How do Hilton treat you as an Elite?

[Princess Fiona]

HSP tried to charge me 10$ once even as a diamond. They said only continental breakfast is complementary.
It is true but after a word with the GM the fee was waived.

:shock: :shock: That's just adding to the litany of service failures there

 

[Princess Fiona]

Last time I was there Gold and Diamonds could eat downstairs without an extra charge. I don't think I have ever had breakfast in the exec lounge at HSW.

That's good, because the exec lounge spread is nowhere near as good as the restaurant.

 

[beardoc]

Status: Diamond
Property: Hilton Sydney
Dates: 12-15 October
Booked: King Hilton Guest with paid upgrades at desk
Received: King Relaxation Suite (not complimentary)

The complimentary upgrades haven't been coming that much for me at Hilton Sydney recently, so I did something I never thought I would do and paid for a suite upgrade.

This is my first stay where with the new Glass arrangements (no espresso coffee without charge, no eggs benedict or eggs florentine. The jams at Glass have been enhanced from the glass jars to little plastic packets, and there is a loss of a few items that I really enjoyed for breakfast. They used to do apricots replumped in syrup and they're now gone, the Dim Sims are no longer steamed (they're deep fried).

The breakfast is still good in Glass - it's just not the "knock it out of the park" amazing breakfast that it was. It makes me think it was incredible whilst it lasted.

The soft product here is excellent - Eric, Tomiko, Chi and Daniel in the Lounge were amazing - they all recognised me. I look forward to seeing them every time - they're more than friendly. But you can't hep but feel that the hotel is undertaking a litte bit of a cut here and there and I wonder if it's going to be death by a thousand cuts. It's not there yet - you just wonder whether now that the 20% discount is going, the rates have been rising, and there's a cut here and there, that Hilton Sydney mght not be an option much in future. Which is sad, because I used to love it here!

 

[lovestotravel]

Booked the Conrad SIN 1 King Classic room
Was upgraded instantly to 1 King Bed Executive Room as a Diamond

Still showing all the higher rooms available, so will see IF I get anything else, but all reports are the Conrad stick to upgrading 1 level ONLY!

 

[drross]

Status: Diamond
Property: Hilton Sydney
Dates: 12-15 October
Booked: King Hilton Guest with paid upgrades at desk
Received: King Relaxation Suite (not complimentary)

The complimentary upgrades haven't been coming that much for me at Hilton Sydney recently, so I did something I never thought I would do and paid for a suite upgrade.

This is my first stay where with the new Glass arrangements (no espresso coffee without charge, no eggs benedict or eggs florentine. The jams at Glass have been enhanced from the glass jars to little plastic packets, and there is a loss of a few items that I really enjoyed for breakfast. They used to do apricots replumped in syrup and they're now gone, the Dim Sims are no longer steamed (they're deep fried).

The breakfast is still good in Glass - it's just not the "knock it out of the park" amazing breakfast that it was. It makes me think it was incredible whilst it lasted.

The soft product here is excellent - Eric, Tomiko, Chi and Daniel in the Lounge were amazing - they all recognised me. I look forward to seeing them every time - they're more than friendly. But you can't hep but feel that the hotel is undertaking a litte bit of a cut here and there and I wonder if it's going to be death by a thousand cuts. It's not there yet - you just wonder whether now that the 20% discount is going, the rates have been rising, and there's a cut here and there, that Hilton Sydney mght not be an option much in future. Which is sad, because I used to love it here!

eric is excellent. Given all the changes I'm trying the Sofitel tonight. So far all good. Early check in no drama. Rooms small but ok. Got a platinum match through loyality guy website.. Free internet and a box of chocolates, couple of free drinks and Rockpool is around the corner.. Unbelievable wine list. Plus $200 less per night!

 

[hummel]

eric is excellent. Given all the changes I'm trying the Sofitel tonight. So far all good. Early check in no drama. Rooms small but ok. Got a platinum match through loyality guy website.. Free internet and a box of chocolates, couple of free drinks and Rockpool is around the corner.. Unbelievable wine list. Plus $200 less per night!

So that would mean Sydney Sofitel is recognising platinum benefits? Contrary to what was posted in another thread on here...

 

[drross]

Yep. Just got back to my room after delightful long lunch at Rockpool.WiFi working well ( supposed to be free for platinums.. Will find out tomorrow when checking out), 2 small bottles of water, one still, one sparkling, and a large bowl of fruit. Nice letter fromLillian, director of guest relations. Sofitel ticking all the boxes so far.

 

[drross]

PS the box of chocolates are lovely!

 

[lovestotravel]

Would love a status match from Hilton Diamond to SPG or Accor! Any tips ?

 

[drross]

Would love a status match from Hilton Diamond to SPG or Accor! Any tips ?

Go to loyaltylobby.com and look under Accor. Recent 'free' upgrade should be still there

 

[JessicaTam]

Would love a status match from Hilton Diamond to SPG or Accor! Any tips ?

Accor offer free Platinum membership from time to time. It is therefore not as highly regarded as SPG or HH. It can be useful at the higher end hotels, though, so worth looking.

 

[Flashback]

Booked the Conrad SIN 1 King Classic room
Was upgraded instantly to 1 King Bed Executive Room as a Diamond

Still showing all the higher rooms available, so will see IF I get anything else, but all reports are the Conrad stick to upgrading 1 level ONLY!

Yes, this tends to be the case. The Exec Rooms however are very spacious and rather nice. Mine was located on the 30th floor, so the view was pretty impressive.

 

[drross]

Just back from great Epiqure event and more bottles of water in the room! Been a warm day here in Sydney must have thought I looked dehydrated.

 

[anat0l]

Just back from great Epiqure event and more bottles of water in the room! Been a warm day here in Sydney must have thought I looked dehydrated.

No, after an eqiQure event everyone feels slightly sloshed The water would be a welcome letting down.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

HSP tried to charge me 10$ once even as a diamond. They said only continental breakfast is complementary.
It is true but after a word with the GM the fee was waived.

Well that's true enough (sort of). HSP is a disaster on so many levels it's not funny. As much as they would be correct in saying the buffet is extra, by turning a blind eye goes part the way to making up for all the many and varied luxury hotel misdemeanors! Like waiting 20 minutes for a lift, only to find it chockers with rubbish bins and laundry hampers.......real class! Mr Hilton!

 

[jetlagger]

Well that's true enough (sort of). HSP is a disaster on so many levels it's not funny. As much as they would be correct in saying the buffet is extra, by turning a blind eye goes part the way to making up for all the many and varied luxury hotel misdemeanors! Like waiting 20 minutes for a lift, only to find it chockers with rubbish bins and laundry hampers.......real class! Mr Hilton!

Day or Night.. I enjoy your often humorously entertaining & repeated realistic overview of HSP.
On every walk through of the bat cave lobby, I'm always curious about the observed inconsistencies in service levels & staff turnover.
Perhaps Mr Hilton has sent them (random rookie staff) packing to Mr Trump..

 

[ChrisFlyer]

Status: Gold

All stays included the obligatory bottled water, and the phone was answered with a "Good morning/evening Mr ChrisFlyer" at every property, so I'm not going to mention it under each hotel.

Property: Hilton Singapore
Dates: October 1-2
Booked: King Hilton Deluxe
Received: King Hilton Executive (Corner) Suite
Notes: 8am check in, offer to have breakfast at 7:30am when I arrived at the hotel (while waiting for my room), though I chose to freshen up before returning for breakfast in the exec lounge. Breakfast at the restaurant the following morning, bowl with three apples in the room, and a 2:30pm check out on the following day. I found the staff inside the hotel to be absolutely fantastic, though the valet staff outside seemed generally disinterested and bored whenever I would pass - not even a smile or a hello.

Property: DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur
Dates: October 2-3
Booked: King Bed Deluxe Room
Received: King Bed Executive Suite
Notes: I arrived at around 9pm, and though I tried to check in in the lobby, the desk clerk noted my HHG status and escorted me to the exec lounge for a "more private" check in experience. Though I was too late for the free drinks, the staff brought me a glass of wine while everything was taken care of, and I was given a warm cookie to take to my room, along with a 3pm late checkout. The lounge staff were incredibly friendly, and as I would still be in town the following evening, they invited me to return to the hotel for free coughtails (knowing that I wouldn't be staying there), along with a 3pm late check out. I found a very elaborate fruit platter in my room on arrival, along with two slices of cake. I was quite tired, and chose to order a club sandwich on room service, which was nice and fresh. HHG guests are given a daily laundry/pressing allowance, which was enough for one business shirt, one pair of slacks and one pair of jean shorts. When the laundry was returned to me, the shirt and the slacks looked lovely, though the shorts were returned with the comment "we no wash, we put sticker on"....... apparently a label on the shorts (that sits under the belt) was slightly worn, and for some reason, this was the deciding factor. I couldn't be bothered complaining (given that it was 'free' and all), but it was both funny and annoying! Otherwise, a lovely stay, and when I went to check out, I was greeted by no less than 9 staff in solid formation behind the desk, along with two managers. Either I'd interrupted their staff meeting, or they knew I was coming....

Property: Hilton Kuala Lumpur
Dates: October 3-4
Booked: King Hilton Deluxe
Received: King Executive Lake View
Notes: On arrival, a porter saw me walking through the lobby, and assisted me with my bags - first to the desk, and then to my room. Check in was very business-like, with no 'personal' interaction. The porter asked "where is your girlfriend?" when in the lift, and when informed that she was back home in Australia, he commented "well that's ok, we can get you a 'girlfriend' while you're here" :shock::shock:... I politely declined, and considered returning to the DT if the experience continued along this path! However, the room was modern, and I found an apple, along with blueberries and roasted cashews waiting for me. The welcome letter indicates that "coughtails" are on offer in the exec lounge, though when I asked if a coughtail menu was available or if they had any signature coughtails, the staff have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, and insist that only "basic coughtails" are available, referring to "vodka and orange juice or rum and Coke", which aren't 'coughtails' as commonly known - rather, 'mixed drinks'. The spread was excellent, and included items that could constitute afternoon tea, dinner, dessert and supper. Breakfast could be taken in the restaurant, which had a multitude of options, and had Vegemite available!

Property: Hilton Singapore
Dates: October 5-6
Booked: King Hilton Deluxe
Received: King Hilton Deluxe Plus
Notes: While I wouldn't have expected that the staff would remember me (given the number of guests that they would speak to each day), when they have my reservation and profile open on the screen in front of them, I don't expect to hear "as this is your first stay with us" on my second stay that week... perhaps a "welcome back" would have been more appropriate. Anyway, there wasn't much to report about this stay - no apples or exec lounge access, though breakfast in the restaurant was available, which included the full (hot) buffet. When I checked out, the hotel clerk did remember me from the night before, and greeted me by name as I approached the desk. I suppose she made up for her little (and insignificant) blunder on my arrival! When I was leaving, one of the porters took my bags (which I presumed was to help carry them down the stairs or the ramp at the side), but without asking, took it upon himself to try and slot me into a taxi. I had to grab my bags off him and explain that I would be walking to the train station, and that I had not asked for a taxi. A rather odd parting memory!

Property: Conrad Centennial Singapore
Dates: October 6-7
Booked: King Classic Room
Received: King Business Room
Notes: There's something time-honoured about approaching the main hotel doorway and having two staff rush to hold the doors open for you - a very nice way to arrive. At reception, the staff went through every detail of my reservation with me thoroughly ("this is your first stay with us here, I see you have booked x rate, I note your room preferences of x, etc. etc.), and immediately offered a confirmed 3pm check out (as is guaranteed by the room type). On mentioning that I had an evening flight, I was eventually able to stretch this out until 5pm at no charge. I was escorted to my room, where a fruit platter and a teddy bear awaited me. The staff member commented "please take the teddy bear with you, we want you to have him", so I did - along with the rubber duck.

On the Conrad website, the room description does note that pralines are included with that room type (in addition to the fruit platter), though they were nowhere to be found. One phone call later, and I had two boxes and a second fruit platter delivered, so I suppose I can't complain! One thing I did find odd was that the 'Business' room description notes that powerpoints are to be found at desk level, though I could only find one behind the curtains (?), and another underneath the TV. I'm thinking that perhaps I wasn't really upgraded, but was merely given the benefits of the room type (laundry allowance etc.) to suit my late check out. As the staff had been lovely to me, I didn't want to get greedy and demand a room change over a power point (particularly as my laptop has a long cord), but it was odd. Breakfast was near the pool, though dining was actually inside, which was still nice. Unlike other buffet/lounge plates, these were large dinner plates, so you can actually get what you want on the first helping, without looking like a piggy by constantly returning. I got back to the hotel quite late, and enjoyed a Nasi Goreng in the 24hr restaurant, which was reasonably priced and quite delicious.

The following day, I received an unwanted wake up call at 7:30am. The clerk apologised, but immediately called me back and did the same thing (?)... by that time, I had been disturbed enough to get up, and checked my phone for any alerts and messages. Fortunately, the QF upgrade fairy had sent me a message a few hours beforehand to say that I'd be sitting in J on QF6 that night, so that immediately ended my grumpiness! I turned my laptop on to check my seat assignment (which followed my preferences - upper deck, aisle, forward: 12B), and then went back to sleep for a few hours before breakfast.

 

[Flashback]

Property: Conrad Centennial Singapore
Dates: October 6-7
Booked: King Classic Room
Received: King Business Room
Notes: There's something time-honoured about approaching the main hotel doorway and having two staff rush to hold the doors open for you - a very nice way to arrive. At reception, the staff went through every detail of my reservation with me thoroughly ("this is your first stay with us here, I see you have booked x rate, I note your room preferences of x, etc. etc.), and immediately offered a confirmed 3pm check out (as is guaranteed by the room type). On mentioning that I had an evening flight, I was eventually able to stretch this out until 5pm at no charge. I was escorted to my room, where a fruit platter and a teddy bear awaited me. The staff member commented "please take the teddy bear with you, we want you to have him", so I did - along with the rubber duck.

On the Conrad website, the room description does note that pralines are included with that room type (in addition to the fruit platter), though they were nowhere to be found. One phone call later, and I had two boxes and a second fruit platter delivered, so I suppose I can't complain! One thing I did find odd was that the 'Business' room description notes that powerpoints are to be found at desk level, though I could only find one behind the curtains (?), and another underneath the TV. I'm thinking that perhaps I wasn't really upgraded, but was merely given the benefits of the room type (laundry allowance etc.) to suit my late check out. As the staff had been lovely to me, I didn't want to get greedy and demand a room change over a power point (particularly as my laptop has a long cord), but it was odd. Breakfast was near the pool, though dining was actually inside, which was still nice. Unlike other buffet/lounge plates, these were large dinner plates, so you can actually get what you want on the first helping, without looking like a piggy by constantly returning. I got back to the hotel quite late, and enjoyed a Nasi Goreng in the 24hr restaurant, which was reasonably priced and quite delicious.

The following day, I received an unwanted wake up call at 7:30am. The clerk apologised, but immediately called me back and did the same thing (?)... by that time, I had been disturbed enough to get up, and checked my phone for any alerts and messages. Fortunately, the QF upgrade fairy had sent me a message a few hours beforehand to say that I'd be sitting in J on QF6 that night, so that immediately ended my grumpiness! I turned my laptop on to check my seat assignment (which followed my preferences - upper deck, aisle, forward: 12B), and then went back to sleep for a few hours before breakfast.

Even in the Exec Rooms there are very few powerpoints and in fact you found more than I did in your room!

 

[Fifa]

Status: Diamond
Property: Hilton Bath City
Dates: 24 - 26 September 2013
Booked: Double Guestroom
Rate: GBP 75.00 per night (Great Getaway rate)
Received: Queen Bed Deluxe? (not sure what was deluxe about it)

2 waters in room and cooked breakfast (including barista cappuccino) in restaurant.
Our party also included a HHonors Gold who received exactly the same room as mine.

Location of hotel is excellent to all of Bath's sights. Rooms are very small with a tiny bathroom and you can hear noise from the hallway.
Dinner in Atelier Restaurant was excellent.

 

[Fifa]

Status: Diamond
Property: Hilton Reykjavik Nordica
Dates: 2 x stays, 1 - 4 & 6 October 2013
Booked: Queen Hilton room
Rate: 14,800 ISK per night (AP)
Received: Queen Executive room on first stay and Queen Executive Room Plus on second.

Loved this hotel!
Location is a bit of a walk from town but free public bus passes are supplied at reception and the bus stop is on the main road at the front of the hotel.
Executive lounge has a great view from the 8th floor and includes all day snacks and drinks plus evening canapés and self pour wine and beer.
We had breakfast in the lounge on the first morning and a cooked breakfast in the restaurant on other mornings. There were signs in the exec lounge and restaurant requesting guests not to remove food from the premises (must be a bit of a problem in Iceland!).
Meals at the hotel were expensive, but we found a great (reasonable) restaurant over the road that was well patronised by both locals and guests staying in surrounding hotels. The menu included foal fillet steak and whale :shock:.
Parking was free.

Once again our HHonors Gold friends received the same upgrade to a Queen Executive Room with exec lounge access.