Hilton HHonors - Upgrade / Bennies Question / San Diego

I just made HH Gold in Dec. (so I'm new to this) and have a question: I'm booked at the San Diego Bayfront Hilton this summer with an Executive level room. As a Gold, what should I hope for as a bennie? Upgrade to a suite (dreaming right?) or just a free breakfast or internet? I know I can set the values in MyWay, which I've got as "upgrade." But since I'm already on the Exc floor, what are the chances of upgrading beyond that?

FYI, I'm staying with the family for five nights -- during the Comic Convention.

Thanks!

Not sure if this helps - stayed 4 nts @ Bayfront in Jan as HH Gold. Booked standard room - no upgrade, no free breakfast. (On the other hand, my room had an astounding view of the Bay). I did get my free internet as asked for on Myway. They had not opened the Exec Lounge yet either.

I received a coupon for a free pastry and coffee at the Starbucks in the Hotel. IMHO - don't think you'll get bumped up to a suite. Nonetheless - This is a very new hotel with inexperienced staff and you may get different experiences from other FTers as the hotel irons the kinks out.

As HH Diamond I rarely get upgraded when I book a room on the executive floor. Expect no upgrade but enjoy it if you get one. I would set my preference to something else beside an upgrade.

I received a coupon for a free pastry and coffee at the Starbucks in the Hotel. IMHO - don't think you'll get bumped up to a suite. Nonetheless - This is a very new hotel with inexperienced staff and you may get different experiences from other FTers as the hotel irons the kinks out.

I just had a one-night stay there last weekend and was NOT impressed, other than the view. They definitely need to "iron the kinks out" of this place! Seemed like "everything" was a struggle...parking, asking for a second breakfast cert for the second registered guest in my room, not to mention the 4 hour wait with 3 phone calls to get a malfunctioning toilet fixed...hopefully they'll have their act together by the time the OP gets there!

Sorry, I forgot to add re: the upgrade for a Diamond: They offered a "premium bay view" room as a standard upgrade and then at the time of reservation they offered the option to "stand by" for an additional $15 for a King deluxe room, or $19 for a "Corner King deluxe room". Seemed kind of a ripoff to me, as did the opportunity to "upgrade" the Starbucks breakfast cert to the full breakfast buffet for $15 per person.

This is definitely a convention center property with prices to match!

You are in town at the worst possible time to get anything free from the hotels. I've been a vendor at Comic Con for 6 years and every year the hotels get booked faster and at higher rates than any other time of the year. While I hope you and your family enjoy your time there, don't expect a whole lot from the hotel nor should you judge your San Diego experience on Comic Con week.

Thank you for your responses :-) Pretty much what I expected. Conventions are never a fun time to "enjoy" any hotel. But, I'll at least opt for free internet and keep any other expectations low...

I just made HH Gold in Dec. (so I'm new to this) and have a question: I'm booked at the San Diego Bayfront Hilton this summer with an Executive level room. As a Gold, what should I hope for as a bennie? Upgrade to a suite (dreaming right?) or just a free breakfast or internet? I know I can set the values in MyWay, which I've got as "upgrade." But since I'm already on the Exc floor, what are the chances of upgrading beyond that?

FYI, I'm staying with the family for five nights -- during the Comic Convention.

Thanks!

As mentioned above, you won't get anything during ComicCon in San Diego, everything books up solid.

Despite that though, I have been very unimpressed with the treatment at Hilton properties in San Diego. Based on casual observations (Ownership names on elevator safety certs, etc), I think most/all of the properties in town are owned by the same people, and thus the uniform treatment.

During the last half of 2007, I did ~20 separate stays in San Diego Hilton brand properties. I stayed in all of the non HI properties in town as a Diamond.

Across the board, I had to ask for an upgrade and with that hardly ever got one. The Doubletree Club would occasionally give me a suite, but the hotel isn't all that nice. The Hilton Gaslamp gave me an exec room a couple of times, but the price is usually outrageous. All the other properties it was either a no go or an occasional exec room unhappily given to me.

The only exeption was at the Hilton San Diego Resort where I stayed for a week and got a nice upgrade without asking.

San Diego is a great city, but I am far from impressed from the HHonors treatment there.

Was very impressed with the Hilton San Diego Resort. On the other hand, I've stayed at a number of San Diego area hotels (HHonors and others). I'm not overly impressed with any of them. Typically, I pay premium prices for the "opportunity" to visit San Diego and end up with mediocre service at best. While I understand the laws of supply and demand, I also expect stellar service for stellar prices.