Hilton Surfers Paradise

[Deleted member]

In no particular order. Entree, main and dessert. All very nice. Is it as good as Euro? No. Is it good value ? Possibly. But we had a good night regardless. Great waiter. Made the evening

 

[Simo]

How would you rate the overall experience from check in to now after dinner.

I am not sure if I want to stay for a few days at Aussie Day long weekend

 

[Deleted member]

How would you rate the overall experience from check in to now after dinner.

I am not sure if I want to stay for a few days at Aussie Day long weekend

The problem here is there are number of issues to consider.

1. This not by any stretch of the imagination a 5 star experience. This is at best a 4 1/2 *, and not across the board. I have stayed at the Sydney Hilton where they at least strive to provide a 5 star experience. Having to drive underground to park first,(I now know that's what you need to do), then struggle with bags and stuff (no self opening doors for those with hands full, suitcases, prams et al). Then try and navigate the lift system to the reception desk, which has a look of cold soviet era architecture. (I always think of the men in black entry corridor when I see this place).

2. Once there, greeted by pleasant and helpful staff (who for some inexplicable reason, look like they are dressed to do an Olivia Newton-John exercise video) only to find that as we had arrived before 3.00pm, Our room is not ready. OK. We have exec lounge access so are invited to wait there and have a coffee and a muffin / biscuit while we wait.

3. Room finally ready. Overall quality "good". Nice view of the beach from level 11.

4. Settled in, went for a walk to the beach. All good, usual holiday crowd (why do I bother coming here in school holidays?) having fun and generally soaking up the atmosphere.

5. Back to room, rest and relax, The room is nice. Some unfortunate and dubious stains on the carpet and headboard are a bit off putting (for Mrs GPH especially).

6. Get to Exec Lounge......Bl*%dy key doesn't work....Once in the lounge, got bowled over by some Bogan from west Melbourne, desperate to get to the self serve trough for bread, cheese, rice & curried meat and cheap wine....is it any wonder why I despise buffet's in any form?

7. Down to salt for dinner. A good start. Cheerful, friendly (but not familiar) staff. No sommelier to be seen, but buying wine by the glass probably was the reason there. Nice menu. Exciting? - No! Adventurous? -a little! Tasty? - well cooked and good flavours, so YES! Is it a major food destination for me?- No. I would rather fly to AKL, pay more and be spellbound at Euro..or Jervoise and the like. Would I go again? - Yes! I would, but I would stay somewhere else.

Over all comfort in room: 7.5/10. (If your own bed is a bit coughpy then you may give it a 9).

Exec lounge: Why bother? It is (this evening) full of shorts, singlets and thongs, looking for a gulp and guzzle session. Save your cash. Take a nice bottle of your favourite French, some quality provisions from James Street Markets and chill out watching the magic view from your room. if you want music bring your IPhone 4 (the 5 won't dock).

Salt: 7/10. It's good, but not even close to the Melbourne, Sydney (and Brisbane offerings for that matter).

I have mixed emotions about tonight, I want to enjoy it, (and the restaurant experience will go a long way to achieving that), but really this is not a well thought out hotel, with erratic and often poor execution.

Having to rifle through a dozen or more glasses in the exec lounge trying to get a clean one....Thats basic 1st year apprentice stuff. A bit lax, a bit casual.. I hope there are improvements in time and the experience gets better for others.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Well GPH as a reviewer by George I think you've cracked it!!

Hauntingly similar to my observations.

Would I go back, no.

Wait I've just realized you haven't done a breakfast yet. There is always a bust up of sorts over some low life not getting his eggs on time.

Try to sit ringside.

Enjoy!!

 

[Deleted member]

Well GPH as a reviewer by George I think you've cracked it!!

Hauntingly similar to my observations.

Would I go back, no.

Wait I've just realized you haven't done a breakfast yet. There is always a bust up of sorts over some low life not getting his eggs on time.

Try to sit ringside.

Enjoy!!

We will go off site for breakfast. ( even though we have exec lounge access)

 

[lovestotravel]

We checked out 2 nights early (around 1am) and it's a dreadful area to drive through. I was sure we'd run over some fornicating teenagers.

You went to Surfers Paradise and stayed in the middle of it all are wondering why there are kids everywhere ?

Next you'll be saying you went during schoolies........



I have stayed a few times and the hotel and while it's not a 5* hotel, it's still the best choice in the area if you get a room for under $180

The arrival/check-in is a disaster! There is a tiny space for a few cars at the front and they are usually full with parked cars/vans etc so there is no-where to park and check-in as such. So you are then forced to drive down to the under-ground car-park and navigate your way to the Hilton car park (Granted it's well signed)'

Then you have to make your own way up the lift to check-in - This alone means the hotel is not a 5* property

Check-in - Can be good, can be bad - All depends on what you get, but I have always had poor upgrade experiences as a Gold or Diamond member and was upgraded into an "accessible room" once....

Always had a nice welcome pack/letter of beers and a letter from the GM though

Room - Views great, room fitted out minimally but I don't mind it as it's all new

Breakfast in lounge - Waste of time
Breakfast in restaurant - Great - Try to get this in your room rate if you can

Staff - Again they vary but you really only deal with them on check-in/out and the restaurant

Location - Great, can be a little noisy at night, the windows/doors are pretty soundproof though

If you want to stay in Sufers it's one of the best hotels but you don't go there expecting a nice quiet beach etc etc

 

[Sprucegoose]

There is an inconstency in the hard and soft product. The hotels only redeeming feature is the BBQ area which is well done. The apartments are also very pleasant.

The staff as individuals are great kids and some don't know better because they haven't been told.

The hotel foyer is that gutless mix of grey and brown so as not to upset minorities. Well take a punt here guys and enjoy backing yourselves. Hint a slash of color .......

The clientele is a diverse challenge. Mostly bogan on saved up holidays (stop howling you lot). That's a real challenge when you also present to a more elite group as a 5 star establishment.

The management have a real challenge here

 

[Ewing]

I've stayed here a number of times now (my family are on the GC, so the alternative is to stay with them) and really can't complain.

The rooms are fine (I prefer the residences though). I've never had an issue with noise, but then again I spent many years living across the road from a pub and a train line so can sleep through just about anything.

The only thing I really don't like is the restaurant. The one time there wasn't a 45 minute wait for eggs, they were delivered cold. Having said that, I'm trying to lose weight (lost >30kg since I started this quest) and therefore don't need the full breakfast - the lighter options in the lounge usually suit me just fine.

On one of my stays Carey Osborne (director of operations) came up and introduced herself to me, so I have her mobile and email if anything annoys me too much

I can't say I've ever had an issue navigating the elevators, but they've confused my Mum when she has met me at the hotel (although she parks at Soul now as they usually have a $7 parking special).

 

[Princess Fiona]

I'm back there with my family next week for a three night stay prior to heading up to Noosa. To be honest I thought by Gold Coast standards it wasn't that bad last January, and as mentioned the pool area is beautifully landscaped. The glass is half full for me
Will report back next week

 

[lovestotravel]

I'm back there with my family next week for a three night stay prior to heading up to Noosa. To be honest I thought by Gold Coast standards it wasn't that bad last January, and as mentioned the pool area is beautifully landscaped. The glass is half full for me
Will report back next week

Agree

It's the Gold Coast so your expectations need to be set at that level

As I said it's a nice new property, the pool area is great, the pool service/bar is pretty good

For the price paid $170ish per night it's a good establishment with a few quirks

Keeping in mind this hotel was fitted out during the GFC so they did skimp on a few things

It's not the Hilton Sydney at $400 per night.....

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I'm back there with my family next week for a three night stay

I hope the place has calmed down a bit for you by then, otherwise you may spend more time lolling around a lift lobby than lounging around the pools!

Yesterday and this morning it was horrendous, but that's now twice we've been shoved into the Boulevard tower. I'm thinking that's probably far worse than the Orchid tower so maybe a polite call to request Orchid may be wise?

 

[Sprucegoose]

Agree

It's the Gold Coast so your expectations need to be set at that level

As I said it's a nice new property, the pool area is great, the pool service/bar is pretty good

For the price paid $170ish per night it's a good establishment with a few quirks

Keeping in mind this hotel was fitted out during the GFC so they did skimp on a few things

It's not the Hilton Sydney at $400 per night.....

QG gets tricky, like Bali where you can pay between 30 and 2k per night.

I paid 600 night and couldn't out price the bogans!!!

My thoughts are well known and I love the joys of travel, the good and the not so good.

If they renovate sanctuary cove I will put that on the list for next time.

 

[Princess Fiona]

I hope the place has calmed down a bit for you by then, otherwise you may spend more time lolling around a lift lobby than lounging around the pools!

Yesterday and this morning it was horrendous, but that's now twice we've been shoved into the Boulevard tower. I'm thinking that's probably far worse than the Orchid tower so maybe a polite call to request Orchid may be wise?

Noted and will call or email, and thankyou . We are in a 3 bed ocean view so hopefully will get the high tower like we did last year. I don't mind switching lifts for the Exec Lounge as I don't intend spending too much of my time there

 

[Deleted member 29185]

We are in a 3 bed ocean view so hopefully will get the high tower like we did last year.

Definitely go for the Orchid tower (high one) then as the 3 bedroom apartments are much larger than the 3 bed apartments in the Boulevard tower (short one).

The smaller ones don't have that island bench in the kitchen, have almost no kitchen bench to work off and don't have that separate (sort of) lounge area and the bedrooms don't have that fabulous view (still good, just not fabulous). Sorry I didn't take some photos now.

 

[Gold Member]

I stayed at HSP for 3 nights from December 18th on an any weekend sale price for a standard twin room at $105/night. I was upgraded to a relaxation suite with views of the ocean on the 13th floor with exec lounge access.

The room was fine, typical of a new modernistic Hilton hotel with all mod cons. But as many have commented already, quite a few disappointments:

1. Waited on average over 10 minutes for magic phone service or any other service for that matter. Seriously understaffed, but when eventually answered, very polite, professional and courteous.
2. Ordered a Hilton burger on the poolside deck (after 10 minutes waiting to get through to order it on the poolside phone). It arrived 30 minutes later which is ok with me, but without knives and forks, napkins, nor a smile or any word from the waitress. Just plonked it down and walked off after I signed for it. The burger was terrible - buns cold and somewhat stale, meat well overcooked (specifically asked for medium rare), and overall the burger just wasn't all that tasty. Compare it with the Sydney Hilton burger and that wins hand down 10x over.
3. Small selection of pay tv channels compared to most other 5 star hotels.
4. Exec lounge had screaming kids running around which were not policed very well on certain occasions by certain staff. Otherwise, generally well handled in an appropriate manner with the parents.
5. Bed preferences are very subjective, however I found the bed waaaaay to soft. Woke up with back pain.

On the flip side, there was plenty to like about HSP:
1. Exec lounge more than adequate, however beer fridge grossly insufficient and not restocked often enough. That said, most nights the lovely lounge staff took my drinks from my table before I had finished my Becks. Food spread was ok, but nothing special compared to other worldwide Hilton's, especially in Asia.
2. Wifi Internet was fast and reliable, in all locations of the hotel.
3. During my stay at least, most of the staff I engaged with did seem to care and were professional.
4. Lifts were plentiful and I rarely waited more than 20 seconds.
5. The pool(s) are much nicer than the pictures on the hotel website depict. In fact, the whole outdoor area is great on a nice sunny day.
6. Upon checkout, when asked how my stay was I mentioned my disappointment at the poolside burger and the front desk agent took it off the bill without hesitation and apologized profusely. She even asked when I would be seeing them next!
7. Breakfast in Salt restaurant was decent, but still nothing on Hilton Sydney.

Non-HSP related, OOL airport is utterly pathetic. No one policing the priority security lane meant that there were 4 lines streaming over 50 meters on average and a 20-30 minute wait. The QF Lounge (ex JQ) was one of the worst I've ever tolerated, albeit for 1 hour. Ridiculously overcrowded with pitiful food selection, but at least they had some beer on tap and decent wifi.

Overall, although I visited GC knowing it was bogansville and set my expectations accordingly, I still can't imagine returning to HSP even at the 50% off rate with Diamond benefits. Maybe the surrounding environment around the hotel didn't help, but GC is still the same GC I visited 10 years ago. On the plus side, at least I got double SCs for my OOL-SYD-MEL flight

 

[markis10]

I was tempted to check out the HSP, happily I am going to stay with my first choice the IC at Sanctuary Cove for the year, with the Mirage second choice when the penguins at Seaworld are calling (or is that Spongebob), damn yearly theme park passes and having a 4 year old

 

[Gold Member]

damn yearly theme park passes and having a 4 year old

aah, another AAD investor? I gave up on Dreamworld this time due to the forecast masses of crowds at this time of year. Skypoint climb/deck just didn't appeal either.

 

[sparoz]

For our two stays last year, the first was fantastic apart from the long wait of the magic button and the over crowded lounge. On our second stay, they must have some inexperience staff there as I wasn't even offered to go up to the exec lounge on check in when my room wasn't ready and was told to come back in 15 minutes. No mentioning about Diamond inclusions, but only given the cards to access the lounge. I was a bit disappointed in the second stay last year (only a few weeks apart) that I walked into the room with the sofa bed setup. There doesn't seem to be much notes about us as we had a cot the first time, and how my daughter could graduate to a full bed was beyond me, but it turned out to be a great play area for my daughter. Lifts has always been a problem but have no idea how they can fix it.

Salt was absolutely fantastic when it first opened and would rival any good Mel/Syd restaurant, but the standard has dropped somewhat last year. The staff at night has no understand of the importance of a smile, and we were felt that we shouldn't really be there because we have a young child. However, the breakfast staff there was fantastic each time. The food is okay but a few it is really understaff. The signature crab omelette was to die for the first time I went there, but it felt like something I can do at home the last time I went, the balance was wrong, the egg was overcooked.

Hopefully management sort it out quickly as I have given up on the Mirage and Versace's bed are so hard that despite everything else is good that we cannot stay there again. We do enjoy staying at Surfers too for its convenience for the hidden gems I know (I grew up on the Gold Coast).

 

[Sprucegoose]

I was tempted to check out the HSP, happily I am going to stay with my first choice the IC at Sanctuary Cove for the year, with the Mirage second choice when the penguins at Seaworld are calling (or is that Spongebob), damn yearly theme park passes and having a 4 year old

sounds like a good call....

 

[Sprucegoose]

Noted and will call or email, and thankyou . We are in a 3 bed ocean view so hopefully will get the high tower like we did last year. I don't mind switching lifts for the Exec Lounge as I don't intend spending too much of my time there

How did you get on Princess?