortunately does not start until mid morning, so we had to catch a cab to Shinjuku Bus Terminal (900 yen) and an airport limousine from there. Nishi Shinjuku and Tochomae Stations can be reached via underground walkway, although they are about 5 and 10 minutes walk respectively with some steps to navigate. There's also a free shuttle bus to Shinjuku station that runs every 20 minutes from about 8am to 9pm.

 

[kyle]

I'm 14 hours away from checking in to Hilton SYD and it looks like the premium room I booked is what I'm getting. So zero chance of upgrade. The suites started disappearing about 72 hours out.

Do people really book at the last minute, especially on weekends when it's not for business?

 

[Spacetravel]

Property name: Double tree flinders street Melbourne
Room booked: I booked 2 x queen room. Received 2 x king skyline river view.
Ive stayed at this property 100+ nights and this is the best upgrade ive received. Once before I’ve got the same room type upgrade.
Breakfast: full breakfast no charge for both rooms, previously ive been charged the $10 upgrade for full breakfast but not this stay. Overall, like I said with 100+ nights I know this property very well, the staff seem to pretend or actually don’t remember me. No longer do diamonds get free drink card such as pre covid. I asked at front desk and they said we use to but not anymore. So unless you get an upgrade no benefit for diamond beyond the points, but status aside, nice hotel, good location, free ice bucket (Hilton Melbourne charge $5 per delivery).

 

[kyle]

Property name: Douuble tree flinders street Melbourne
Room booked: I booked 2 x queen room. Received 2 x king skyline river view.
Ive stayed at this property 100+ nights and this is the best upgrade ive received. Once before I’ve got the same room type upgrade.
Breakfast: full breakfast no charge for both rooms, previously ive been charged the $10 upgrade for full breakfast but not this stay. Overall, like I said with 100+ nights I know this property very well, the staff seem to pretend or actually don’t remember me. No longer do diamonds get free drink card such as pre covid. I asked at front desk and they said we use to but not anymore. So unless you get an upgrade no benefit for diamond beyond the points, but status aside, nice hotel, good location, free ice bucket (Hilton Melbourne charge $5 per delivery).

Did they tell you no charge for full brekky or they just didn't charge you?

 

[Ryan Bingham]

I'm 14 hours away from checking in to Hilton SYD and it looks like the premium room I booked is what I'm getting. So zero chance of upgrade. The suites started disappearing about 72 hours out.

Do people really book at the last minute, especially on weekends when it's not for business?

I've had the same experience. I thought it was incredibly suspicious. Plausible deniability? Vivid, sure, if the weather magically improved, but otherwise... I wondered if you were a walk-in whether a suite would magically open up? I'd love to try but Mrs Ryan hates me in argumentative mode when we're "enjoying ourselves".

 

[Princess Fiona]

I'm 14 hours away from checking in to Hilton SYD and it looks like the premium room I booked is what I'm getting. So zero chance of upgrade. The suites started disappearing about 72 hours out.

Do people really book at the last minute, especially on weekends when it's not for business?

Yes I think actually they do.
I often have a placeholder booking on a cheaper room for a weekend and frequently check to see if the suite package rate becomes available closer in.
It sometimes does.
The Hilton Sydney also does the NOR1 paid upgrades to the suites

 

[kyle]

Yes I think actually they do.
I often have a placeholder booking on a cheaper room for a weekend and frequently check to see if the suite package rate becomes available closer in.
It sometimes does.
The Hilton Sydney also does the NOR1 paid upgrades to the suites

Yes, there's an upgrade showing for the ambassador suite for an extra $600!

Didn't think that Hilton is that popular that's all on a weekend.

 

[Gold Member]

Yes, there's an upgrade showing for the ambassador suite for an extra $600!

Didn't think that Hilton is that popular that's all on a weekend.

Hilton Sydney very often gets people booking last minute suites on the weekends. These are obviously non-business folk who are prepared to pay up for a suite.

The front desk will sometimes grant me a suite during mid week, but very rarely on a weekend night due to known demand.