Hilton HHonors - BEWARE NORWICH UK (and others)

Big warning for anyone staying at Hilton Norwich. Call up before checking in and ensure that you are not in the "servants' quarters".

I stayed last week, checking in quite late (with a colleague). I went up to my room to discover it had no window. Okay, it had a skylight. With a big pole to open and close it with (I tried this, and lots of dirt from the roof fell onto my, ahem, naked torso). And the blind didn't work, so the direct sunlight wakes you up nice and early...

To be fair, the duty manager that night did try his best to move me, but only 2 other rooms were available and they were dirty.

In the morning, the duty manager at check out reduced my rate from £85 to £45, but frankly this isn't good enough. People complain about this all the time (according to the person at check-out) so why do they put people in these rooms without checking first? My reservation was made by phone direct with the hotel, so no excuses.

Other whinges and praise for other UK Hiltons this week:

Dunblane Hydro: Lovely. But bring back bathrobes, please (apparently so many have be stolen from this property that they've just stopped doing them). Great staff.

Leeds Garforth: Well, as nice as can be expected on a motorway junction http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Warwick: Fabulous chair at desk (in standard room) - adjustable office-style chair rather than usual uncomfortable offering. Interestingly the "Food Delivered" section had been removed from the Yellow Pages in the room. Has anyone else noticed this anywhere?

Keswick: Avoid the restaurant. Don't be seduced by the "award-winning chef" and the "fine dining experience". Dreadful food, to the extent that a "rare" steak would have been deemed overcooked had I ordered it "medium-well".

Two other points:

[1] Have 2 phones in the room! There is no excuse when there is a phone point at the desk not to have a phone there...

[2] Turn the coffee machine on before breakfast! At at least 2 properties I asked for a double espresso at breakfast only to be told "The machine isn't on and takes at least 20 minutes to warm up... we don't normally turn it on till 11:30". For heaven's sake...

I was going to post my take on UK Hiltons but since you already started this thread, I'll add my comments here.

My wife and I stayed at 8 UK Hiltons this summer, Nottingham, Leeds Garforth, Dunblane, Keswick, Moorside Grange, Pukrup Hall, Bristol and Brighton Metropole.

The Nottingham is right downtown. The hotel doesn't have a parking lot but has an arrangement with the city lot across the street, £10/day for valet parking. We were "upgraded" to a large room on the top floor, and entering our room, I discovered it was a definitely a large room but the room was very plain, with a UK king bed (2 singles made separately but pushed together), a small couch and a separate very basic bathroom. I think it would be hard pressed to be considered much above a basic Holiday Inn in North America.

The Leeds Garforth, as noted below, has nothing going for it except the location. The hotel is old and in desperate need of upgrading. It's totally booked, I'm sure because of its location and not because it's a place you'd want to stay, so there's no upgrades available. The room is small and clean but I can't complain too much because it was reasonable, £49/night including breakfast. This Hilton was definitely the least "Hiltonesque" one we stayed at in the UK.

The Dunblane is excellent. It's a beautiful older home on large, elegant grounds that has been made into a hotel. We were upgraded to a 2 room corner suite on the top floor. The room was beautifully appointed, with a free bottle of red wine and several different types of snacks. The food in the restaurant was excellent and we left with great regrets of not staying longer. There was no charge for parking. The only negative was that the pool/exercise area was in a separate building across the parking lot from the hotel.

The Keswick Lodore is several miles from the nearest town, Keswick, but is right across the road from the lake. There's a tour company that operates boats on the lake. You can purchase a day ticket to ride all day from the hotel and tour the lake and surrounding hiking areas easily that way. We managed an upgrade after the first night as the hotel was totally sold out. The rooms are small but very nicely decorated. Our first room was too small and on the second floor. In the morning, you could hear people walking overhead and it was very disturbing. The next night, we were upgraded to a corner room on the top floor that faced the rear, and Lodore Falls. It was wonderful to hear the running water and not road noise. Curiously, when I asked about upgrades and mentioned being HH Gold, the desk person asked if I was gold or gold VIP. Mere gold's have to pay for upgrades, she said while they're free for gold VIPs. I'd never heard of that. My card says gold VIP but I thought that all gold cards did. Anyone else heard of this? Also, I also learned something new. When we checked in and I asked about upgrades, the desk person said that if you're leaving from one Hilton and going to another, you can ask them to phone the next Hilton to hold an upgrade for you, as long as you're gold or plat. I'm glad we didn't try the restaurant. We're not big eaters and the hotel only had a fixed price multi-course dinner, which was also quite expensive, so we ate in the surrounding area most nights. This hotel was also excellent, with great staff, and no charge for parking.

The Moorside Grange is a fine hotel on the outskirts of Manchester. It's far enough away, in a rural setting, that it's very peaceful and relaxing. It's a large hotel with a big spa but, like so many UK Hiltons, the restaurant only serves a fixed-price dinner. The only option is either room service or eating outside the hotel. The night we checked in, there was a wedding at the hotel and it was totally booked, so no upgrade. The room we had was comfortable, with a double bed, and sitting area with a sofa and chair. It was nicely appointed and well maintained. Again, parking was free.

Pukrup Hall, in Tewkesbury, is a golf resort. We were there in early September and the hotel was totally booked with conference/ golfing guests. We managed an upgrade and the room was excellent. It had a king bed, with an actual king mattress. The room was quite large, with a sitting area and bow window that faced the golf course. Unfortunately, it was also over the kitchen area and we could hear the staff cleaning up until midnight and then preparing the next morning at 7 am. While the hotel was definitely wonderful in a beautiful setting, while we were there, the lift was broken and we had to use the stairs to access our room. Otherwise, I would come back in an instant, and try the golf course, it looked great. Parking was once again free.

The Bristol was very much like the Leeds, except it was a bit newer and in better condition. Amazingly, it's a 2 storey hotel with no lift! We didn't know that and ended up carrying our luggage up one flight of stairs to our room. The room was more like a Hampton Inn than a Hilton and filled with furniture made to last rather than look good and be comfortable. Again, there's nothing to upgrade to but it was reasonable and there's no charge for parking.

The Brighton Metropole is definitely a fine hotel, right on the oceanfront close to the pier. Our luck continued, however, as there was a major conference here, which had been going on for a couple of days, and there were no upgrades, or rooms for that matter. The room we managed to get was the last double on in the hotel and is very small, to the point where it's a struggle to get the luggage past the bed as the wall is so close. Our window is a few feet from another wall. This is a beautiful hotel but it is essential to get a good room as there are definitely some rooms you don't want to get stuck in. Parking is £10/day.

Some overall observations: all of our room rates included a great breakfast so there was no issue about breakfast for me, gold, but not my wife, just enrolled and no status yet; none of the Hiltons had air conditioning; there were very few upgrades since the hotels were almost always completely full, which I verified independently of the hotel desk; most of the dining rooms weren't full service in that there was no choice for dinner so if you didn't want the fixed price dinner, for around £30, you had to eat elsewhere; the staff were universally excellent; with few exceptions, the rooms were much more ordinary than most Hiltons here in NA.

We just returned from the UK - we stayed one night (award redemption) at the Brighton West Pier and the Bristol Hilton. The Bristol Hilton was a dump. There were holes in the sheets, the furniture was worn and shabby, and there was no buffet breakfast for Gold - I got into an argument with the staff over this issue, to no avail. I would avoid this hotel at all costs, it has nothing going for it, the location is remote to everything except the Bristol airport. On the other hand, we enjoyed the Brighton West Pier. There is no executive lounge in the hotel, but the rooms are lovely, very comfortable beds (down comforters and euro pillows) Our room had a balcony and a very nice ocean view. We were denied breakfast until I showed the manager the Hilton Honors brochure at which point we were 'grudgingly' offered a free buffet breakfast.

Wingnut ... and how sober were you at the time of your Norwich Roof Top Strip Show ?

UK hotels, most brands and independents, are a bit of a joke - as memorably depicted by John Cleese in his series "Fawlty Towers." What's more, the brands are very expensive.

Hilton merely reflects the national tendency. There's a world of difference between the fine Hiltons on the Continent and the rather grubby, inconsistent establishments in Britain. Even the Heathrow property (with sky high room rates) has a boring dinner buffet featuring roast beast and tasteless Yorkshire pudding. All fixtures like hair dryers and coffee machines are solidly nailed down, and no bathrobes are provided for elites unless specially requested - reflective of the Brit tendency to filch.

I feel that only modest, incremental steps can be taken to improve British hotels. There are some encouraging signs here and there - I did enjoy my stay at the London Kensington, with its contemporary fittings and ambience.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by lynneblack:
On the other hand, we enjoyed the Brighton West Pier. </font>

I'm impressed, as I can not imagine how you can enjoy this hotel. I have just spent the night there after getting over the initial shock of realising that that nice, elegant olde-worlde seafront Hilton is in fact the Metropole, and that the West Pier was in fact that building that looks like a derelict council estate (Brits will understand what I mean). I realise most seafront buildings in Brighton are in a bit of a state due to the elements affecting the paintwork, but there is no excuse for a look as shabby as this hilton!

Further, on one of the hottest days of the year, most sea front facing rooms do not have air-conditioning (luckily mine on the 4th floor did, but my companion's one on the 2nd floor did not).

The rooms were both very similar, large but tired and in need of refurbishing. The mattress in one room was hard as stone and the one in the other kept slipping off the side of the bed. The bathrooms were big, with a bath/shower combo and, something or a rarity according to my companion, a bidet. Standard "test-tube"-style toiletry products were provided, as well as slippers and bathrobes. Both (non-smoking) bedrooms had a funny smell about them, nothing I could put my finger on but definitely slightly unpleasant, which seemed to come from the carpet or curtains.
The rooms had access to balconies, but these were as uninviting as the whole exterior. Great view of the West Pier though!
At night, it transpired that none of the windows (or walls for that matter) were particularly soundproof. Every minute or so a motorbike roared past outside, making sleep somewhat difficult. I don't even want to imagine what this must sound like at weekends, when Brighton's clubs and parties are in full swing.

On the positive side, the rooms we were given were "upgraded" from the ones booked originally (Gold Card) and complimentary water, grapes and newspaper of choice were provided. The staff were friendly and understanding, but could do little about the heat/aircon problem as all other airconditioned rooms were occupied. Breakfast was standard UK Hilton buffet, replenished regularly right up to 10am (unlike some properties where "if it's gone, it's gone"). While staying at the West Pier you have the right to use the Health Club at the Metropole down the road, which is nice and has a pleasant pool and allows you to really feel the difference in decor and comfort between these two hotels.

Considering the price difference between the two hotels at the time of booking was only £9, I know where to go next time!

I have posted elsewhere about this, as also alluded to here. Most of the Hiltons in smaller centres used to be known as Hilton National, and were okay by poor UK standards, but not very good by those expected by travellers from elsewhere. When the brand was standardized a couple of years ago, the "National" was removed, so it became caveat emptor. In fairness to our British friends, too high a proporation of US Hiltons also fall into this questionable brand standards issue, though things have been improved steadily over the past five years or so.

I recall a multistory Hilton Bristol by the RR station, which wasn't too bad when I stayed there almost a dozen years ago.

As the above reviews reflect, some UK Hiltons have charm and some cause alarm. Just out of interest, it would be interesting to know if Wingnut is from this side of the Atlantic [NAmerica], or the other. This could account for his surprise at what he found in Norwich.

Shareholder is quite right, and the differing standards of UK Hiltons can lead to all kinds of confusion.

For the 'Metropole', there is more info. The Metropoles were for a while part of the Stakis organisation, and their standards or lack of them spoke for themselves. I have not stayed at the Brighton Metropole for a number of years, and indeed, I did not immediately associate the Hilton with the old Metropole. But Hufflepuff's comments confirmed that they have maintained Stakis standards.

The Birmingham Metropole/Hilton Metropole still displays the scars of the Stakis era. At last there is some competition at the NEC with the recent opening of the Crowne Plaza.

A number of UK Hiltons were inherited from the Stakis organisation. It would be useful to have a list so we can be aware when planning! I wonder if anybody has one.

I was once advised by an HH Diamond member who had experience worldwide that despite his status he always used Marriott hotels in the UK. He also recommended the MacDonald chain in smaller British centers. I have followed his advice and have found it to be quite sound. As always, YMMV.