Hilton HHonors - Irvine, CA Hilton or Starwood Brands?

I have a new job that will have me taking regular trips to Irvine, CA. Does anyone have any insights about whether the Hilton or Starwood properties are nicer? I have gold Status at Hilton and SPG.

I know the answers might be biased on this forum http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif, but I didn't want to cross-post.

Starwood only has the Westin South Coast Plaza. It is a fairly nice hotel, nothing really special. The restaurant is run by Joachim Splichal's (sp?) Pinot group and could be called "Chateaux Pretentieux". Imagine breakfast served by snobby waiters with "Oui, madame" style.

The Irvine Hilton adjacent SNA is the former Registry Hotel, nice lobby, but somewhat small, and the rooms need renovation.

The Hilton Costa Mesa is, in my opinion, the nicest. Recently renovated, gigantic rooms with beautiful bathrooms.

The Doubletree Irvine is cookie-cutter. Like a Hampton with a restaurant. Overpriced. Avoid.

Don't know about the two Embassy Suites or two Doubletrees in the area.

Personal preferences when down there are

Hyatt-Irvine(PL can get you a really good rate)
Marriott Newport Beach Suites(really nice room set up for extended stays)

And yes I saw he asked about Hilton and SPG
but if going to be there a lot might want to look at a bit of program matching

I like the Westin South Coast Plaza - it's nice and well located next to the highway and 5 mins from SNA.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Designtime:

I have a new job that will have me taking regular trips to Irvine, CA. Does anyone have any insights about whether the Hilton or Starwood properties are nicer? I have gold Status at Hilton and SPG.

I know the answers might be biased on this forum http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif, but I didn't want to cross-post. </font>
First of all, Irvine stretches a bit, so I don't know if you'd have location preferences.

The South Coast Plaza is a few miles north of Irvine. That may not sound like a big problem, except if you're planning on going there from Irvine proper up the 405 around 5 or 6 pm, in which case you may be better off walking than driving! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif (The 405/55 interchange is being rebuilt, and right north of the 55 the 405 starts losing lanes.)

There are plenty of Hilton family properties to choose from that'll be closer to you, so unless you consider the Westin South Coast Plaza MUCH nicer (or are getting MUCH better perks/benefits/whatever there), you'd probably find choosing from among the many Hilton family properties better from a location standpoint alone.

Btw, let me point out that there's a Hampton Inn & Suites (supposedly all-suite) opening soon on Hotel Terrace Drive (right across the street from the Bmbassy Suites there), but it's not a Hampton quite yet (there's a "coming soon" sign at the entrance) -- it's a former Radisson Suites being converted -- and there's no info on it at the Hampton website yet. So beyond the simple basics (like free breakfast and free local calls for EVERYONE, no fighting required [g]) I can't tell you much about it yet.

I've stayed at that Embassy Suites on Hotel Terrace and it was quite nice. But most of the time it costs more (well over $100/night for the cheapest room) than I'd like to pay (there's a nice Holiday Inn that's typically about $80ish (with AAA) for a standard room right down the street, and I'm paying out of my pocket), as well as Comfort Inns and Best Westerns at even a bit less (tho a bit less nice, too).

If you'll be at far south end of Irvine, you might want to look into the Hilton Garden Inn in Lake Forest. I've not stayed there, but it's a new build (last year, I think), and I've found above average consistency at HGI in general (if you want free high-speed internet, it's gonna be in all HGIs by the end of the year, for example, while hit and miss free or otherwise at many other Hilton properties).

Be aware that the Hilton across the street from SNA, as well as at least the Doubletree on Jamboree, charge you extra for parking, while in many other locations (including most if not all the hotels on Hotel Terrace Drive) parking is free and plentiful.

[This message has been edited by Stefan Daystrom (edited Dec 04, 2003).]