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.

 

[ms1]

Did they provide a reason for no breakfast and no water?

They didn't offer and I didn't ask. Is it something that a gold member has to request? Surely it should be offered.

 

[anat0l]

They didn't offer and I didn't ask. Is it something that a gold member has to request? Surely it should be offered.

It definitely should be offered, though of course if you don't receive, it's not out of place to ask why or ask for them. In any case it doesn't reflect well on the property.

I would be tempted to call / write into HHonors and tell them of your experience; not necessarily to seek recompense but to alert them of the fact.

 

[Moopere]

They didn't offer and I didn't ask. Is it something that a gold member has to request? Surely it should be offered.

Yes, I agree, it should be offered, but I've found that sometimes the checkin folks either don't know or don't bother to state the properties status benefits. I usually ask myself, but if I forget, then I just go ahead and assume that as a miniumum the Hilton status stated (website) benefits will apply. I always keep my gold card in my pocket when using hotel facilities just in case a query pops up. In the case of breakfast, I'll just turn up - I've never been questioned or challenged yet.

 

[Grogan]

Status: Gold
Property: Hilton Cairns
Date: 17-19 September
Booked: Delux double $199 night Received: Spa room, water view
Other Items Received: Breakfast and internet.

 

[Katie]

Status: Diamond
Property: Hilton Surfers Paradise Residences
Date: 14 Sept
Booked: 2br apartment Received: 2br Sky residence
Other items: Water and chocolates at turn down (2 bottles), breakfast in Salt. No welcome message (I had not confirmed the booking with a CC for what it's worth, and arrived around 2-2:30pm)

 

[DC3]

... In the case of breakfast, I'll just turn up - I've never been questioned or challenged yet.

Exactly. That's good advice.

 

[Flashback]

And at a pretty good P+P rate as well. May I ask what the $ value contibution in that rate was? It sounds like a hotel to put on our list.

20,000 + 110.03 SGD (+tax 19.48) booked pre-devaluation. 24,000 + 122.89 (+tax 21.75) booked post-devaluation, as I didn't have enough points at the time.

Status: Diamond
Property: Hilton SYD
Date: 13th Sep
Booked: Relaxation Room AAA rate $541
Received: Relaxation Suite on 35th Floor

Second proper upgrade at this hotel ( 2 cat upgrade, last stay was 3 cat upgrade to King Suite).
I had emailed the hotel a couple of days prior to advise of a late check-in, they replied and I noted afterwards that the booking had at that stage been upgraded to the suite.
We eventually got there after midnight due to attending a school function miles away.
Friendly, efficient check-in, was recognised as Diamond member and offered a 2pm checkout without having to ask.
4 bottles of water in the room and the Diamond Amenity appears to have made a return to service:

Excellent breakfast at Glass this morning with a great spot by the window overlooking the QVB

Over all reasonably well impressed by my last two stays there.
It will be interesting to see if the good service continues on my next stay which at this stage is looking like it will be in a standard room.

Well, for $541/night I'd hope so :mrgreen:

Status: Gold
Property: Hilton Darwin
Date: 19-21 September
Booked: King Guestroom
Received: King Bed Guestroom Harbour View
Other Items Received: Zilch. No executive floor, no breakfast, no bottled water. Oh wait, I did get some card from the Operations Manager welcoming me back.

No Exec Floor? As a Gold you're lucky if you do get it, it should never be expected. Official benefits are one-category room upgrade (which includes a better view).

I definitely have the breakfast set up in my HHonors profile as oppose to the points but absolutely nothing was offered.

It generally won't be if staff aren't on the ball. I usually provide the hotel feedback via e-mail to remind them to advise guests of their HH benefits. Sometimes you receive surveys after your stay in which this is one of the q's they ask you.

In any case, when it's not been mentioned to me - I always just head down anyway and when you get there most of the time you're already on the list of breakfast anyway. Most times I've done that, they actually have a list of "Gold/Diamond" members that they mark you off from.

 

[Flashback]

Has anyone ever booked HH rooms using 3rd party sites? I know benefits aren't guaranteed and you may not earn points, but can you still insert your HH number and earn a stay credit?

 

[kpc]

Has anyone ever booked HH rooms using 3rd party sites? I know benefits aren't guaranteed and you may not earn points, but can you still insert your HH number and earn a stay credit?

How about brg with Hilton?

 

[Flashback]

How about brg with Hilton?

3rd party site is slightly more, but I have ~80 GBP in their rewards program to use.....

 

[1k650]

Has anyone ever booked HH rooms using 3rd party sites? I know benefits aren't guaranteed and you may not earn points, but can you still insert your HH number and earn a stay credit?

Unlikely, in my experience to get stay credit .

 

[anat0l]

3rd party site is slightly more, but I have ~80 GBP in their rewards program to use.....

If the reward credit won't expire soon, I'd blow it off and just book through the Hilton website.

IME getting any kind of elite credits for 3rd party sites is almost impossible, let alone getting your elite benefits when you stay.

 

[boomy]

Status: Diamond
Property: Hilton Brisbane
Dates: 4-5, 11-12, 19-20 Sep
Booked: King Deluxe
Received: King Executive

All 3 stays were equally excellent. Been upgraded to exec room every time on 24th or 25th floor (it's much easier now when Tony Abbott and his gang are no longer occupying the 2 top floors).

On one stay I received a bottle of Bay of Stones Shiraz and a welcome letter from the new GM (he came from Hilton Berlin). The first feedback I gave him was to change the awful wines in the exec lounge ASAP
Having said that, the exec lounge in Brisbane is my favorite of all Hiltons in Australia. The restaurant style service is excellent, the staff led by Mark are all very nice, specially Mimi who is so attentive and makes sure to talk to everyone and give a true welcoming feeling.

Breakfast in the restaurant was good and again, great service by the staff.
It's so nice to see everyone who work at this property having a smile on their face, it really gives me a good feeling and makes me want to come back despite the high rate (260-360$ + 55$ parking).

One small problem I had was with the hot & cold water in the shower. No matter how I set it, sometimes it will suddenly become very cold and then very hot. It must be a problem with the pipes, I hope they will fix it soon.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Status: Diamond
Property: Hilton Brisbane
Dates: 4-5, 11-12, 19-20 Sep
It's so nice to see everyone who work at this property having a smile on their face, it really gives me a good feeling and makes me want to come back despite the high rate (260-360$ + 55$ parking).

Who's doing some mattress runs then?

Agree totally with your comments. HBNE is a little gem of a hotel although I also note the rates have escalated considerably from last year. Seems we may not be alone in liking our stays there.....too many returning guests and decreasing room availability.....grrrr.

 

[JessicaTam]

The water has run hot and cold for me on my last two visits. I have reported it each time but it seems they are unable to fix the problem.

 

[Austman]

Status: Gold
Property: DoubleTree Kuala Lumpur
Dates: 22-25 Sep
Booked: King Standard Reward
Received: King Executive

With all the following Gold benefits on an award stay!

 

[Moopere]

Status: Gold
Property: DoubleTree Kuala Lumpur
Dates: 22-25 Sep
Booked: King Standard Reward
Received: King Executive

With all the following Gold benefits on an award stay!

Its my view that the DT KL is a better Hilton experience then the Hilton KL (!!).

 

[Moopere]

Status: Gold
Property: Hilton Sydney
Dates: 20-22 SEP
Booked: King Hilton Guestroom Plus, $189 AA
Received: King Executive, 42nd floor


The good:

No prompting required for status recognition, they knew I had visited many times previously and that I was a gold, check-in was excellent, got a 42fl exec upgrade and was extremely happy with that as its quiet up there (zeta bar pounds through the lower floors at night/early morning I've found)

Pleasant and reasonable response to a quite late checkout request. Location of this hotel is of course excellent. Staff and service the usual high standard for this property.

The new 'swipe' card system for the elevator security seems to work a lot better than the old insertion system they had before.


The bad:

Is it just me or has the exec lounge amenity really diminished over time? The staff are still excellent, really really good, but the lounge itself offers almost no reason to visit aside from some quiet time. Breakfast, as always in the lounges inside Australia is sparse, nibbles throughout the day are almost non existent ... maybe I've forgotten, its been a few months since I was here and I've had 4 trips to Asia in between, so perhaps am spoiled by exceptional exec lounges in BKK and KL?

So boo-hoo, no nibbles for Mr Moopere, but the other annoyance is the ridiculously early closing times of a lot of Aussie exec lounges. This seems not property specific, 9pm and its shut ... !!! ??? I checked into the hotel 10pm Friday and really _really_ could have done with a nice sit and relax for a few minutes ... nope, closed.

 

[MYT105]

Its my view that the DT KL is a better Hilton experience then the Hilton KL (!!).

I would agree

 

[dzinh]

Status: Diamond
Property: Hilton coughet
Dates: 25 - 27 Sep
Booked: King Deluxe Garden View
Received: King Junior Suite Sea View

We were surprised when we received the Suite when checking in via the HH desk. Regular check in was swarmed with chinese tourists so we were glad we got a personal check in desk to ourselves. Welcoming drinks as well as cold hand towels were offered and we were ushered to our suite which was on the same floor as the executive lounge.

The hotel is showing signs of old age but renovations are going on around the place. Staff are friendly as well as standards, service and attention to detail are much higher than you would find in Australia.

Food offerings in lounge is fantastic, we had a variety from lobster and zucchini en croute, deep fried crab, fish cakes.