Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydney!

[Moopere]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

Thanks for the heads-up folks. Looks like coffee in the lounge followed by breakfast downstairs from now on.

 

[jetlagger]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

The whole concept seems so ridiculous..

 

[JessicaTam]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

Thanks for the heads-up folks. Looks like coffee in the lounge followed by breakfast downstairs from now on.

A lounge crawl just to have breakfast?!?

 

[anat0l]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

Thanks for the heads-up folks. Looks like coffee in the lounge followed by breakfast downstairs from now on.

Or you could have breakfast first then retire to the lounge. It's no difference as the espresso in the lounge is brewed by a robot.

Was there today. Charged $5 for a hot chocolate but nothing for a Coke. The server didn't seem overly enthusiastic about the new charges.

I'll have a hot chocolate with a shot of espresso then, thanks That's a specialty hot choc, not a specialty coffee...

Or, if cold drinks don't count, I'll have an iced latte please.

 

[beardoc]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

I have some further bad news. I'm staying here for three days, and had my first Hilton breakfast this morning.

It's just pitchers of brewed coffee and tea that are available.

But also, something which hasn't been advertised, is that there is no more Eggs Benedict or Eggs Florentine. You are not able to order it - management has taken the decision to remove it from the Full Buffet Breakfast menu.

The best they will do is poach your eggs for you and provide you with a little bowl of hollandaise sauce - you have to go and cook your own muffin from the bakery counter, then add your own eggs. If you want ham or salmon you go and pick that up yourself. Initially they didn't want to put an order in for sautéed spinach so that I could make Eggs Florentine, but they did do this.

Bad news, unfortunately. What's happening at HSP is now happening at Hilton Sydney.

 

[JessicaTam]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

I have some further bad news. I'm staying here for three days, and had my first Hilton breakfast this morning.

It's just pitchers of brewed coffee and tea that are available.

But also, something which hasn't been advertised, is that there is no more Eggs Benedict or Eggs Florentine. You are not able to order it - management has taken the decision to remove it from the Full Buffet Breakfast menu.

The best they will do is poach your eggs for you and provide you with a little bowl of hollandaise sauce - you have to go and cook your own muffin from the bakery counter, then add your own eggs. If you want ham or salmon you go and pick that up yourself. Initially they didn't want to put an order in for sautéed spinach so that I could make Eggs Florentine, but they did do this.

Bad news, unfortunately. What's happening at HSP is now happening at Hilton Sydney.

Lets hope it is not contagious.

 

[anat0l]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

It's just pitchers of brewed coffee and tea that are available.

Well better than nothing. At least that brewed stuff is done stronger than US dishwater.

Relied on pitchers of that stuff at time to keep me wired.

But also, something which hasn't been advertised, is that there is no more Eggs Benedict or Eggs Florentine. You are not able to order it - management has taken the decision to remove it from the Full Buffet Breakfast menu.

The best they will do is poach your eggs for you and provide you with a little bowl of hollandaise sauce - you have to go and cook your own muffin from the bakery counter, then add your own eggs. If you want ham or salmon you go and pick that up yourself. Initially they didn't want to put an order in for sautéed spinach so that I could make Eggs Florentine, but they did do this.

Bad news, unfortunately. What's happening at HSP is now happening at Hilton Sydney.

HSP was a chef who didn't know what eggs Benedict was. Now we're just getting pithy excuses why we can only have deconstructed Eggs Benedict or Florentine.

Boo.......

I guess one should not really complain - it is a free breakfast and most of it (apart from eggs to order) actually is good quality. But I guess the shine is what took most of the sting out of what was usually a high room rate (notwithstanding all those who used to get 20% off).

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

HSP was a chef who didn't know what eggs Benedict was. Now we're just getting pithy excuses why we can only have deconstructed Eggs Benedict or Florentine.

Which chef? Let's not forget Glass and Salt are owned (run? managed? pay for use?) by the same name. Surely a famed celebrity chef can do eggs benedict.......but then again, we've all been assuming the rather ordinary fare offered under the LM name in the VA lounge was VAs fault. Perhaps there is not as much in a name as VA thought!

I know one thing, the LM name is gaining a reputation that most who pay him for the naming rights possibly does not want to be associated with.

 

[jetlagger]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

Which chef? Let's not forget Glass and Salt are owned (run? managed? pay for use?) by the same name. Surely a famed celebrity chef can do eggs benedict.......but then again, we've all been assuming the rather ordinary fare offered under the LM name in the VA lounge was VAs fault. Perhaps there is not as much in a name as VA thought!

I know one thing, the LM name is gaining a reputation that most who pay him for the naming rights possibly does not want to be associated with.

It appears the namesake reputation of LM quality cuisine doesn't extend to all levels of the VA experience.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

I have some further bad news. I'm staying here for three days, and had my first Hilton breakfast this morning.

It's just pitchers of brewed coffee and tea that are available.

But also, something which hasn't been advertised, is that there is no more Eggs Benedict or Eggs Florentine. You are not able to order it - management has taken the decision to remove it from the Full Buffet Breakfast menu.

The best they will do is poach your eggs for you and provide you with a little bowl of hollandaise sauce - you have to go and cook your own muffin from the bakery counter, then add your own eggs. If you want ham or salmon you go and pick that up yourself. Initially they didn't want to put an order in for sautéed spinach so that I could make Eggs Florentine, but they did do this.

Bad news, unfortunately. What's happening at HSP is now happening at Hilton Sydney.

WTF, that's even worse than the $5 charge for coffee :!:
What on earth is going on at Glass?

 

[anat0l]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

Which chef? Let's not forget Glass and Salt are owned (run? managed? pay for use?) by the same name. Surely a famed celebrity chef can do eggs benedict.......but then again, we've all been assuming the rather ordinary fare offered under the LM name in the VA lounge was VAs fault. Perhaps there is not as much in a name as VA thought!

I know one thing, the LM name is gaining a reputation that most who pay him for the naming rights possibly does not want to be associated with.

Well I'm sure the chef who couldn't cook Eggs Benedict for boomy couldn't have been LM - heaven forbid if it was - but whoever that chef was at Salt that couldn't do it.

On the other hand, we know the chefs at Glass can make Eggs Benedict, but have now been told by management to stop doing it. That's sad, and as much as they were under the pump I'm sure they would not mind obliging to fix some.

I mean, if you have to make the damn Hollandaise anyway and poach eggs all for a customer order, why plate them separately when you can plate both at the same time? More work!

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

It appears the namesake reputation of LM quality cuisine doesn't extend to all levels of the VA experience.

Probably the only level I haven't experienced is The Club and as I'm not likely to be invited in during this lifetime I guess LM and quality cuisine isn't really gelling for me. I did like the Glass breakfast and dinner but Salt has declined noticably since it opened. A Salt employee also said something to me that made me wonder as well. I was told the executive chef has more control over the place than LM does. Kind of makes me wonder if the places are just individual businesses paying for the use of his name and his mug shot to slap all over everything. Same thing happens in a lot of businesses. I used to contract to a company called Alan Jones Marine. Alan Jones had absolutely nothing to do with it except being paid a royalty for the use of the name and the occasional photo shoot.....

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

Well I'm sure the chef who couldn't cook Eggs Benedict for boomy couldn't have been LM - heaven forbid if it was - but whoever that chef was at Salt that couldn't do it.

On the other hand, we know the chefs at Glass can make Eggs Benedict, but have now been told by management to stop doing it.

My +1 orders eggs benedict (I personally couldn't be bothering waiting for them) and she tells me they have always been deconstructed at HSP (and at times they don't even have old English muffins either). Seems to me, it may well be a directive from management rather than a wayward chef.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

I don't know anything about the arrangement between Glass and Hilton Sydney but my guess is that there has been some recent tweaking of the contract and this has resulted in the downgrading of the breakfast offering which may or may not be in breach of Hilton Corp standards and it could and should be reported.

 

[anat0l]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

My +1 orders eggs benedict (I personally couldn't be bothering waiting for them) and she tells me they have always been deconstructed at HSP (and at times they don't even have old English muffins either). Seems to me, it may well be a directive from management rather than a wayward chef.

I'm sure I've had breakfast at Salt before where I've asked for Eggs Benedict and it's been given to me constructed appropriately. Mind you, they did incorrectly call it "Eggs Florentine" (and no they were referring to the one that comes with ham).

Of course, my sample size is much smaller than you and +1...

I'm not even going to try to pass comment on not having English muffins....

I don't know anything about the arrangement between Glass and Hilton Sydney but my guess is that there has been some recent tweaking of the contract and this has resulted in the downgrading of the breakfast offering which may or may not be in breach of Hilton Corp standards and it could and should be reported.

I wish Hilton Corp standards included Eggs Florentine and Eggs Benedict with ham (or ham substitute) as a minimum delivery

 

[bismarck]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

Frankly, if I were to be charged $5 for coffee at the Hilton, I'd walk downstairs to one of the best coffee shops in Sydney (Workshop) to get one for <$4

 

[Sprucegoose]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

Agree, this is not a clever hilton move

 

[boomy]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

Checked out today after 2 nights stay at Hilton Adelaide. The eggs Benedict I ordered were made to perfection and not only the espresso was free, I was even offered a second cup!!

So it looks like some Hiltons are still keeping their high standards of 5* hotel breakfast while others are slowly downgrading to 4* (in HSP case it's 3*).

Now at least the rates at HSP sometimes equal to a 3* hotel so their lousy breakfast can be forgiven but at the rates Hilton Sydney charges, they should provide a proper breakfast.

 

[jetlagger]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

Probably the only level I haven't experienced is The Club and as I'm not likely to be invited in during this lifetime I guess LM and quality cuisine isn't really gelling for me. I did like the Glass breakfast and dinner but Salt has declined noticably since it opened. A Salt employee also said something to me that made me wonder as well. I was told the executive chef has more control over the place than LM does. Kind of makes me wonder if the places are just individual businesses paying for the use of his name and his mug shot to slap all over everything. Same thing happens in a lot of businesses. I used to contract to a company called Alan Jones Marine. Alan Jones had absolutely nothing to do with it except being paid a royalty for the use of the name and the occasional photo shoot.....

Appearing the sad plight of modern day franchising & generic business modelling..

 

[coolumbla]

Re: Gold/Diamond [+anyone else][breakfast] Enhancement-coffee [now $5]-in Hilton Sydn

heres hoping adelaide stays the same till i get there in November
HSP i'll find out about in 2 weeks

As far as this morning at sydney went i woke up too late and had a free J lounge coffee and a pancake ( way better than the old T2 lounge)