How do Hilton treat you as an Elite?

[JessicaTam]

Property: Hilton Capital Grand Abu Dhabi
Rate: AED224 or AUD82 (include taxes)
Booked: King Guestroom
Received: King Executive Room

The room was ready for check-in when arrived at 7am. Asked about suite upgrade and was told none available ATM, maybe later if I'm willing to wait. Decided to take the executive and, as expected in the ME, it was very specious. The bathroom was huge with separate bath and shower. I had some Junior Suites in Europe that were smaller than this room.

Went down to have breakfast at restaurant. At first was told diamonds can only eat at executive lounge but problem quickly fixed with help from supervisor. Staff very attentive making sure to constantly refill glasses with juice and coffee.

Room was conveniently allocated on the executive lounge floor. Had dinner in lounge and met some friendly long staying residents. Apparently the costs of renting compared to living at hotel in Abu Dhabi are very similar so many foreigners prefer to live in hotels. Something unusual I've noticed, all alcohol was hidden and could only be served by the host. Never seen that before at any Hilton, not even in Dubai so Abu Dhabi must have different laws.

I stayed at the older HH in Abu Dhabi a few years ago. The beer was on display. Mind you it was Fosters and Budweiser. :shock:

 

[esseeeayeenn]

I stayed at the older HH in Abu Dhabi a few years ago. The beer was on display. Mind you it was Fosters and Budweiser. :shock:

Abu Dhabi is a different Emirate and does have different laws. It is much more conservative than Dubai. Until recently the Emir of Abu Dhabi did not want foreigners in Abu Dhabi. Then he saw how much money Dubai was making and changed his attitude. A little.

 

[JessicaTam]

Abu Dhabi is a different Emirate and does have different laws. It is much more conservative than Dubai. Until recently the Emir of Abu Dhabi did not want foreigners in Abu Dhabi. Then he saw how much money Dubai was making and changed his attitude. A little.

I was replying to boomy who was discussing his experience in the other Abu Dhabi HH.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

I was replying to boomy who was discussing his experience in the other Abu Dhabi HH.

Sure, I was replying to the thread, not to you in particular.
Sorry if quoting you (as the latest post) confused that.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

Nothing exciting this week from me:

Property: Doubletree Amsterdam Central:
Booked: Standard King
Received: Standard King with view
Rate: 60K points (cash rate was > 400 euro/night)
Bonus: Check in noticed from passport it was wifes bday, received wine, chocolates and extra drink vouchers.
Hotel also organised complimentary car seat (for 9mo old), baby crib, and baby food - all at no additional cost.

Property: Hilton Garden Inn Rome Airport
Booked: Standard King
Received: Standard King
Rate: 59 euro + 12K points (cash price was 180 euro)

Status: Diamond

 

[Major]

$10 per item just for it being sent to the hotel, and then a further charge for collecting each item "out of hours" (i.e. not between 7 am and 5 pm)

For comparison, I'm currently staying in the Hilton LAX and have just picked up a parcel at no charge, so I'm not sure why Hilton Union Square think it's appropriate or acceptable to levy a fee?

I was charged $7 to collect a parcel from Hilton San Diego. When I queried the charge I was told it was a UPS franchise and not controlled by the Hotel. :shock:

 

[boomy]

Property: Hilton Berlin
Rate: EUR72 or AUD105
Booked: King Guestroom
Received: King Executive Domeview

Great location, decent size room. Amenities were two complementary bottles of water from mini bar.
This is the Domeview in case anyone wonders how it looks like:



Breakfast at restaurant was good, not huge selection but high quality products, as expected at decent European hotels.

 

[penegal]

The Cairns GM (John Lucas) is pretty good value and has been very helpful to us in the past. He is very aware of AFF and was also one of the guest speakers at the AFF gathering in Cairns last year. Please say hello to him for me next Sunday if he's around.

As far as I'm aware John Lucas has now moved on to a role in the NT across all 4 properties. Regional something something.

Saw him at Hilton DRW a few weeks ago and was friendly.

The new Hilton DRW GM (Carey Osborne) introduced herself briefly on my last stay.

 

[jojen]

Checked in to Sydney Hilton tonight about 7pm on our way home from Perth. Booked a King deluxe, cheapest at the time.

Upgraded to King suite 86 sq m. First time we have had this room. Have been upgraded to relaxation rooms and suite before as Diamond but this is best so far. Hope it continues.

 

[maaz]

Property: Parmelia Hilton Perth
Dates: Friday 15/7/2016
Status: Gold
Booked: Queen Guest Room
Received: Queen Guest Room with balcony.
Comments: Chose our room with online check-in through the Hilton Honors App on my phone. Received drinks vouchers for the Adelphi Lounge and breakfast in the restaurant the next morning.

Property: Doubletree Hilton Melbourne
Dates: Sunday 17/7/2016
Status: Gold
Booked: King Guest Room
Received: King Guest Room
Comments: Chose our room on the HH App on the phone and chose the 14[SUP]th[/SUP] floor. When we had booked in and were going up in the lift I noticed that floors 10 and 11 were labelled as HH rooms. We didn’t change but I asked when we booked out and was told that the HH floors had rooms with coffee machines and a few other extras. Note take for next time!
As Gold HH, breakfast in the restaurant was continental only but we could upgrade to full breakfast for $6 each.
Continental breakfast was fine.

Property: Hilton Shenzhen
Dates: Tues 19/7/2016 to Thurs 21/7/016 (2 nights)
Status: Gold
Booked: Points plus Pay King Guest Room
Received: Executive King Guest Room
Comments: When we arrived at reception and I asked if the Gold HH status was displayed, we were immediately sent up to the Executive Lounge to book in. Treated very well at every stage. Breakfast in the restaurant downstairs each day. Huge choice of food.

Property: Conrad Hong Kong
Dates: Fri 22/7/2016 to Sat 23/7/2016 (2 nights)
Status: Gold
Booked: Points plus pay King Bed Superior Room Peak view
Received: Executive King Peak View
Comments: Happy to have been upgraded to Executive again. Breakfast in the restaurant or the lounge, we chose the restaurant.

All in all a very successful trip around with upgrades and great treatment in all the Hotels we stayed in.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Checked in to Sydney Hilton tonight about 7pm on our way home from Perth. Booked a King deluxe, cheapest at the time.

Upgraded to King suite 86 sq m. First time we have had this room. Have been upgraded to relaxation rooms and suite before as Diamond but this is best so far. Hope it continues.

Snap !!!
King Deluxe to King Suite tonight. AAA rate. Was showing at OLCI early afternoon.
It's amazing when you realize that the lounge room alone is the same size as two standard King rooms.

Long may these good upgrades continue

EDIT:
Also forgot Parmelia Hilton 4 night stay last week. King Room govt rate, upgraded to King Suite. Showing at OLCI 48 hours before arrival. Internet working and all issues from last stay resolved.

 

[dfcatch]

There's a new GM now (Scott I believe, I'll check his business card when I'm back in the room)

As has been mentioned - Scott Wilson is the GM now. He was previously the GM at Doubletree CNS after John went back to looking after just the Hilton.

Scott is very experienced and believes strongly in the personal touch - which regulars at Hilton CNS know that the staff try and apply to regular Diamond guests.

If you're staying at the Hilton CNS and are Diamond - feel free to reach out to him with feedback as I know that he cares about providing a top-notch guest experience.

 

[coolumbla]

HSW
Govt rate lowest room level
upgraded to exec room
"we cant have a diamond looking at the bay"

Is it me or is the coffee service downstairs at breakfast super slow?

 

[boomy]

HSW
Govt rate lowest room level
upgraded to exec room
"we cant have a diamond looking at the bay"

Is it me or is the coffee service downstairs at breakfast super slow?

Depends. I like to go down around 9am after all the suits are gone and then service is superb. If the place is busy then barista service can be very slow.

 

[coolumbla]

boomy was there at 7 am all 3 days , place was <1/3 full

 

[Gonetroppo]

Depends. I like to go down around 9am after all the suits are gone and then service is superb. If the place is busy then barista service can be very slow.

~50% of the time I've ordered a coffee downstairs it never turns up. Including once when I was on my way to the urn, intercepted by a staff member who insisted I sit down for a real coffee, which of course never became real. To be fair, they are nice *when they turn up* and the breakfast rocks.

 

[boomy]

boomy was there at 7 am all 3 days, place was <1/3 full

~50% of the time I've ordered a coffee downstairs it never turns up. Including once when I was on my way to the urn, intercepted by a staff member who insisted I sit down for a real coffee, which of course never became real. To be fair, they are nice *when they turn up* and the breakfast rocks.

Disappointing to hear. I never had any issues with serThere is usually plenty of staff in the restaurant so if it's not busy there are no excuses.

Probably some waiters forget to pass on coffee orders to the barista. Maybe they should change the policy and write down all orders to keep it organised.

 

[Aeolus]

Depends. I like to go down around 9am after all the suits are gone and then service is superb. If the place is busy then barista service can be very slow.

I'm one of those "suits", breakfast always around 7-7:30am. Coffee will take 10-20mins to arrive. Make sure you order before you sit down and if you time it well, it'll arrive just when the eggs made to order are delivered to the table. Sometimes they do take forever to arrive but a reminder and it's normally there straight away.

 

[straitman]

I'm one of those "suits", breakfast always around 7-7:30am. Coffee will take 10-20mins to arrive. Make sure you order before you sit down and if you time it well, it'll arrive just when the eggs made to order are delivered to the table.

This plan works for me also.

 

[sinophile888]

Property: HSW
Dates: July 11[SUP]th[/SUP] to 14[SUP]th[/SUP]
Status: Blue
Booked: Twin Hilton Guest Room
Received: Twin Hilton Guest Room
Cost: $226.40 per night incl. Breakfast

Property: HSW
Dates: July 14[SUP]th[/SUP] to 15[SUP]th[/SUP]
Status: Blue
Booked: Twin Hilton Guest Room
Received: Twin Hilton Guest Room
Cost: $183.20 per night

The surcharge for breakfast for the first three nights was $2 per room, so a great deal.

We haven’t stayed at HSW for some years after a very disappointing stay. We moved to Hilton on the Park and were very happy there as Gold. One more stay at the Pullman on the Park, but not quite the same as HotP.

So we decided to give HSW another try and were much happier this time. Breakfast was excellent for both of us as we have diets which could hardly more diverse. There was a tax on cappuccinos as we expected. I was most impressed with the gluten free section which offered cereal, muffins, bread and a dedicated toaster. I also loved the freshly squeezed orange juice and soy milk. My husband like the bacon and hash browns. We didn’t disturb the “suits”.

We had forgotten about the trams which run along the extension of Flinders Street, accessed across a footbridge. It added options to the Spencer Street trams.

We should return to Gold after a trip to Europe with at least 16 nights at various Hiltons and will certainly stay at HSW when next in Melbourne.