Hilton HHonors - Best USA catagory 5 on/near beach

Got over 500K worth of Hilton points & promised my parents 5-6 nights at the hotel of their choosing for mid/late April 2010 stay. So searched high and low for the best Hiltons located on / near the beach or possibly Arizona. Prefer to get them into Catagory 5 so they can stay 6 nights ( including the free night that was emailed last week ).

Here is the list of Catagory 5's so far :

Hampton Inn Myrtle Beach - Oceanfront

Hampton Inn Pensacola Beach

Embassy Suites Tucson Paloma Village

Hilton Garden Inn Carlsbad Beach

Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort

Doubletree Grand Key Resort ( @ Key West )

Hilton Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort - Tucson

Doubletree Ocean Point Resort & Spa - Miami Beach North

Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront Resort

Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort

** used Trip Advisor & the above list is ranked from with the best rating at the top, using the percentage of reviews that rated Excellent or Very Good vs. the total number of reviews. example : Hampton Inn Myrtle Beach - Oceanfront has 219 reviews & 199 gave a Excellent or Very Good = 90.86%, all the way to Hilton Clearwater that has 443 reviews with 291 who gave a Excellent or Very Good = 65.68% **

My parents are in the early 60's and like to go to the beach, shop, go site seeing and go out to eat.

Any thoughts, suggestions ? Did I miss any possibilities ?

Thanks everyone in advance !

Have had two recent stays at the HGI in Carslbad.

It's a very good property. Great service. Across the road from a scenically beautiful beach. But one has to walk down many steps to actually get to the beach.

The property is a very quick drive to some nice stores and restaurants.

And being quite close to San Diego--lots to do--as long as you have a car.

I haven't been to any of these properties.

While Myrtle Beach is a very nice place to spend a week, did they want to swim in the ocean and relax on the beach in the sun? The month of April I personally think is too early to go to Myrtle Beach if they want warm weather to swim and have lots of beach time. Otherwise, there is enough to keep them occupied for a week with shpping, eating, etc. as there is a lot to do there.

Depending on their travel abilities, Key West could we more difficult to get to than some of the other properties listed as well in terms of flight connections and airfare costs.

Got over 500K worth of Hilton points & promised my parents 5-6 nights at the hotel of their choosing for mid/late April 2010 stay.
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Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort
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My parents are in the early 60's and like to go to the beach, shop, go site seeing and go out to eat.


Puerto Rico is a great place to visit and explore. However, if your parents really like the beach, they will be disappointed by the beach at this hotel. There are great beaches nearby in Cabo Rojo, but they are 1-2 hours away. There are also great beaches in Rincon. The dry forest in Guanica (about 1h away) is also neat if they like nature. If they are into golf, there is a course at the Ponce resort though.

What I would suggest If they want to go to Puerto Rico, is to spend two days at this hotel in Ponce to explore things on the southern/western part of the island and the rest of their time in San Juan. The beaches in San Juan aren't the best on the island, but they are substantially better than the one at the Ponce Hilton. The other area of the island that has good beaches is the north east portion of the island. There is a bioluminescent bay in fajardo that is a must-see if you like nature and have never seen one. I think that there is a WA that you could use points at in the area, otherwise it is a 1-1.5 hr drive from San Juan. (There are also tours that leave from San Juan to the bay and the rainforest (El Yunque) so they could still see them if they are staying in San Juan). If they REALLY like beaches, the offshore islands of Culebra and Vieques are wonderful, but there are no Hilton properties on either of these islands.

Travelexpert - thanks for the tip with the car / many steps down to beach !

funtotravel - I agree with the water temp. issue in April, as a matter of fact they originally were thinking at the Hilton in Ocean City, MD - which I think would be even colder water, as it is further North !

myadvice - thanks for the PR beach updates, I would have assumed that all the Hiltons in PR would have a decent beach.

thanks again !!!!!!!!!

My parents are in the early 60's and like to go to the beach, shop, go site seeing and go out to eat. Any thoughts, suggestions ? Did I miss any possibilities ?

Based on the above criteria, I would vote for Singer Island. Site seeing could include nearby rich and famous of Palm Beach, Norton Art Gallery, a sea turtle farm in Jupiter, FL; Lion Country Safari (a drive through African safari) located in the western Palm Beaches. April would be good weather. The gulf stream swirls quite close and the oceanwater clarity is astounding. Lots of restaurants just north on PGA Blvd.

Stayed @ Doubletree Grand Key Resort ( @ Key West )

Nice stay, away from downtown- shuttle takes you back and fourth

upgrade to a suite

Puerto Rico is a great place to visit and explore. However, if your parents really like the beach, they will be disappointed by the beach at this hotel. There are great beaches nearby in Cabo Rojo, but they are 1-2 hours away. There are also great beaches in Rincon. The dry forest in Guanica (about 1h away) is also neat if they like nature. If they are into golf, there is a course at the Ponce resort though.

What I would suggest If they want to go to Puerto Rico, is to spend two days at this hotel in Ponce to explore things on the southern/western part of the island and the rest of their time in San Juan. The beaches in San Juan aren't the best on the island, but they are substantially better than the one at the Ponce Hilton. The other area of the island that has good beaches is the north east portion of the island. There is a bioluminescent bay in fajardo that is a must-see if you like nature and have never seen one. I think that there is a WA that you could use points at in the area, otherwise it is a 1-1.5 hr drive from San Juan. (There are also tours that leave from San Juan to the bay and the rainforest (El Yunque) so they could still see them if they are staying in San Juan). If they REALLY like beaches, the offshore islands of Culebra and Vieques are wonderful, but there are no Hilton properties on either of these islands.

Spot on, particularly re: Ponce. ^^ The sand is more dirt than white sand. The golf course is pretty.

The beach in front of the El San Juan (WA) in Isla Verde is nice enough.

If you are in to surf/waves you have to go to Rincon.

Got over 500K worth of Hilton points & promised my parents 5-6 nights at the hotel of their choosing for mid/late April 2010 stay. So searched high and low for the best Hiltons located on / near the beach or possibly Arizona. Prefer to get them into Catagory 5 so they can stay 6 nights ( including the free night that was emailed last week ).

Here is the list of Catagory 5's so far :

Hampton Inn Myrtle Beach - Oceanfront

Hampton Inn Pensacola Beach

Embassy Suites Tucson Paloma Village

Hilton Garden Inn Carlsbad Beach

Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort

Doubletree Grand Key Resort ( @ Key West )

Hilton Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort - Tucson

Doubletree Ocean Point Resort & Spa - Miami Beach North

Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront Resort

Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort

** used Trip Advisor & the above list is ranked from with the best rating at the top, using the percentage of reviews that rated Excellent or Very Good vs. the total number of reviews. example : Hampton Inn Myrtle Beach - Oceanfront has 219 reviews & 199 gave a Excellent or Very Good = 90.86%, all the way to Hilton Clearwater that has 443 reviews with 291 who gave a Excellent or Very Good = 65.68% **

My parents are in the early 60's and like to go to the beach, shop, go site seeing and go out to eat.

Any thoughts, suggestions ? Did I miss any possibilities ?

Thanks everyone in advance !

Got over 500K worth of Hilton points & promised my parents 5-6 nights at the hotel of their choosing for mid/late April 2010 stay. So searched high and low for the best Hiltons located on / near the beach or possibly Arizona. Prefer to get them into Catagory 5 so they can stay 6 nights ( including the free night that was emailed last week ).

Here is the list of Catagory 5's so far :

Hampton Inn Myrtle Beach - Oceanfront

Hampton Inn Pensacola Beach

Embassy Suites Tucson Paloma Village

Hilton Garden Inn Carlsbad Beach

Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort

Doubletree Grand Key Resort ( @ Key West )

Hilton Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort - Tucson

Doubletree Ocean Point Resort & Spa - Miami Beach North

Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront Resort

Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort

** used Trip Advisor & the above list is ranked from with the best rating at the top, using the percentage of reviews that rated Excellent or Very Good vs. the total number of reviews. example : Hampton Inn Myrtle Beach - Oceanfront has 219 reviews & 199 gave a Excellent or Very Good = 90.86%, all the way to Hilton Clearwater that has 443 reviews with 291 who gave a Excellent or Very Good = 65.68% **

My parents are in the early 60's and like to go to the beach, shop, go site seeing and go out to eat.

Any thoughts, suggestions ? Did I miss any possibilities ?

Thanks everyone in advance !

Did I miss out on a free night e-mailed last week I'm Hilton Diamond however didn't receive anything---is this something I should look into? Thanks

Did I miss out on a free night e-mailed last week I'm Hilton Diamond however didn't receive anything---is this something I should look into? Thanks

If you haven't received a free night, you probably have missed out. See this long thread all about it: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilton-hhonors/1008317-new-redemption-levels-plus-free-night.html

The beach in front of the El San Juan (WA) in Isla Verde is nice enough.


If the OP's parents don't absolutely need to be on the beach and have a "resort" experience there is a Hampton Inn (cat 4) and an Embassy Suites (cat 5) in Isla Verde. Both hotels are literally two blocks away from the beach. The Embassy Suites also has a casino, if one is into those things. I've stayed at the Embassy for an extended business trip and found it to be adequate for my needs. I have no personal experience with the Hampton.

The Hilton and Condado Plaza (Conrad) are also on the beach but they seem inconsistant in providing the type of experience that one expects from those brands. I believe that they are also category 6 hotels.

My wife took her sister and mom to the Hampton Inn Myrtle Beach/Oceanfront in mid October. They booked a partial oceanview room and were upgraded to a large oceanfront suite. They really liked the hotel and staff. The front desk arranged to have a special wheelchair delivered that you could take onto the sand.

Hilton Clearwater Beach is a very nice property on a beautiful beach. This would be my recommendation based on your list. Nice resort feeling and a short drive outside Tampa.

Hilton Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort - Tucson

My parents are in the early 60's and like to go to the beach, shop, go site seeing and go out to eat.

I'd skip this one.

There's no beach (unless you count the desert sand as a beach). Its got three golf courses I believe, and tons of tennis courts... But there isn't a lot to do in Tuscon. I spend a week here back in May, and while its a nice resort, it lacks in all of the things you listed above.

I went to the Clearwater Beach Hilton last year. I think it would be a good choice for your parents. Right on the beach; beach bar on the beach, nice pool beachside; walking distance of some nice restaurants, and would be great in April. Opportunity to do sightseeing in Tampa area. The hotel was redone not that long ago; we enjoyed it very much.

OP, does it have to be CAT 5? For 6 nights, CAT 5 is 150000 points, and CAT 6 is 175000 points, but you have so many more choices for CAT 6? You said you have 500k points right?

I just came back from HGI in Carlsbad. It is a very nice hotel, but you probably don't want to send your parents there. It is not easy to get down to the beach from the small cliff. Also, Carlsbad is where Legoland is located and close to Wild Animals park. In April, there may be lots of families with small kids staying at the hotel. The swimming pool is heated and open until 11pm. When we were there, there were kids at the swimming pool laughing and screaming late at night. We live in Los Angeles, so Carlsbad is a very nice getaway for us. But I definitely would not go across the country to stay at Carlsbad.

I'd add a Cat 6:

Hilton Suites Ocean City in Oceanfront, Md.

Great location, pools, and service

I'd add a Cat 6:

Hilton Suites Ocean City in Oceanfront, Md.

Great location, pools, and service

They originally asked me about the Ocean City, MD - Oceanfront, but I am concerned that it will be too cold to enjoy the beach in mid-april. I am thinking the further south the warmer the weather it would be. What do you think ?

Thanks

They originally asked me about the Ocean City, MD - Oceanfront, but I am concerned that it will be too cold to enjoy the beach in mid-april. I am thinking the further south the warmer the weather it would be. What do you think ?

Thanks

You're definitely right. It'll be too cold to really enjoy your time in Ocean City.

If you do consider Cat 6, which is not many more points using GLON for 6 nights, then I'd add Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island and Hilton Hawaiian Village in Oahu. The beaches in Hawaii are warm enough in April and there's plenty of sightseeing at either place.

Got over 500K worth of Hilton points & promised my parents 5-6 nights at the hotel of their choosing for mid/late April 2010 stay. So searched high and low for the best Hiltons located on / near the beach or possibly Arizona. Prefer to get them into Catagory 5 so they can stay 6 nights ( including the free night that was emailed last week ).

Here is the list of Catagory 5's so far :

Hampton Inn Myrtle Beach - Oceanfront

Hampton Inn Pensacola Beach

Embassy Suites Tucson Paloma Village

Hilton Garden Inn Carlsbad Beach

Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort

Doubletree Grand Key Resort ( @ Key West )

Hilton Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort - Tucson

Doubletree Ocean Point Resort & Spa - Miami Beach North

Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront Resort

Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort

** used Trip Advisor & the above list is ranked from with the best rating at the top, using the percentage of reviews that rated Excellent or Very Good vs. the total number of reviews. example : Hampton Inn Myrtle Beach - Oceanfront has 219 reviews & 199 gave a Excellent or Very Good = 90.86%, all the way to Hilton Clearwater that has 443 reviews with 291 who gave a Excellent or Very Good = 65.68% **

My parents are in the early 60's and like to go to the beach, shop, go site seeing and go out to eat.

Any thoughts, suggestions ? Did I miss any possibilities ?

Thanks everyone in advance !

I go to Puerto Rico 2-3 times a year on business and stay somewhere a few days to get some R&R after meetings. I was at the Ponce property 4 weeks ago. Good service, nice room, very family friendly vs the hustle of San Juan. But if you want a beach, go elsewhere. Puerto Rico is really not the best beach destination unless you hop over to Culebra.

if they have never been to hawaii, there is a cat5 doubletree there. i just stayed at the embassy suites beach walk and it was great. great breakfast and evening managers drinks and snacks with hawaiian music and dancers. many restaurants nearby. perfect location. plus, they don't nickel and dime you. free internet and newspaper, and safe. but it was 175,000 for 6 days. plenty to do in honolulu.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far ! They would love to go to Hawaii, if they could find some great airfare deal. If I had to guess right now, they most likely will go to Florida. If they bumb up to Catagory 6 - any experiences at the Marco Island Hilton property ?

Thanks again, Kyle

If they bumb up to Catagory 6 - any experiences at the Marco Island Hilton property ?

Marco Island--apparently the Hilton pales by comparison to the Marriott.

The landscape changes dramatically if you are talking about level 6.

Now we start talking about properties such as the Hilton in Cabo.

IMHO it's the best Hilton beach property in North America.

But I'm sure there are many others....

We've been to the Clearwater Hilton several times during spring break. It can be crowded in April when we've gone so you have to get up early for a seat by the pool, but I love it there. The beach is gorgeous in Clearwater!! I'm a beach person for vacations. ^

If Hawaii comes back into the fold I recommend the Hawaiian Beach Village - right on Waikiki. Wife and I stopped there on our trip to Bali for two days and had a blast - lots of shopping, eating, beach, pools, etc right on the property and the views from the tower that honors guest get are fantastic.

A little down the road is the Prince Kuhio which is a decent property as well but significantly smaller in scope - close to everything though.

Good luck with your choice - I am sure your parents will be greatful with whatever you decide!

If Hawaii comes back into the fold I recommend the Hawaiian Beach Village - right on Waikiki.

Good luck with your choice - I am sure your parents will be greatful with whatever you decide!

Great suggestion ! I stayed there in 2004 and had a great time. Just relaxed at the beach at the end of a 18 day vacation ( cruise / land and Vegas - Grand Canyon ). Not sure going from Boston for 5-6 days is worth the long flight. My mom only gets a week off in April then has from end June until end of August off. My Dad just retired so his schedule is all clear. Maybe they will choose to go end of June into July and go for 9-10 days !! I used to have Hilton points .....

Check out Hilton Torrey Pines. At the right time of year you can get the beach to yourself and at great rates.

I have stayed at the Hilton Clearwater beach a few times in April, after April 15th or so it slows down quite a bit.

It's nice and I love the area but the hotel walls are thin and you can hear noise from the hall and people next door over the TV.

Unless you get a gulf front suite ( not available with points) none of the rooms face the ocean directly and one side of the building is above very noisy AC units.

$10 day to park, you have to join the beachclub for umbrellas at $22 day.

If you like to have a drink at the pool/beach you have to buy everything you eat and drink at the pool/beach from the Hotel which can get pricy.

This year I'm moving to the Doubletree at North Reddington beach ( about 25 minutes away which has gulf front rooms and great reviews, free parking and you can bring your own fod/drinks to the pool/beach.

If you have a hilton Amex you can use code AXON5 or AXON6 for 4 nights at a cat 5 or 6 hotel for 125,000 miles which is a pretty good deal

If you have a hilton Amex you can use code AXON5 or AXON6 for 4 nights at a cat 5 or 6 hotel for 125,000 miles which is a pretty good deal

Thanks for the info., but I believe it's 125,000 points for catagory 5 and 145,00 points for catagory 6.

Thanks, Kyle

Thanks for the info., but I believe it's 125,000 points for catagory 5 and 145,00 points for catagory 6.

Thanks, Kyle

Makes sense but I have never used the AXON6 as both the Hilton Clearwater and Doubletree North Reddington beach are cat 5


EDIT


Doing a little research I found the old AXON code worked for a cat 5 or 6 for 125K but was changed to the new codes earlier this year