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.

 

[justinbrett]

I stayed in Hilton Motto in NYC in December 2022 and booked for 2 but didn't put in the other name and got the benefits for two when there was only one of me. Also be aware you need to use the credit each day and it isn't coughulative

Yes this is what I do, and what was advised to me from HHonors.

With regards to the credit, it is somewhat transferable depending on when you use it. For full days where you neither check out or check in, it is capped at one set of credits per day. Otherwise it can transfer up to the daily cap.

The daily credit amount may be used in full on the day of check-in or check-out, or on various eligible items throughout these days until the maximum daily amount is reached.

Eg for a three night stay, you could use half for dinner on night 1, full dinner on nights 2 & 3, then the remaining half can be used for the final breakfast.

 

[VPS]

Yes this is what I do, and what was advised to me from HHonors.

With regards to the credit, it is somewhat transferable depending on when you use it. For full days where you neither check out or check in, it is capped at one set of credits per day. Otherwise it can transfer up to the daily cap.

The daily credit amount may be used in full on the day of check-in or check-out, or on various eligible items throughout these days until the maximum daily amount is reached.

Eg for a three night stay, you could use half for dinner on night 1, full dinner on nights 2 & 3, then the remaining half can be used for the final breakfast.

The daily credit didn't work like that for me but YMMV - I did have a discussion about it when I left and they basically said bad luck

 

[justinbrett]

The daily credit didn't work like that for me but YMMV - I did have a discussion about it when I left and they basically said bad luck

I quoted the policy. Take it up with HHonors.

 

[VPS]

I quoted the policy. Take it up with HHonors.

It was December last year and less than $20 US so not going to bother - thanks anyway

 

[Ryan Bingham]

I quoted the policy. Take it up with HHonors.

In the words of F Bueller:
"A: You can never go too far.
B: If I'm gonna get busted, it is *not* gonna be by a guy like *that*."

It was December last year and less than $20 US so not going to bother - thanks anyway

With me it's the principle. It frustrates me to no end that I know their policies better than they do (maybe bc I have more to lose). So my role is to educate them since it's a good training opportunity.

 

[justinbrett]

It was December last year and less than $20 US so not going to bother - thanks anyway

That long ago? - I think the policy was tweaked this year.

 

[Austman]

Property: Hilton Sydney
Booked: King Room
Rate: Honors $352
Received: Exec Room
Received at check in: Exec Room
...
A real rubbish check-in experience. No welcome as a Diamond.
...
No room upgrade as a Diamond. Just a King room rebadged as an Executive.
...
Told that’s the upgrade I could expect. Despite lots of superior rooms available online for my one night stay.
...
No welcome amenity. Just 2 bottles of water that I suspect every room gets.
...

Property: Hilton Sydney
Booked: King Room
Rate: Honors $303
Received: City Suite
Received at check in: City Suite

I nice recovery of the less than stellar check-in experience, as a Diamond, a few days ago!

The City Suite really is very nice.

All-in-all a very good one night stay!

 

[Happy Dude]

In April/May I dove across America (SFO-DCA) with the wife and two kids. I had hoped to stay in Hilton-brand hotels more often, but the rates were almost always crazy high. Even the grim soviet looking Hamptons or Embassy Suites by the side of the freeway were typically USD$250+. We stayed in a lot of hotels with "econo" or similar in the name.

So the only 'Hilton' stay we had was in the DC area at the end of our trip. And even that was not as a Diamond as we ended up using an Expedia rate, which HH ludicrously refused to apply their price match guarantee. I'll discuss that in a more appropriate thread. I'll add my experience here anyway because they did actually provide some Diamond benefits, even though I wasn't an 'elite" for this stay, and I'm aware this thread is for stays as one.

Property: Garden Inn Arlington/Courthouse Plaza
Date: 1-5 June (4 nights)
Status: Diamond
Rate: Expedia USD$193 + tax per night "Stay 3 nights and get the 3rd night free" (USD$662 or about AUD$1k for 4 nights). HH rate was USD$874.
Booked: Room with two queen beds
Received: Room with two queen beds

With no EL or other worthwhile Diamond benefits (rooms all seemed the same) to offset the USD$110 price difference, I cancelled my HH booking and used the cheaper Expedia deal.

I don't know if I received an upgrade to a "delux" room or not but the room was as expected, and I didn't get any points (also as expected).

But I was welcomed as a Diamond after adding my number at check-in and the hotel provided the $20 per day benefit, although the first day I was told that it was only $10 and it only applies to me and not the other adult on our booking. Subsequent days $10 per adult was applied. I don't need to point out that $10 or $20 does not go far in a Hilton for a family of 4. We did each enjoy a chocolate bar or ice cream and a soft drink each day, and even though the daily total came to more than $20, the overall total was less than $80 which is why I'm guessing we weren't asked to pay anything extra.

The hotel itself was nice, clean, very comfy beds/sheets and check-in/check-out was efficient. Street parking was a bit challenging and the location was pretty good for us. There's an awesome BBQ joint (Rocklands) not far away by car.

 

[Happy Dude]

Property: Conrad Etihad Towers Abu Dhabi
Date: 29 July (1 night)
Status: Diamond
Rate: One of the HH rates that equated to about AUD$620. I could cancel up to a day prior and got 2x HH points.

Searched for a room for four people (2A, 2C). I'm pretty sure the booking was for entry level room. Essentially ended up with a two-room booking, ie two interconnecting rooms - a king room a room with two queen beds (and an awesome bathtub with view), on the 44th floor with ocean and palace views. I did a check and the price was basically the same as booking two rooms (but doing so may have tax and HH stay ramifications). An apparent upgrade to one much smaller room with a tent for the kids was offered but declined.

Glad I booked this place based on the helpful advice from @Pele.

Very luxurious and treated very well as Diamond. Warmly greeted with a delicious welcome drink. Because of the two rooms, we got two lots of welcome gifts (wine and chocolates) but only one welcome letter.

There's no dedicated EL but they use part of a restaurant for evening canapes and brekky for Diamonds. The options during both were terrific. The full buffet brekky, also excellent, was available too. We were 'comped' brekky for the (2) kids as only one guest was included for Diamond benefit apparently.

Nice pool but needs more sun lounges. Free bottled water in the pool and spa areas as well as a couple of bottles in the rooms. Enjoyed the steam room even though it's a bit of trek to get to. The 'beach' was like swimming in the Dead Sea. Abu Dhabi not a pleasant place to be in late July. I'll be keen to visit here and other Conrads in the future.

 

[WLGFlyer]

Property: Hilton Adelaide
Room booked: King Deluxe
King Received: King Executive
Status: Diamond

The usual, upgrade to executive floor but no recognition otherwise. The safe in the room still hadn’t been fixed from when I stayed 2 weeks ago and the default Hilton channel on the TV showed the USB file system for the entire stay. It’s slowly falling apart!

Enquired about the complementary breakfast - it’s only free at the lounge (was never packed when I visited but the selection downstairs is significantly better) it’s an additional $10 at the restaurant.

Someone asked about the market demolition - was in full swing this time around and could be viewed from the lounge, but no noise (at least at night).

 

[jase05]

Property: Hilton Adelaide
Room booked: King Deluxe
King Received: King Executive
Status: Diamond

The usual, upgrade to executive floor but no recognition otherwise. The safe in the room still hadn’t been fixed from when I stayed 2 weeks ago and the default Hilton channel on the TV showed the USB file system for the entire stay. It’s slowly falling apart!

Enquired about the complementary breakfast - it’s only free at the lounge (was never packed when I visited but the selection downstairs is significantly better) it’s an additional $10 at the restaurant.

Someone asked about the market demolition - was in full swing this time around and could be viewed from the lounge, but no noise (at least at night).

Yep, a real shame it’s been let go.
We used to stay regularly but haven’t been for several months and probably won’t stay there again this year. It just isn’t worth it

 

[WLGFlyer]

Yep, a real shame it’s been let go.
We used to stay regularly but haven’t been for several months and probably won’t stay there again this year. It just isn’t worth it

Yeah that’s pretty much my sentiment. The hardware is just so outdated, crawling under the bed to charge your phone shouldn’t really be a thing in 2023. Combined with the general zero care attitude, the restaurant breakfast charge may have been the final nail in the coffin for me. There are better options in Adelaide.

 

[jase05]

Yeah that’s pretty much my sentiment. The hardware is just so outdated, crawling under the bed to charge your phone shouldn’t really be a thing in 2023. Combined with the general zero care attitude, the restaurant breakfast charge may have been the final nail in the coffin for me. There are better options in Adelaide.

Yeah, we have a function in town in a couple of weeks time and the Hilton was around $310. I can get the Sofitel for $360 or the Pullman for $230 and both will treat me far better than what I’ll get at the Hilton and they are far nicer rooms

 

[Happy Dude]

Property: Hilton Hiroshima
Date: 3 August (1 night)
Status: Diamond
Rate: About AUD$200
Booked: Room with two queen beds
Received: Room with two queen beds on a high floor

I can't recall or find what type of room I booked but it would have been the cheapest available for our family.

Prior to arriving, received a terrifically informative email form the Dir of Ops welcoming me as Diamond etc. Welcome gift was some yummy cake things. Welcome at the hotel was also warm.

The hotel is fairly new and very comfy. Great views of the city and surrounding hills. The EL was open for brekky (nice), afternoon tea (didn't partake) and evening canapes (also nice). Good pool. In fact sometimes these hotels are too nice and it's easy to spend more time there than exploring the town. Very good staff helped us with transport, restaurant info. Should have stayed for two nights.

 

[exceladdict]

Sadly Cairns wasn’t much better (again both as Diamond)

DoubleTree Cairns
1 night (Feb ‘23)
Booked: Dbl Superior Room with Balcony
Received: Guest Room (was actually downgraded)
A few days prior to the trip, I no longer needed a 2x bed room so contacted the hotel and asked to swap to a King. They said yes and swapped me into a King Deluxe Room (which was a downgrade but I wasn’t fussed as I asked for a room change). I could see this change in the app too.

The morning of the stay I checked the app and saw my room had been changed from King Deluxe to a King Guest (and still said ‘you’ve been upgraded!’ which was rather funny). At check in reception confirmed I was in a King Guest. I told them I had actually been downgraded and showed them the app and my original booking email. They said they had a Dbl room on a higher floor available otherwise they had no other room types due to the renovations.

I said I was pretty disappointed and they mentioned they had a free happy hour from 5-6pm with free drinks to make up for the renovations (available to anyone, not just Diamonds). I asked if I was going to be compensated at all for the room difference and was told there was nothing they could do.

Shortly after getting up to the room I received a bottle of wine, chocolate and small platter with welcome letter from the GM.

Funnily enough I received 2 text messages several hours after I had checked out asking me how my stay was. I replied to the first letting them know I had already checked out and got the second message an hour or so later.


Hilton Cairns
1 night (Feb ‘23)
Booked: King Executive Room
Received: King Spa Room
Arrived late so didn’t use the lounge. Was given a complimentary bottle of wine and chocolate at check in. Full buffet was included as was barista coffee for Diamonds. Received late check out of 2:15pm. The recognition here was much better but again could see several higher room types available as paid upgrades at time of check in.

—-

For those following at home, I got a ‘how was your stay’ email after my DoubleTree stay in Melbourne and gave them some feedback. Received a reply from someone at the hotel apologizing and offering 25k HH points. They also stated all Hilton brands across Australia no longer offer commentary full buffet breakfast for Diamonds (only continental). Maybe Brisbane, Surfers and Sydney just like looking after the regulars.

Property: Hilton Cairns
Status: Diamond
Room booked: King Hilton Guest Room
Rate:: $179 p.n
Received: Executive King City View

First time back since early 2020. Nice to see rooms have had a refresh. All perfectly fine. $6.50 G&Ts at the pool. Free bottle of house wine offered but unfortunately my stay coincided with one of the three nights each year when I am all wined out, so gave it a pass. Lounge was okay, only okay, empty mini bar fridge, nespresso machine in room, nice armchair but no poof to rest my tired middle aged feet on. Still prefer the big front facing rooms at the Doubletree down the road.

Having been to the Hilton once prior I'm thinking to go that way for a stay next year - will be staying as diamond, any reasons to consider the DT? Figure both will be nicer than the holiday inn, where I also have IHG Diamond...

 

[boomy]

Property: Hilton Melbourne
Booked: King Guest Room
Received: King Junior Suite

One of the more spacious J.Suites with large double sink bathroom, free standing bath and huge shower.

Love the Nespresso machine in the room. It should be standard these days at nice hotels but still too many offer only disgusting instant coffee.

Exec lounge is as quiet as usual, happy hour spread was decent. Breakfast is a bit basic but sufficient for my needs.

Self parking offsite is $35 p/night which is cheap for MEL.

 

[kyle]

Property: Hilton Melbourne
Booked: King Guest Room
Received: King Junior Suite

One of the more spacious J.Suites with large double sink bathroom, free standing bath and huge shower.

Love the Nespresso machine in the room. It should be standard these days at nice hotels but still too many offer only disgusting instant coffee.

Exec lounge is as quiet as usual, happy hour spread was decent. Breakfast is a bit basic but sufficient for my needs.

Self parking offsite is $35 p/night which is cheap for MEL.

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Do you stay there a lot? I've never had a suite upgrade when I had about 10 discrete nights there last year.

I'm about to do a mattress run. See what happens this year.

 

[boomy]

Do you stay there a lot? I've never had a suite upgrade when I had about 10 discrete nights there last year.

I'm about to do a mattress run. See what happens this year.

I stay there quite often, usually getting heritage room which is perfectly fine. Every now and then a better upgrade but I’m not really expecting suites when booking the cheapest room in what is relatively small hotel.

 

[liamsal]

Having been to the Hilton once prior I'm thinking to go that way for a stay next year - will be staying as diamond, any reasons to consider the DT? Figure both will be nicer than the holiday inn, where I also have IHG Diamond...

I personally would avoid DT after my last experience. But Hilton also offers an exec lounge, better upgrades and complimentary full buffet & barista coffee for Diamonds (hopefully hasn't changed since my last stay).

 

[exceladdict]

I personally would avoid DT after my last experience. But Hilton also offers an exec lounge, better upgrades and complimentary full buffet & barista coffee for Diamonds (hopefully hasn't changed since my last stay).

Awesome. Just changed flights to add an extra day so went with the Hilton. Appreciate your response!