Hilton HHonors - Hilton Warsaw Hotel and Convention Centre Trip Reports and Reviews

Hi,

I have just arrived back in LHR from a 1 night stay at the Hilton Warsaw-meeting a FTer in the lounge in the evening ( plus 2 nights in Cracow)

A summary of my stay and useful ( hopefully ) points;

(1) It is about a 20min drive form the airport. If taking a taxi , it might be useful to have a print out showing the address as my taxi driver said there was no hilton in warsaw ( maybe because it is brand new)

(2) Registration was easy .I was offered a Corner deluxe room or an Executive room with lounge access ( I chose the lounge access)

(3) Executive rooms on floors 23-26. Lounge is on 26. 2401 ( and odd numbers will look to the city centre ( palace of culture)

(4) Lounge is very good with great staff ( good aftenoon cakes, evening snacks until 8pm and oen until 11pm).Lounge open from 630am. Breakfast was good with hot scrambled eggs and bacon/sausage skewers.

(5) Lobby is very modern with lots of brown and red light around the lobby bar area. One bar, one restauant with reasonable prices and another bar. There is a small gift shop open and a jewellry place is being fitted out. I did not see too many shops in the immediate area

(6) Rooms were large and came with a bathrobe and slippers. TV was good with several english channels

(7) Bathroom large with separate bath tub and shower. Shaving mirror comes with a light.

(8) Rooms have lots of brown and several pictures in the room( nothing specifically polish or warsawivan). Rooms are quiet ( even 2401 being close to the lifts).Curtains block out the light as they cross over. Good a/c. Standard hilton clock. Room lights are operated by putting in your key card in the " hotel card" slot upon entering. When outside the room the door needs to be pulled firmly to close/

(9) No pc's in the lounge but there is a business centre in M2 level.

(10) There is a holmes place fitness centre beside the hotel and apparently there is a gym also. Fitness centre /pool opens in may)

(11) Immediate area is not that appealing as there is a building site reight next to the hotel. At the moment preparation works are going on but apparently it will be almost as tall as the hotel.Area was quiet at night but did not seem dangerous on the main street ( there are a number of large housing blocks enroute ot the town centre and I did not venture off the main street. Some stretches are a little dark

(12) Walking- it is a good 40 mins walk ( plus time for photos) to the Old town and Castle ( 15mins to the Palace of Culture) Head along Grzybowskya past the Westin until a park appears on the left hand side and take a 45 degree bearing through the park to get to the Theater and the old town is not that much further. 10 mins to the Westin/Mercure on John Paul II avenue

(13) Hotel cars are provided - 25 zloty to the Old town and 50 zloty to the airport.

(14) There is a bus route along the street ( i will try to find out the number later)

(15) 4 guest elevators and the lelevator lobby on the ground floor has plain light brown walls ( it could have been decorated a bit more)

I am just about to board my flight to EDI so I will try to post more later.

Regards

TBS

Thanks for the report. Sounds good. I'm looking forward to my stay in April.

Were you on an award or paid stay ?

Was paid upgrade to a suite offered ?

What's the alcohol policy/selection in the lounge ?

Thanks for the report. Sounds good. I'm looking forward to my stay in April.

Were you on an award or paid stay ?

Was paid upgrade to a suite offered ?

What's the alcohol policy/selection in the lounge ?

I'm staying here at the moment.

Met Banking_Scot and andrzej last night in the lounge.

Agree with everything that Banking wrote.

Couple more observations:

The entire area around the hotel is being leveled and made ready for new luxury condos and offices. At the moment it does not look very appealing but I'm sure in a 1 or 2 years time this will be the place to be. The National Bank of Poland has a brand new main office right next door. They must know something;)

About a 2 blocks away is Towarowa Street. You can catch tram #32 that will take you to Old Town/New Town for 2.40 zloty(less than $1) one way or 1 or 3 day passes which come out much cheaper. The trams run until ~11pm.

I was just informed by the wonderful Exec Lounge agent that they have an agreement with Radisson Hotel, just few blocks away, to use their pool/gym facilities for Hilton's guests, free of charge. Not very convenient at the moment but for 7,500 points a night, I can't complain.

The pool and casino will open sometime in May.

I was a witness to a contract signing this morning with the new owner of the jewelry shop and they are already working on stocking the good size shop.

There is a smaller jewelry/Polish souvenier shop and a little gift shop that are open now.



The Lounge - nice selection of alcohol from 6pm to closing. Red Label JW, Martell Cognac, Selection of Polish Vodkas as well as Finlandia and Smirnoff, Havana Rum, Gordon's Dry Gin. About 3-4 different wines and 3-4 beers. Usual assortment of soft drinks and juices. Some light finger food.

Laptop computers are available in the lounge,. They have 2 laptops which you need to ask for. Free internet when using their laptops in the lounge.

Did not have breakfast this morning so can't tell you anything about that.

I was upgraded to the 23rd floor (Executive level floor) with a nice view of central Warsaw.

Few minor mishaps but that's expected with a brand new hotel. Missing couple of items in a room. Internet not working this morning. After paying ~$25 per day I was not happy... The manager took the charge off. It seems to work fine now. No turndown service last night. This morning I had "do not disturb" sign out but the room service girl (VERY cute:D ) kept on knocking:confused:

OTOH, I believe this is the first time I ever stayed in a hotel room that NOBODY has ever stayed in:)


EDITED TO ADD THE FOLLOWING: Guest Services Manager just called and informed me that the internet will be free for the duration of my stay. At ~$25 per day, that's a nice gesture on their part. I didn't ask for it, totally unsolicited.

Thanks for the report. Sounds good. I'm looking forward to my stay in April.

Were you on an award or paid stay ?

Was paid upgrade to a suite offered ?

What's the alcohol policy/selection in the lounge ?

Hi,

It was a paid stay.

From looking at the fire escape plan on the back of the door the corner rooms looked like it could be a junior suite so that might have been the room offered at check in.

Alcohol is free with self service but I'm sure the staff would get some for you if you asked. Typical selection was white/red wine, brandy,cognac, whisky ( ie JW Red i Think), sparkling wine.

Regards

TBS

Thanks for the reports nacirema and The_Banking_Scot ^

Hi,

It was a paid stay.

From looking at the fire escape plan on the back of the door the corner rooms looked like it could be a junior suite so that might have been the room offered at check in.

Alcohol is free with self service but I'm sure the staff would get some for you if you asked. Typical selection was white/red wine, brandy,cognac, whisky ( ie JW Red i Think), sparkling wine.

Regards

TBS

Thank you for your great post. Have booked a night at Hilton in May, followed by two nights at the IC.

The entire area around the hotel is being leveled and made ready for new luxury condos and offices. At the moment it does not look very appealing but I'm sure in a 1 or 2 years time this will be the place to be.

An understatement. Very dreary neighborhood right now. Also very difficult to get a taxi in the area (Hilton wasn't open when we went by it).

I too was thrilled with the cheap award redemption rate, even if I couldn't use it since we departed on March 19, the day the hotel opened. But the area is really quite grim.

I hope the Hilton drives development as I wouldn't stay there now given the current conditions. Well, I probably would if I were own my own, but Chapel Hill Gal thought the general vacinity looked like a slum. If you're there on business, it's probably fine. Otherwise, no way.

An understatement. Very dreary neighborhood right now. Also very difficult to get a taxi in the area (Hilton wasn't open when we went by it).

I too was thrilled with the cheap award redemption rate, even if I couldn't use it since we departed on March 19, the day the hotel opened. But the area is really quite grim.

I hope the Hilton drives development as I wouldn't stay there now given the current conditions. Well, I probably would if I were own my own, but Chapel Hill Gal thought the general vacinity looked like a slum. If you're there on business, it's probably fine. Otherwise, no way.

I walked around the entire neighborhood and have to respectfully disagree with you.

I walked back from Old Town and took some side streets. Everything was fine.

I found nothing "slumy" about it....YMMV

I found nothing "slumy" about it....YMMV

Fair enough, but this was your remark:

At the moment it does not look very appealing...

In any case, I was quoting my wife's remark about the area right around the hotel, which as you note is not the most glamorous neighborhood right now. I didn't consider it (or any of Warsaw) unsafe, just not very appealing from a tourist's point of view.

At 7500 points per night, I wouldn't think twice about staying there. But the wifey has, well, other aesthetics considerations.

Another call this morning and this one came from the HHonors guests manager - Kate

More apologies for the internet screw up yesterday and an offer of 100 zloty (~$33) voucher to use at one of their restaurants.

So far, I got free internet for the duration of the stay and a free dinner, just because of the internet scew up for couple of hours. Not bad......;)

That's a very useful report, Banking_Scot, have just posted a question regarding point 12,before reading it thorougly. Many thanks.

That's a very useful report, Banking_Scot, have just posted a question regarding point 12,before reading it thorougly. Many thanks.

Hi,

During the daytime no problem and in the early evening no problem either If you stay on the main street it should not be a problem even late at night although I problably would not walk through the housing blocks at night until I got more familiar with the area) . The main problem is the distance ( and you are likely to be doing a lot of walking in the Old town anyway).If time is important then I might take a cab to the old town and walk back ( by walking back you could take a detour via the University and the Palace of Culture)

Regards

TBS

Just checked out after a week stay and all I can say is we had a terrific time. I reiterate every positive post in this thread.

The hotel is great, the staff throughout the hotel is fresh and eager-to-please. While, yes, they're new at the game, which you sense at times, they all went out of their way to make the stay 150%. Lounge was every bit as impressive as those of the Frankfurt/Malta/Strasbourg Hiltons.

The surrounding area is what we would call experiencing a rebirth and will very soon be a far cry from its present state. Next door they're building Platinum Towers (high rise apartments to provide luxury living accommodation). The fitness facility is a Holmes Place Fitness Centre, for those who know them.

We walked around the area during the day, during the evening, and even a bit at night and we felt safe. Yes, the neighborhood is a work in progress--dusty, sometimes wobbly, sidewalk stone plates. Shoe polishing machines in the hotel came in handy regularly. Even so, we personally thought it to be no less inviting than the sterile Radisson/Westin area. As far as we could ever tell, it's just people living their lives.

You're just up the road from the tram that gets you anywhere. Arkadia shopping complex is just a few stops to the north (over 100,000 m² of retail space [I believe it's Central Europe's largest mall], over 200 shops, about 25 food establishments. Companies like Carrefour, Saturn, Bhs, Peek & Cloppenburg, H&M, Zara)

The Warsaw Rising Museum (http://www.1944.pl/index.php?lang=en&lang_time=1) is just at that tram station. Extremely well presented. Its entrance fee of 4 PLN (about €1) doesn't begin to do this extremely professional museum any justice--IMO, a must-see if you're there.

A few good restaurants are just a "bit of a walk" away: Traditional - Folk Gospoda (http://www.folkgospoda.pl/) and Oberża pod Czerwonym Wieprzem and for international cuisine - Ninety-Nine.

Bottom line: I wouldn't let any perception of neighborhood keep you from visiting this Hilton and enjoying Warsaw with this Hilton as your home base. This was our first real trip to Poland and Warsaw and definitely won't be our last.

Hi,

During the daytime no problem and in the early evening no problem either If you stay on the main street it should not be a problem even late at night although I problably would not walk through the housing blocks at night until I got more familiar with the area) . The main problem is the distance ( and you are likely to be doing a lot of walking in the Old town anyway).If time is important then I might take a cab to the old town and walk back ( by walking back you could take a detour via the University and the Palace of Culture)

Regards

TBS

Cheers, unless I have missed it in previous posts, (a proclivity of mine), has anyone mentioned the quality of the restaurant:confused: My wife and I don't expect to get there on our first night until post 8pm?

Just checked out after a week stay and all I can say is we had a terrific time. I reiterate every positive post in this thread.

I agree. Dang - I was there the same time as you (but only for 1 night). Sorry we didn't meet.

I agree. Dang - I was there the same time as you (but only for 1 night). Sorry we didn't meet.That is a shame--the honor would have been mine. I had a yellow Flyertalk tag on my laptop bag, but I always managed to use a lounge laptop so mine stayed in the room except for check-in and -out.

Kate responded that they have not credited any members with HHonors points yet. She thanked me for alerting her of the problem and said that the accounting problem would be processing the points and to expect them within a few days.

I paid in cash upon departure but my credit card was still charged for some random incidentals. I had to fax a copy of my receipt showing that I paid and Kate said she refunded my card.

I've had quite a few problems with my stay here but the staff's attitude and helfpulness still makes me overall very satisfied. During checkin Kate thanked me for being the first elite member to check in, explained that it was a newly opened hotel, and said she would appreciate any constructive criticism. This was a clever way to alert me that there may be some problems with my stay but I enjoyed sharing my thoughts with a staff that actually valued my opinions.

I hope to return to Warsaw soon. Contrary to what many people have told me, Poland is filled with beautiful people. A lot of them dress in very dark colors and don't generally smile on the streets but most were very warm when spoken to. :p

My friend and I had a great stay last weekend (2 day reward stay), and I fully agree with the positive reviews given by others. Hotel and staff was excellent. Warszawa is a friendly and happening city, and a great place to spend a weekend. We were on a boys trip, and I can really recommende the nightlife in Warszawa - great restaurants, impressive nightclubs (Cinnamon and Opera Club highly recommended) and beautiful women. Shopping was also very good with impressive specialty and luxury shops and malls (Golden Terraces shopping centre highly recommended).

Additional comments on the hotel:
- Hotel has its own secure parking basement (we had a rental car). Entrance from the rear of the hotel, 2. basement level, with elevator directly to the lobby. Toll system was not yet fully functioning, so we parked for free :-).
- If taking the hotel limo (a Mercedes E class) you can have the driver charge the fee to your room even for short trips around town.
- Executive Lounge is open from 7AM until 11PM. Breakfast until 11AM, hors'd'euvre and drinks from 6PM.

And yes, I've gotten my double HHonors points for incidentals, bringing the cost for 2 nights in a 5* hotel down to 8000 points :-)

On a side note, we talked a bit with the lounge attendant, who was a new Hilton employee. She asked if everybody travelling is HHonors Diamond or Gold, since most of the guests they'd had on reward stays so far was Diamond or Gold. So it appears the road warriors have caught on to this great offer, not at least due to this thread ;-)

And now that Poland has been awarded the 2012 European Soccer Championships (with Ukraine), I bet we'll see even more international development in Warszawa. This was certainly not my last visit ...

On a side note, we talked a bit with the lounge attendant, who was a new Hilton employee. She asked if everybody travelling is HHonors Diamond or Gold, since most of the guests they'd had on reward stays so far was Diamond or Gold. So it appears the road warriors have caught on to this great offer, not at least due to this thread ;-)

I had the impression hotel was almost empty when I stayed. Was greeted by name on arrival as the last guest expected to check in that day, was early evening at the time.

While I did not spend much time in the hotel I only ever saw two other guests, both in the exec lounge at breakfast time.

I had the impression hotel was almost empty when I stayed. Was greeted by name on arrival as the last guest expected to check in that day, was early evening at the time.

While I did not spend much time in the hotel I only ever saw two other guests, both in the exec lounge at breakfast time.

I was there at the Easter time and one Dutch guy who is working there said that they have guests only in few rooms right now, but the hotel should be 80% full in two weeks from Easter.

I agree Warsaw is a great city, but we were there definitely wrong weekend. Warsaw is a dead quiet city during Easter :p

Dang so I could have missed 2 FTers :(

Perhaps we 3 were the only guests! That would go some way to explaining the comment made to raunow - FTers are not representative of all guests/passengers (thankfully).

Stayed recently and overall liked the hotel.

The gym is excellent. It is (along with Prague) the best gym at a Hilton that I can remember.

The lounge is nice, but I think it is going to prove to be too small. They will struggle to serve breakfast the first time they get a meeting where all the VP's book executive level rooms. The view from the hotel across Warsaw is nice also. The women in the lounge were very pleasant and helpful.

The room was clean and nice. Thought that room service was a bit spotty...one meal excellant, one good, and one so-so...also was charged different price for two identical dinners.

The location is a little bit out of the way if you want to see old town. It is about a 20 minute walk to the train station/palace of culture. There is a tram about 5 minute walk from the hotel that you can take over to the old town area. The area of the hotel is undergoing a change...lots of constructions. Its about a 10 minute walk from the Westin.

Taxi to/from airport should be 25-30 zlotys.

The hotel is definately built to house conventions & meetings so I do expect that it will end up without much of a personality so to speak. But overall I enjoyed my stay.

..just returned from Warsaw, Poland, one night at the Hilton and two nights at the IC. Truly well looked after at both Hotels, even though the Hilton is much more modern.

Spent three nights at the Hilton this week and took some photos (here) (http://www.flickr.com/gp/98459901@N00/S4T5w5) for anyone interested.

Nothing to add to the various reviews in this thread except I found the Executive Lounge a little disorganised especially during the evening Hors d'oeurves. Food ran out quickly and there was a long wait for it to be restocked. I would also have preferred a coffee machine avaliable rather than having to always ask for it.

I'm sure they'll learn from all the comments given to the lounge concierge, at her request, and put things right quickly.

Spent three nights at the Hilton this week and took some photos (here) (http://www.flickr.com/gp/98459901@N00/S4T5w5) for anyone interested.

Nothing to add to the various reviews in this thread except I found the Executive Lounge a little disorganised especially during the evening Hors d'oeurves. Food ran out quickly and there was a long wait for it to be restocked. I would also have preferred a coffee machine avaliable rather than having to always ask for it.

I'm sure they'll learn from all the comments given to the lounge concierge, at her request, and put things right quickly.

It must vary, because we have just stayed two nights 29th/30th May and were looking for someone to talk to. The lounge was empty and the staff, who were fantastic, hung around practising their English on us.
The previous quotes are about as accurate as can be, which just shows you the usefulness of this site. The hotel is correctly stated as being in the middle of a developing area and should benefit from its surroundings in a couple of years.
We used the famous 7,500 points redemption and as a diamond was given a corner suite on the 23rd and access to the lounge as well as offered breakfast in the main restaurant. The hotel has, along with other new Hiltons, gone for a modern look and we loved it. The pool and the Gym are great and alledgedly the best hotel facilities in Warsaw. We arrived late in the evening and dined in the restaurant and found the menu very European, (Austrian head chef), as like most European Hiltons.
One last word,whether you are there on Business or pleasure, check out the 1944 uprising museum, two blocks away from the hotel, (5 mins walk), it's a modern presentation with latest hi-fi techniques - tremendously profound on the horrors this great City experienced at the hands of the Nazis:(