Hilton HHonors - Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center Trip Reports and Reviews

I just had the most pleasant stay at the Hilton Dallas Fort Worth Lakes and Conference center.

I had the worst flight schedule. I arrived in at Midnight and I had to fly out at 7 the next day. I made the reservation that morning (prior morning since it was after midnight when I arrived).

After a quick pickup by the hotel shuttle bus (less than 10 minutes), I arrive at the front desk. They take my nice little gold card, and give me a room on the 6th floor of their 8+ story hotel.

To take the elevator up to the HHonors levels you need to put your room key in. After being robbed at the Treasure Island once, I appreciate that feature.

I bumble into the room and its big. Texas sized big. Like 1000 square feet big. Get this it has a living room with a tv, couple of couches, couple of chairs, radio, bookshelf (with actual books), it has a full kitchen, it has a dining area (that would seat six), It had a walk in closet, two restrooms, one with a gigantic tub, and a room with a king sized bed, with a TV and plenty of room in it.

Im staying in this room for like 5 hours of sleep. It was wonderful, shockingly wonderful. The only sadness, was I had to get up at 5:30 to catch my flight.

The part that is amazing to me, was I paid a discounted $139.99 on expedia (plus taxes and such) and they put me in such a nice room because they weren't very full. And it wasn't even like a "presidental" suite, it was just an room in the middle of the HHonors floor.

Stranger things have happened, just not in a nice way!

VizSFO

PS. Dallas was flipping hot even at midnight.

We got stuck at DFW Sat. and I had to decide where to stay and as you all know there are several choices. The Hilton Lakes Conference could not have been nicer. They gave us a corner king with a seperate suite for my 17 yr old son (murphy bed). Executive lounge was closed (hotel at 11%) so they gave us full breakfast coupons. The pool/hottub was fantastic. Only problem was was no teenage girls for my son to hang with.

I love staying at that Hilton. I always run to the mall across the way - has a movie theatre as well.

I really like it, too. I like to go across the street to Outdoor World/Bass Pro Shop and to the restaurant (can't remember the name, but pretty decent BBQ and etc.) between Outdoor World and the ES. Interestingly, the Hilton Lakes seems to almost always be less expensive than the ES.

kmandrew, Thanks for the post! I have an overnight at this property between flights coning up in late March.

JDiver

...and to the restaurant (can't remember the name, but pretty decent BBQ and etc.) between Outdoor World and the ES.

Colters BBQ. A chain, but not too bad indeed.

Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center
1800 Highway 26 E., Grapevine, TX 76051
Tel: +1.817.481.8444; Fax +1.817.410.1136
Guest Services Manager: Tony Ali (tony_ali@hilton.com)
Web: www.dfwlakes.com

The shuttle van picked us up at AA Terminal C after a wrong instruction from the hotel transportation coordinator – he instructed us to go downstairs from baggage carousel C4 and turn left – it was right. It took about 15 minutes for the van to arrive, and I’d give it 15’ between hotel and airport. Vans leave the airport every half-hour for the airport. The hotel itself is situated across the road from Outdoor World mall etc.

The spacious lobby has two automated check-in / check-out electronic kiosks and an ATM, a large check-in desk staffed by friendly and efficient employees, and a bell desk for checked luggage, etc. The first impression is Texas large but not Dallas ostentatious , clean and welcoming. There is a gift shop with necessities and Texas souvenirs, open ‘til 21:00 / 9:00 PM . Off the lobby is Bonnie and Clyde’s Hideout, “lounge with casual dining” including a cigar bar and big screen. We thought about eating here, but it smelled like one giant stale cigar, so we ordered room service – this Saturday night, the Meritage Grille and Wine Room was closed all day so they could set up for Easter brunch :rolleyes:, and the Vineyard restaurant is only open 06:00 – 15:00 weekdays, 14:00 weekends. (The hotel was pretty empty - many must still be on Spring break!)

The Vineyard is for luncheon and breakfast – Golds and Diamonds get chits for full American breakfast buffet, Golds and Diamonds get 20% off dinner at the Meritage and a complimentary appetizer at Bonnie and Clyde’s. Just mention you are HH Gold or Diamond when you order ^. Meritage offers a moderate selection of dinner items, and an interesting selection of wines – including a goodly number of Texas wines :confused:.

Breakfast is a very comprehensive buffet, but not punctual: we showed five minutes after opening, it was still dark. On inquiring at the desk I was told the Vineyard indeed opens at 6:00 for breakfast - when I said "someone should tell them," the clerk called the restaurant. We were welcomed, and we helped ourselves to fruit - but the hot items were not out fully until 6:20. Hits: varied yoghurts, good selection of fruits, most ripe. Misses: buscuits and gravy - great biscuits, thin soup of a gravy with nary a sausage bit to be seen, and the cheap-tasting seemingly robusta coffee.

There is a comprehensive fitness centre with attached togs shop, including massage therapy by appointment, a gorgeous tennis courts area, extensive workout gear and personal trainers, open at 5:30 weekdays, 7:00 weekends; closing is 22:00 M-Th, 18:00 F, and 19:00 weekends. The ground floor has a huge heated pool and Jacuzzi complex that was in use this evening – and the insulation meant nobody had to hear the younger users’ shrieks. There is a full conference centre as well.

We were duly checked in and given a room on the Executive Floor (floor 8, key-card access required in the lifts) and assigned room 846 in the South Wing, with a view of Colter’s Bar BeQue and a piece of Outdoor World and a large building that at first glance is a prison from its architecture, but seems to be a business.

The Concierge / Executive Lounge is on the 8th floor as you exit the lifts, and looked welcoming; a couple of guests were using the rear-projection TV to watch basketball (March Madness), but the Lounge is closed weekends until Sunday evening, and there are no available beverages or food items.

The hallway is well lit with a clean, colorful carpet, and the cheerily colored and illuminated room was the same. Spacious, usual mini-bar and coffee service (“English Teatime” tea bags) with large TV with the usual Lodgenet offerings in a cabinet with two large and two small drawers, desk with phone (free 60 minute toll-free, $0.80 + $0.10 a minute local calls and extortionate long distance via AT&T Operator Assist,) and lamp base with electric outlets, free WiFi HSIA ^ and decent adjustable task chair. A valet-style coat rack was falling apart and would undoubtedly collapse with a heavy tweed. A luggage rack, iron and board, bathrobe and extra blanket and pillow were in the small closet. A comfortable, modern (heavy!) leather-covered recliner and arm chair add comfort to the room, and the bed included five pillows and a leather?-covered bolster. The mattress was topped with a featherbed. The room air / heat worked efficiently – a pleasure not to be held captive by central HVAC!

The medium-sized bath provided the usual amenities, large fluffy towels in abundance, with hair drier and a magnifying mirror on extension arm to wake you up in the morning with a severe case of fright. The shower / tub is a bit outdated, but serviceable.

We were on a LIFO flight connection at DFW (if you don’t consider the redeye we eschewed) stayed on a AAA rate for $112.50 plus onerous state and city taxes (7.51 each), not a bad deal considering neighboring ES and HI were at least close to that, if not more (it has been a few weeks since I booked, so I can’t recall the exact pricing for those properties.) Lady JDiver was quite happy with the facilities and room, and the room service meal was decent, served when they said it would be brought up, exactly what we ordered, with a waiter who was very customer-oriented and pleasant.

The good ^ : a great property with convenient location, rooms, amenities and good perks for Golds and Diamonds. Good external insulation – nary a traffic or airplane noise.

The bad :td: : Poor interior insulation – people talking in the hall, and the rectal entities who slammed their doors between 2:45 and 4:00 (AM) were definitely disruptive to sleep. "Yahoo!" is more than an Internet portal...

Would we stay again? Absolutely! :-: :-: :-: :-: (But, I might bring my ear plugs.)

This is one of my family's favorite locations for a weekend trip....the in-door heated pool complex alone is superb, and in the summer the outdoor pool is a nice alternative. Front desk personnel have always honored this "gold" status w/ breakfast certs, WI-FI works well in most rooms, and it is so darned close to Bass Pro Shop and nearby Grapevine Mills outlet mall and tons of nearby restaurants. A fun get-away for a weekend is our typical use. Rates are often competitive on the weekend since this is clearly a business hotel otherwise and rates predictably rise during the week.

In general, I am a strong starwood fan, but starwood does not have a single property in the DFW area w/ heated pool and Wi-Fi...two very important considerations for my travel. Thus, this property is our top choice time after time and we've never had a negative experience.

Be forewarned - the HHONORS lounge closes on weekends. Also typical of a business-focused property.

ILUVCITIBANK, You mention "tons of nearby restaurants". I usually stay here when I am in the Dallas area (at least for one night - Dallas is a great location for mattress runs :) ), but I always eat at the restaurant - whose name I can never remember - located between Bass Pro and the ES. It is a good restaurant, but it would be nice to try something different. JDiver (Hi J!) mentioned Colter’s Bar BeQue; could you provide names of other restaurants close by that you would recommend? Thanks!

Thank you for the comprehensive review, JDiver.

Jassy-50,
I've eaten once in that built-in restaurant connected to BPShops also. Nice (name escapes me also).

As for others...regretably, I can't help much here...with two kids under 9, you can imagine we're aren't targeting gourmet places...Hilton for breakfast, and then fuddruckers usually gets the nod on the corner of BP Shops for lunch or dinner, if not a nearby mall foodcourt.

Not kidding about the outdoor pool...its a neat pool, but we had not even been aware of it until recently...because its a trek back and round the backside of the property. And it seems a little cold and in the shade as well, even for hot days. But - its well-sited overlooking a pond, and is as large as many hotel pools by itself.

Hi,

My parents and I stayed at the Hilton DFW Lakes for 2 nights from saturday 10th June to monday 12th june.
We were given rooms 846 and 852 From 846 you could see the Gaylord Texan resort- tall large building in the distance)
As JDiver mentioned, we got vouchers for the Full breakfast buffet for the sunday morning and a letter telling us we could get a free appetizer and 20 % of lunch and dinner.

The lounge on the 8th floor ( key card access in the elevator)does evening snacks Sun-Thurs 630pm to 8pm and Continental Breakfast Mon-Friday 630am- 9pm.

Rooms were large and quiet ( in the bathroom there is a lot of brown and there is no bath only a shower).

I had no complaints about the corridor noise ( but the hotel seemend quiet).

Very good fitness center ( open till 10 M-F and 7pm Sat-Sun) and lovely indoor pool and wall painting of a lake)

The outdoor pool is very nice( hot tub also ) with nice views of the lake and some noise from landing jets. ( a small beverage/snack stand is open F-Sun 11am-7pm with chicken burgers and crisps as well as drinks.

There is a winding 0.5mile trail around the pool , towards the volleyball court and part of the lake)

There are free pc's in the business center ( keycard access ) by the gift shop

check out time is 12noon and we asked and got a 1pm chekc out with no problems.

Overall a very nice hotel with lots of greenery.

Regards

TBS

I'm a big fan of this hotel - especially when travelling during a holiday. It's virtually a ghost town. Great gym and pool. Plenty of restaurants and Grapevine Mills shopping too. ^