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.

 

[http_x92]

I heard it was a bit hard to get upgraded at the Hilton Surfers Paradise when you book the residences, granted the ocean view rooms were not available when I was there. Also stayed during the school holidays.

Did get to experience the executive lounge. Free drinks and canapes but for breakfast there is a wider selection at the Catch restaurant. Free full breakfast as a diamond.

 

[Pele]

Property: Conrad Osaka, Japan
Date: October 2022 for 8 nights
Status: Diamond
Room booked: Base room
Rate: 5 night on points and rest paid at about $AUD400 a night.
Received: Premium view room.
Comments: Whilst the room upgrade was the bare minimum they could do, i don't believe this property has any bad rooms. The base room is 50sqm which is huge for Japan. The room was beautiful, the views from it and the common areas were spectacular, and the staff were universally excellent. Status recognition was good, got a bottle of sake on arrival. This is probably the best hotel i have every stayed in. I note that on Flyertalk there are some recent negative comments about this property. My experience was vastly different.

Property: Conrad Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Date: November 2022 for one night
Status: Diamond
Room booked: Base room whatever it is called
Rate: 70,000 points
Received: One bedroom apartment in the Residences tower
Comments: When booking this 9 months in advance i couldnt understand why the rates were so expensive. Turns out it was the night before the Formula One race. I ended up buying the points to make the booking. The hotel was full so they put us in the Residences tower. It was an apartment with separate bedroom, full kitchen large living/dining area. Very good. Nice staff, fruit platter, chocolates and a bottle of date and grape juice in the room on arrival. Good status recognition. Sadly we were only transiting through for about 15 hours.

Property: Hilton Dead Sea, Jordan
Date: November 2022 for one week
Status: Diamond
Room booked: Junior suite
Rate: 165 Jordanian Dinars which is about $AUD350 a night
Received: Junior suite
Comments: I booked this room as it was the minimum level i wanted to stay in and hoped they would upgrade me to the full one bedroom suite. Alas they didnt as the cash cost was almost double. As a substitute the check in fella said they can give the roll away bed for my child for free. I said that would be great. Room was nice, property was nice but not Conrad Osaka or Abu Dhabi standards. There were very nice pool areas and gardens. The pools would be great in summer. The dead sea was a novelty. Overall the property was solid but unspectacular. It wasnt cheap for Jordan but it did the job. The service from the Philipino and Indonesian ladies in the breakfast area was noticeably superior to the service the local men and women provided elsewhere in the property. Be aware that the Dead Sea area has alot of flies. Alot, and that is coming from someone who grew up in country Australia. Also be warned that the Executive lounge is closed and has been since corona started. In my conversations with the manager it seems there are no plans to reopen it. I didnt mind so much as he gave me 2 drink and 2 snack vouchers to use each day in any of the restaurants. Was very handy. As a whole Jordan is a great country and i would go back for another holiday.

Property: Conrad Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Date: December 2022 for 6 nights
Status: Diamond
Room booked: Base room
Rate: Averaged about $AUD400 a night
Received: Junior suite
Comments: With a longer stay and no intention to really venture far from the hotel it gave me a good chance to suss it out. Good status recognition with fruit bowl and wine(alcohol) on arrival. Breakfast was great, staff everywhere who are from all corners of the globe and who all spoke good english and were well trained in their respective area's. The pools were divided into child, adult, family and there was a beach. I dined at a couple of the restaurants and was happy. They proactively applied the 25% dining discount so prices were reasonable. Again they have no Executive Lounge but there is a two hour happy hour in one of the poolside restaurants which had draft beer, wine, spirits and a good spread of food. There is something called Club 45 on level 45 but unless you book a room with Club 45 access(and they are pricey) you cannot get access. On Flyertalk there are a few people having a winge and dropping their bundle about this but that kind of reaction is unwarranted. Overall it is an excellent hotel and I hope to return.

Unbelievably after having zero hotel stays between January 2020 and October 2022, courtesy of the double nights credit promotion, I have qualified for Diamond in 2023...... and all these stays were booked before that promotion was announced.

Roll on 2023!

 

[Flashback]

Thanks, was about to book the Hilton Dead Sea but think I'll give it a miss now.

 

[kyle]

Think I just copped a downgrade at Hilton Little Queen Street.

Originally selected a corner room on the app the day before (when nearly every floor was available), then at check in, only got a premier room. Wonder if someone gave me a triple upgrade and then decided that a double is enough...

 

[Brissy1]

Wow… never had any meaningful upgrade at this property pre Covid, let alone a welcome amenity.

Gold Coast is still likewise post covid. Midweek so not very busy. Diamond yet no upgrade/amenity/wine. What I did get was to be double charged for parking

 

[DC3]

… What I did get was to be double charged for parking

Probably to offset my usual complimentary parking.

I have stayed quite a few times, however, so maybe that helps. And always upgraded from my base-room booking.

 

[RooFlyer]

Hilton Little Queen Street Melbourne, Sunday night. I was booked somewhere else, but got an email telling me my HH points were about to expire, so switched to here. Good choice.

Gold member, so complimentary continental breakfast which was very good. Base room as booked - nothing else expected.

Hotel seemed pretty quiet.

 

[kyle]

Hilton Little Queen Street Melbourne, Sunday night. I was booked somewhere else, but got an email telling me my HH points were about to expire, so switched to here. Good choice.

Gold member, so complimentary continental breakfast which was very good. Base room as booked - nothing else expected.

Hotel seemed pretty quiet.

Quiet hotel, yet you didn't even get a superior or premium room upgrade...

 

[RooFlyer]

Quiet hotel, yet you didn't even get a superior or premium room upgrade...

Would that be an expectation for a gold member? I’m really out of practice with Hilton hence it was that my points were about to expire.

 

[Ryan Bingham]

Would that be an expectation for a gold member? I’m really out of practice with Hilton hence it was that my points were about to expire.

Wouldn't expect a suite (maybe, maybe Diamond in my experience), but I would expect an upgrade from a base to superior/deluxe/premium depending on occupancy...

 

[http_x92]

Last time I went to Hilton LQS, I asked for an upgrade by chatting with them on the app the day before, so it seems like these days you need to call/chat them up as a Gold/Diamond to see if they will upgrade you. Worked for me as I got upgraded to the King Premier Corner room when it was still available. Asked nicely and it worked for me.

 

[muppet]

….

Again they have no Executive Lounge but there is a two hour happy hour in one of the poolside restaurants which had draft beer, wine, spirits and a good spread of food. There is something called Club 45 on level 45 but unless you book a room with Club 45 access(and they are pricey) you cannot get access. On Flyertalk there are a few people having a winge and dropping their bundle about this but that kind of reaction is unwarranted.
….

I’m curious, do you think Hilton Honors should no longer offer Diamond members access to the Executive Lounge?

Or do you think they should, but hotels should be allowed to just re-name the Executive Lounge to something else and deny access despite having a space that is exactly an Executive Lounge (i.e. a private access space with food and drinks, that is granted via certain room categories)?

 

[Berlin]

Or do you think they should, but hotels should be allowed to just re-name the Executive Lounge to something else and deny access despite having a space that is exactly an Executive Lounge (i.e. a private access space with food and drinks, that is granted via certain room categories)?

Such bs. How I hate it if individual properties find sneaky excuses to deny loyal customers what they are entitled to.

But happily taking reservations because they’re part of a chain, right… Used to be more of a Marriott thing but quite a few Hilton properties are catching up on this nasty trend from what I can tell. Never at Hyatt so far in my experience but that’s probably next

 

[Pele]

I’m curious, do you think Hilton Honors should no longer offer Diamond members access to the Executive Lounge?

Or do you think they should, but hotels should be allowed to just re-name the Executive Lounge to something else and deny access despite having a space that is exactly an Executive Lounge (i.e. a private access space with food and drinks, that is granted via certain room categories)?

That is not my wish at all. But what was offerred to me (and all Diamonds) was a dedicated space each evening for 2 hours with beer on tap, spirits, and some tasty snacks which is effectively the same thing. If there was nothing at all then i wouldnt be happy.

From what i can tell- the Conrad Abu Dhabi rebranded from some other non Hilton brand about 4 years ago and i am not sure there ever was an executive lounge(as you know it) available since it has been the Conrad.

My comment re the Flyertalk mob wasnt meant to offend but to be frank i often wonder how some of them manage to put their pants on each morning. Self entitlement and thin skin is the name of the game.

 

[jase05]

That is not my wish at all. But what was offerred to me (and all Diamonds) was a dedicated space each evening for 2 hours with beer on tap, spirits, and some tasty snacks which is effectively the same thing. If there was nothing at all then i wouldnt be happy.

From what i can tell- the Conrad Abu Dhabi rebranded from some other non Hilton brand about 4 years ago and i am not sure there ever was an executive lounge(as you know it) available since it has been the Conrad.

My comment re the Flyertalk mob wasnt meant to offend but to be frank i often wonder how some of them manage to put their pants on each morning. Self entitlement and thin skin is the name of the game.

I haven’t stayed there since it changed to a Conrad but when it was the Jumeirah Towers we stayed there for 2 nights and the EL was excellent. Quite a decent size with superb views and for those who had access you could have breakfast in either the EL or main dining area. They also served lunch, afternoon tea and coughtails in there

 

[kyle]

The last two times at LQS during check in, those small talk ends up with the agent asking about my day twice within 1 minute. Is there nothing else in their script?

Also this year for my mattress run, I've stayed there about 6 times, yet I still get asked if I've stayed at the hotel. I mean, can't they see it on their screen?

Just a rant on useless small talk.

 

[encryptededdy]

Never seen an auto upgrade before arrival before, pretty neat. Was upgraded from a King to King Deluxe w/Harbour View for tomorrow.

Status: Gold

 

[BAM1748]

Stayed Adelaide this week, bottles of water as usual, room upgrade (although I couldn't tell the difference to be honest.

Overall good.

 

[Berlin]

View attachment 312103
Never seen an auto upgrade before arrival before, pretty neat. Was upgraded from a King to King Deluxe w/Harbour View for tomorrow.

Status: Gold

Yea, these are quite common now and I actually HATE them: Because as a Diamond, these always upgrade you to a less than ideal room category and then dare to offer you the suites for money when you try to check in on the app. They should be frigging free as a Diamond. Sometimes then, when you hold off, you get a free suite upgrade a day later, just before arrival. But I had other cases where on the day, some of the higher floor rooms had gone so it's a total gamble.

Just one of the many reasons (Coffee tax? Continental breakfast only, Sirrrr...) why we've made the conscious decision to let go of Hilton in the next year and instead concentrate of making our 60 nights with Hyatt again to retain our status there rather. Much better benefits (less high tier members, outside the US at least, helps immensely), no nonsense and really good standards like proactively getting the 4pm check out rather than having to beg for it like at Hilton or Marriott. Plus, for the most, nicer properties too.

 

[Ryan Bingham]

Yea, these are quite common now and I actually HATE them: Because as a Diamond, these always upgrade you to a less than ideal room category and then dare to offer you the suites for money when you try to check in on the app. They should be frigging free as a Diamond. Sometimes then, when you hold off, you get a free suite upgrade a day later, just before arrival. But I had other cases where on the day, some of the higher floor rooms had gone so it's a total gamble.

Just one of the many reasons (Coffee tax? Continental breakfast only, Sirrrr...) why we've made the conscious decision to let go of Hilton in the next year and instead concentrate of making our 60 nights with Hyatt again to retain our status there rather. Much better benefits (less high tier members, outside the US at least, helps immensely), no nonsense and really good standards like proactively getting the 4pm check out rather than having to beg for it like at Hilton or Marriott. Plus, for the most, nicer properties too.

Agree. I'm a Diamond. We have 2 rooms booked at the Hilton in Sydney for tomorrow. When I enquired about an upgrade, I was told I could upgrade for $20/room or my request would be considered when we check in tomorrow. I seem to recall that Hilton promised an "capacity available" upgrade 72 hours before check-in during Covids, but that promise seems to have vanished along with social distancing.

Interestingly, I took advantage of the IHG side-grade thing. Given that I secured Hilton Diamond for 2023 and I don't think that I'll even make Gold next year so it wasn't worth me collecting roll-over nights, I have been experimenting with IHG stays. With the exception of the poor experience at the Indigo Brisbane, my upgrade history as an IHG Diamond Elite has been significantly more successful.