How do Hilton treat you as an Elite?

[k_sheep]

Property: Hilton Garden Inn South, Kuala Lumpur
Date: October 2018, 2 nights
Status: Diamond
Booked: Base room
Received: Base room, high floor. Was told it was a deluxe room but looking at photos, no it's not
Benefits: 2 x water, fruit (apple and orange)

Brand new hotel, first opened only a few days ago. Staff seem fine though, several have moved over from the Doubletree. The lifts are incredibly slow and buggy - often you press the button to call it and it turns itself off. No lounge of course. The room is very small with an awkward bathroom layout. It's cheap, and I like the Chow Kit area for food, but think I'll spend the extra $60ish a night for the Hilton sentral in the future.

 

[moa999]

Brand new hotel, first opened only a few days ago

HGIs often don't have much room variation and deluxe can equal high floor.

Is the HGI South on the same side of the main road as HGI North? Street numbers are 459 and 462 but the Hilton website has the Google maps marker in the same place

 

[Aeolus]

Property: Hilton Garden Inn South, Kuala Lumpur
Date: October 2018, 2 nights
Status: Diamond
Booked: Base room
Received: Base room, high floor. Was told it was a deluxe room but looking at photos, no it's not
Benefits: 2 x water, fruit (apple and orange)

Brand new hotel, first opened only a few days ago. Staff seem fine though, several have moved over from the Doubletree. The lifts are incredibly slow and buggy - often you press the button to call it and it turns itself off. No lounge of course. The room is very small with an awkward bathroom layout. It's cheap, and I like the Chow Kit area for food, but think I'll spend the extra $60ish a night for the Hilton sentral in the future.

Good to know, thanks.
As the Hilton rates in KL are quite low generally, it’s rather pointless to consider HGI unless one is on a very tight budget and extensive stays. Having said that, I hardly pay cash for my stays in KL as I find their point redemption to be great value for HH, especially at DT.

 

[k_sheep]

Same side of street. There's a small building between north and south. The gym is in north but pool in south.

As per the websites the deluxe rooms are larger.

Breakfast was an utter zoo this morning - huge group of people yelling and yahooing, photos everywhere. Once the bulk had left the staff member came over, apologised, and offered green tea to help with the headache!

Came back to pick something up from room; twice in 20 mins they have phoned (we have the DND on the door but guess they can't see that). One was spam saying we should go to the pool bar, the second asking if we want late checkout. Gross. Hate phone calls.

 

[hydrabyss]

Hilton Sydney

Date: 5th November
Booked: Guestroom Plus
Received: Relaxation Suite

Originally showing Relaxation Room online and at check in was given a suite which was nice.

 

[Aeolus]

Hilton Sydney

Date: 5th November
Booked: Guestroom Plus
Received: Relaxation Suite

Originally showing Relaxation Room online and at check in was given a suite which was nice.

Had a quick meet up with Deka2 today, if you are around tomorrow, perhaps you’ld like to join us?

Also, have you tried room 2820 yet? Interested to hear what you think of the new design.

 

[kermatu]

DoubleTree Glasgow follow-up.

My apologies but I've just read my review of the Glasgow DT and realised it ended abruptly. I suspect my error as I probably got distracted, had to leave (or fell asleep) - and when I eventually posted it must have reverted to a saved, incomplete draft.

Anyway, I did want to write up more on the lounge food, drinks and service in the evenings 6pm to 8pm. In summary, food was fantastic, great variety each night and between nights, and for the most part generous quantity; service friendly but AWOL at times; alcohol unequivocally the worst in any free Exec lounge I've been to.

I attended 3 of 4 nights. First night food was outstanding -- tasty salmon fillets, an amazing ham and leek pie, tasty and meaty beef goulash, plain ribbon pasta, spicy potato wedges, as well as a cold pasta salad and a green leaf salad. Food replenished regularly (everything available at 7:45pm). This was a Saturday night, lounge never more than 80% full.

Sunday night - food nice (fish fillets on potato rosti, rice, meatloaf on skewers, crumbed salmon, plus salads). But a few tables descended on the food like vultures and there were slim pickings for anyone holding back / exercising basic human courtesy. Food seemed to run out by 7pm. Didn't see staff again until 7:20 when they brought out two big platters of cheese and biscuits but specifically for two tables that asked for it. Huge waste. A couple of other tables took advantage of the staff absence to basically take bottles of wine back to their room. No drunkenness or bad behaviour. Just disappointing. Left and enjoyed a pub meal nearby instead.

Final night - much more civilised. Constant staff presence in lounge, albeit only half full. Food not as good (nice chicken, rice, good salads but the other hot options I can't even remember).

Alcohol - one type of canned beer. One red wine (I managed one sip). One white wine (I managed two sips). I'm pretty forgiving with my wines but these were undrinkable. Some basic spirits available on request. Jack Daniels and Famous Grouse whiskey. Didn't recognise the vodka or gin labels. I purchased a nice whiskey on my distillery visit so we enjoyed that instead.

Finally, the rate paid was really good. Initially booked a flexible rate about 100 pound a night. Saw price drops on a couple of random checks and eventually secured it at 70 per night. Pretty chuffed.

Conclusion - no hesitation I'd stay here again, and recommend it. Just be aware of potential variability in the lounge of an evening. But for a DT it is very good.

 

[kermatu]

Property: Hilton Dubai Al Habtoor City
Date: October 2018 -- 1 night
Status: Diamond
Booked: Base King
Received: Ambassador Suite - maybe a 4 level upgrade.
Benefits: Lounge access, breakfast in restaurant, about 8 waters in the suite, small fruit bowl, plate of chocolates and pastries (delivered mid-afternoon) 9am check-in and 3pm checkout, no extra charge, welcome letter.

Fabulous stay. In Dubai for a few nights and having read some poor reviews of the Conrad I decided to split my stay with another location. Price for one night was pretty good at this hotel (about $220 after all taxes) -- far cheaper than The Walk and the WA.

Superb communication from the hotel prior to arrival. Gave lots of info and helped setup a great Spa experience. Also confirmed guaranteed check-in at 9am though upgrade not guaranteed. Online showed upgrade to Deluxe Burj Khalifa view room, but given early arrival decided not to check-in. On arrival was told of upgrade to Ambassador / Junior Suite. Smaller suite and only on level 13, but still fantastic. Will post room pics separately. Requested 2pm checkout and was given 3pm.

Lounge access. It's actually open to all Diamonds and Golds. Nice evening canapes. Alcohol OK. Very large and comfortable. And empty most of the time including the evening, best I could tell. Will do a separate post on the lounge too.

Full breakfast in the restaurant. One of the best I've had. Multiple manned cooking stations. Usual western and of course Arabic. But also an extensive Asian station with noodles, dumplings and buns etc. And an Indian station, with idlis, dosas and sambar, as well as pooris (see my posts upthread!) and spiced vegetable dishes. Oh, heaven.

Great spa (shared with the 3 hotels in the same 'precinct'). Fantastic communication before arrival, and everything I requested was delivered. Staff also told me if I selected a particular time it would be half price. Very good service, given I had suggested other times which were available but with no discount.

Hotel location is good, though a little isolated as there's not much other than the 3 hotels on site. About 1km from Metro. But very easy taxi access to city (eg 3km to Burj Khalifa; and maybe 7km to Mall of the Emirates).

Recommended. Will be where I stay when next in Dubai.

 

[kermatu]

Photos of the Ambassador Suite:



Huge bathroom, with double sink, free standing tub with view, separate toilet and a massive shower stall with rain shower and hand shower.


Bedroom and work desk


Living room.

 

[kermatu]

The lounge is interesting. Is on the 39th floor, with great views of the canal and sea.




and the city.


It's only open from 10am to 10pm, so does not do breakfast. During the day, only nuts, fruit, biscuits, as well as tea coffee and soft drinks are available. Not really self-serve. I had some iced coffees which the staff made superbly (like a coughtail, shaken not stirred).

I attended 3 time outside the evening - soon after early arrival (10:30), after my massage (3pm) and before checkout next day (1:30pm). On all 3 visits I was the only guest in the lounge. Plenty of comfortable seats.



Evening canapes:



Lounge seats about 50. No more than 8 people the evening I was there. Maybe a fluke but I was really surprised given several room types granted access as well as golds and diamonds.



Plates of food just kept coming until told to stop. Contrast to other recent stays (eg Conrad in London). Canapes were excellent with good variety.

Drinks OK. coughtail I had was far too watery / too much ice. Red wine was nice.

 

[hydrabyss]

Had a quick meet up with Deka2 today, if you are around tomorrow, perhaps you’ld like to join us?

Also, have you tried room 2820 yet? Interested to hear what you think of the new design.

I keep forgetting to ask about the new design whenever I have the chance.

I still have a few stays needed to keep diamond so will have to say hello if we overlap.

 

[kermatu]

Plates of food just kept coming until told to stop. Contrast to other recent stays (eg Conrad in London). Canapes were excellent with good variety.

I didn't take a pic and forgot to mention that after the savoury platters ended, a platter of sweets was offered. Had a small ice cream dish, some pastries and chocolates from memory.

Staff also very attentive.

Hilton Al Habtoor. All up, very impressive evening service.

 

[kermatu]

Property: Conrad Dubai
Date: October 2018 -- 2 nights
Status: Diamond
Booked: King Corner room
Received: King Executive Suite with Lounge access, 39th floor - maybe 5 level upgrade.
Benefits: Lounge access, breakfast in restaurant, about 8 waters in the suite, large fruit bowl replenished on 2nd day, plate of macaroons and other sweets. No note. Early/late check not required.

Had two great stays here in 2014 but had seen lots of negative reports (mainly on FT) about disinterested staff, disrepair of rooms, vice and thuggish behaviour, loud music throughout hotel and obvious prostitution. Other than slightly loud music in the pool area in the afternoon, I saw none of this. (And I was keeping an eagle eye for one of the aforementioned issues).

Email from lounge staff a few days out. Was OK but not quite as polished or helpful as the previous stay at the Hilton Al Habtoor.

Great upgrade to a huge suite with proper dining table, large lounge area with two full, comfy sofas and two easy chairs plus large TV, DVD player and Bose sound unit that was connected and actually worked. Massive bedroom with corner views of sea and city. Large bathroom with great shower stall, separate bath with TV etc. Upgrade showed on App when I checked in the taxi on the way to the hotel.

Checked-in at front desk but was told to go to Lounge. While it meant I had a seat, it was terribly slow, my passport scan failed (so had to bring it back next day) and I'd rather have just done it at the front desk.

Housekeeping staff very nice. Staff in lounge also great and looked after me well. Not quite the same "family feel" I had back in 2014 but still good. I actually think the food in the lounge has improved. Nice, varied afternoon tea (different sandwiches, sweet treats and lots of fruit for afternoon tea). Staff made good iced coffees too. Evening canapes had multiple salads, cheese platter, lots of sweets and cakes, lots of different breads, soup and 4 hot items (meat pastries, spring rolls, samosas, prawn skewers etc). Food was self-serve though staff got me a plate of hot food one time. Alcohol only served by staff but my glasses were never empty for more than a minute as the staff were very attentive. Three good reds and two whites on offer. Standard spirits available too.

Breakfast in the main restaurant not as good as the Hilton and has shrunk from what was on offer back in '14. But still put western hotel breakfasts to shame, with outstanding Arabic options and some Asian and Indian options. Great breads, pastries and cheeses. One staff member particularly kind and served me a very nice fresh ful medames dish with all the accompaniments even though I could have done it myself.

Requested amenities via the app which were not delivered (Spa Refinery kit). Queried in the lounge and was told these were no longer available. Was promised something similar would be delivered but never was. Bit poor.

But a good stay all up. While no longer top of my list, if the price is right I'd recommend and have no hesitation staying again.

 

[kermatu]

Property: Hilton Auckland
Date: late October 1 night.
Status: Diamond
Booked: King room (base)
Rate: About $400 but eased by the AMEX cashback.
Received: Relaxation Suite Top floor.
Benefits: Full breakfast; 2 drink vouchers, several waters plus turndown service (including more waters and chocs). No wine.

Returned for one night purely out of loyalty to a hotel that's looked after me well. Very happy with the upgrade. Views from this suite not quite as good as the bow suite, but the room is much more functional with a proper separate lounge space, bedroom partitioned off with separate TV and the bathroom is well appointed with superior shower and without the tight and awkwardly placed toilet.

Staff terrific as usual and lots of warm handshakes and welcomes-back from familiar faces. Doormen, front desk and breakfast crew in particular. Still most of the same faces at breakfast so I again got my usual exemption from the coffee tax and was able to enjoy the buffet and eggs benny without charge.

Building work on floor 8 continues. Was advised work was from 10am to 4pm but there was movement and noise from 8am which was irritating but not too bad. Sadly the work is merely to add more rooms. There will not be an executive lounge or any public space to enjoy. I was told the building owners apparently overruled the request / views of management (and certainly the views of guests). Real wasted opportunity to make use of prime location. But hotel usually full so I can see why they haven't bothered.

The lack of an EL has seen me stay far more often at the Pullman. I'll be giving the soon-to-open Sofitel a go next. Could be my last stay at the Hilton as a result.

 

[wannabeinvestmentbanker]

Property: Hilton Garden Inn Bali
Status: Diamond
Booked: base level at $70 or some ridiculously cheap rate but wished I did it on points at 5000/night
Received: 'Junior suite'

Perfectly acceptable place to stay for a night with a latish arrival off of QF43 with a free shuttle bus to the hotel. Suite was a typical HGI suite with an extra sitting area and bathroom. Breakfast was pretty average but egg/omelette station and chocolate muffins for diamond members (too sweet but felt guilty eating a small amount as everyone is so friendly). The staff, especially the guy who greets you at airport for free shuttle, are great ambassadors and so friendly.


Property: Conrad Bali
Status: Diamond
Booked: base level at 170ish
Received: Massive suite in Conrad Suites section

This is one of my favourite properties globally. The staff are great and the Suite is insane in terms of space and luxury. I was only staying one night so they thought I would prefer an ocean view room close to checkin but assured them a room in the suites section would be better. Occupancy was quite low but I noticed other diamonds who checked in the next day did not receive a Suites room so definitely don't bank on it but I've had 100% hit rate at this property with a suite upgrade. Evening canapes and drinks are limited but the whole experience I think is fantastic value.

Hong Kong and KUL stays to come.

 

[nightelves]

Have you got pictures of the suite at Conrad Hilton?

 

[wannabeinvestmentbanker]

Have you got pictures of the suite at Conrad Hilton?

Sorry nothing on my current phone beyond a couple of insta stories as Ive stayed there a few times. I assume theres a few on google and review sites.

 

[mattm199]

Property: Hilton Sydney
Date: Fri Nov 16
Status: Gold
Rate: AAA Stay & Save
Room Booked: King Guestroom Plus
Room provided: Executive King Guestroom.

Just a quick trip to Sydney, and with a few stays to go to maintain Gold status, I looked at the Hilton Properties. A couple of weeks back the best rate was the AAA rate, $298. Thankfully this rate is cancellable, as I rechecked last week and the AAA rate had dropped to $251; boom - rebooked.
As a quick trip I didn't worry about booking a Deluxe, to get an Executive upgrade; but was pleasantly surprised to get an Executive room (level 37) anyway at checkin. Room was available at about 12.30 too.
I had a late meeting, so didn't get to visit the lounge in the evening, but for breakfast the next day staff seemed quite stretched, with empty dishes slow to be replaced, and no coffee cups (using takeaway ones). Had an ample breakfast, and enjoyed views of the perpetual George Street chaos below!

 

[wannabeinvestmentbanker]

Property: Conrad Hong Kong
Status: Diamond
Room: base room on corporate rate (only time a corporate travel agent comes in handy $1000 down to standard 2250HKD
Received: 1 night city view king, 2 nights harbour view executive

I, like others, am a Conrad fan and this hotel is no exception provided work is paying as the rates are too steep to justify on personal travel. Upon checkin I was given a city view, not even a peak view room, so pushed a little as I saw they were still selling harbor view rooms. I accepted this room and the key didnt work so went down and upon getting to checkin the duty manager, Gordon, was there to greet me apologising for this and said he could move me for my final two nights. He also asked if I drank anything and delivered a bottle of Perrier Jouet to my harbour view room.

Breakfast was a whole lot more civilised than on previous stays and enjoyed the addition of pretzels like there were in MEL EL. I ordered room service on my final night as I was hungover and tired from work and the steak was one of the best I've had and was delivered on a massive fold out table within 20 mins as promised which I thought was impressive.

Additionally, I put two work shirts in for laundry and they were slightly damaged so they wanted my signature to proceed but I didnt see this until 7pm when I got back after work and needed them for the rest of the week. A little annoyed by this (but not to the staff), I asked how long it would take after agreeing and they had them hung up in my room by 9pm when I returned which again was very impressive and you wouldn't get that level of service in Australia.

Property: Hilton Garden Inn Hong Kong
Status: Diamond
Room: base
Received: high floor (top floor)

This was a massive step down after the Conrad but was a personal night so point redemption came in handy. This is a very basic hotel and should be used as a transit hotel and not one to base yourself out of. Breakfast was very average and reminds me of a hotel in Causeway Bay full of mainlanders. Staff advise you to use Uber which worked very well I requested when I left my room and Uber driver was there by time I got down the lifts.

 

[GoldCanyon340]

Property: Hilton Garden Inn Bali
Status: Diamond
Booked: base level at $70 or some ridiculously cheap rate but wished I did it on points at 5000/night
Received: 'Junior suite'

Perfectly acceptable place to stay for a night with a latish arrival off of QF43 with a free shuttle bus to the hotel. Suite was a typical HGI suite with an extra sitting area and bathroom. Breakfast was pretty average but egg/omelette station and chocolate muffins for diamond members (too sweet but felt guilty eating a small amount as everyone is so friendly). The staff, especially the guy who greets you at airport for free shuttle, are great ambassadors and so friendly.

I'm scoping this property if good runs ex-DPS become available again so thanks for the review. I drove past it a few weeks ago and the location looked good. I'd definitely go for the 5k/night option... outstanding value.