Hilton Seattle {US-WA}
May 7, 2003, 11:55 am
#32
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: RST
Programs: Delta Diamond; Hilton Diamond; Accor Gold
Posts: 4,839
Now I know!
Well, I stayed there last weekend, so here is my mini-report. I am currently Gold.
The hotel is well located, near the convention center. It is somewhat unorthodox as it has a garage from ground to ~10th floor. The entrance is easy to find. It was unusual to have a staff (doorman) present at street level. At night, it felt somewhat unsafe.
The lobby was nice, and the staff was very good. I was always looked after efficiently by the front desk. I was “upgraded” to the 24th HHonor floor (21-28th). The rooms were on the small size: small closet, small sink area next to toilet/bath, could not walk in front of dresser if drawers opened, small TV, and a very small desk. The carpet was stained (not obvious at first, but definitively dirty). The room had a tired feel to it. The thermostat was difficult to set at a comfortable setting.
The room came with a few extras such as free high-speed internet, robes, extra toiletries and 2 bottles of water. Anoyone who is Silver or above has free access to a Gym nearby (at the convention center). There is a small (a bike, a stairmaster and two threadmills) fitness center on the 29th floor (no pool).
The restaurant (Top of Hilton, 29th floor) was nice. The bar (next to the lobby) was odd. It is located in a large room with chairs and tables spread all over. You felt like you were in Grand Central station.
Overall, not the best Hilton. Nice staff but facilities were somewhat inadequate. I will have to return next week, but that will likely be my last visit there.
[edited to clarify some comments]
[This message has been edited by fromYXU (edited 05-07-2003).]
Well, I stayed there last weekend, so here is my mini-report. I am currently Gold.
The hotel is well located, near the convention center. It is somewhat unorthodox as it has a garage from ground to ~10th floor. The entrance is easy to find. It was unusual to have a staff (doorman) present at street level. At night, it felt somewhat unsafe.
The lobby was nice, and the staff was very good. I was always looked after efficiently by the front desk. I was “upgraded” to the 24th HHonor floor (21-28th). The rooms were on the small size: small closet, small sink area next to toilet/bath, could not walk in front of dresser if drawers opened, small TV, and a very small desk. The carpet was stained (not obvious at first, but definitively dirty). The room had a tired feel to it. The thermostat was difficult to set at a comfortable setting.
The room came with a few extras such as free high-speed internet, robes, extra toiletries and 2 bottles of water. Anoyone who is Silver or above has free access to a Gym nearby (at the convention center). There is a small (a bike, a stairmaster and two threadmills) fitness center on the 29th floor (no pool).
The restaurant (Top of Hilton, 29th floor) was nice. The bar (next to the lobby) was odd. It is located in a large room with chairs and tables spread all over. You felt like you were in Grand Central station.
Overall, not the best Hilton. Nice staff but facilities were somewhat inadequate. I will have to return next week, but that will likely be my last visit there.
[edited to clarify some comments]
[This message has been edited by fromYXU (edited 05-07-2003).]
May 16, 2003, 9:34 am
#33
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: IAD
Programs: Free Agent
Posts: 1,937
Just to add to fromYXU's comments, I just got back from a four night stay at the Seattle Hilton. I checked in and was assigned an xx01 room on the HHonors floor (which physically is the same as the non-HHonors floors). It was an extremely small room with a king bed, desk, two chairs, and drawer all wedged together. To give you an idea, I had to sit sideways at the desk. The bathroom wasn't a bad size. While I don't mind the room being small, my biggest complaint was that the walls were extremely thin. I could hear my neighbor calling her daughter late at night and telling her about the shopping. During the day, it probably would be somewhat tolerable but when you like to go to bed about the same time as the president, it's not a good thing. Fortunately, I had a pair of earplugs in my bag.
The next morning, my neighbor checked out. I saw two women walk in on the third day and promptly went to the front desk and asked to be moved. They were very accomodating and moved me to a xx04 room. The room was about 50% larger and was more or less in line with a standard hotel room, but had a tired feel to it. No problems with noise from either side of the wall. Bottom line, stay away from any xx01 room.
Other than that, I had no complaints. The staff was very attentive and the concierge was very helpful. There's an HHonors reception on the 28th floor weekday evenings from 5:30-7:00. Instead of a lounge, it's simply held in a converted room with an awesome view. The manager is present and there's beer, wine, soda, vegetable dip, cheese, and bread.
The hotel location is pretty convenient. I was within a short walking distance of many restaurants, shops, movie theaters, and the convention center. Parking is $19/day and the front desk gives you a card that you swipe at the gate when you enter or leave. The fitness center isn't open 24/7 (6am-???), the reason being that there's a room directly underneath it. If you need to use the fitness center earlier (or want to use weights), the front desk will give you a pass at Gold's gym, a short 5 block walk away. Gold's opens at 5:30am.
As the previous poster said, it's definitely not the best Hilton. The only redeeming aspect is the location and staff, although there's a Sheraton, Crowne Plaza, and Four Seasons within two blocks that you can choose from. Next time I'm in Seattle, it'll be a toss-up between the Hilton Seattle and the airport Hilton.
[This message has been edited by Condition One (edited 08-22-2003).]
The next morning, my neighbor checked out. I saw two women walk in on the third day and promptly went to the front desk and asked to be moved. They were very accomodating and moved me to a xx04 room. The room was about 50% larger and was more or less in line with a standard hotel room, but had a tired feel to it. No problems with noise from either side of the wall. Bottom line, stay away from any xx01 room.
Other than that, I had no complaints. The staff was very attentive and the concierge was very helpful. There's an HHonors reception on the 28th floor weekday evenings from 5:30-7:00. Instead of a lounge, it's simply held in a converted room with an awesome view. The manager is present and there's beer, wine, soda, vegetable dip, cheese, and bread.
The hotel location is pretty convenient. I was within a short walking distance of many restaurants, shops, movie theaters, and the convention center. Parking is $19/day and the front desk gives you a card that you swipe at the gate when you enter or leave. The fitness center isn't open 24/7 (6am-???), the reason being that there's a room directly underneath it. If you need to use the fitness center earlier (or want to use weights), the front desk will give you a pass at Gold's gym, a short 5 block walk away. Gold's opens at 5:30am.
As the previous poster said, it's definitely not the best Hilton. The only redeeming aspect is the location and staff, although there's a Sheraton, Crowne Plaza, and Four Seasons within two blocks that you can choose from. Next time I'm in Seattle, it'll be a toss-up between the Hilton Seattle and the airport Hilton.
[This message has been edited by Condition One (edited 08-22-2003).]
May 16, 2003, 9:54 am
#34
Original Member, Ambassador: External Miles and Points Resources
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Digital Nomad Wandering the Earth - Currently in LIMA, PERU
Posts: 58,607
Rooms are ALL small. There are four suites in the hotel and the only way to sleep in one is to pay for one. I did this last year and even the suites were small as far as suites go. BTW, even though I reserved the full suite for two nights, they had rolled a bed into my living room the first night to accomidate a full house, so they gave me the choice of 1) (passed on) the tiny bedroom portion of the suite or 2) (took) a regular room the first night and made me move on the second. My compensation? They "only" charged me rack rate for the regular room night for that night 
.
Echo comments about thin walls and worn rooms.
I had 12 stays in Seattle last year. In addition to the one above, the only other at the Seattle Hilton was because my meeting was at that hotel. The other 10 were (mostly) at the Homewood Suites which is further away from the hill but near Queen Anne or the Hampton which is a true bargain and always gave me a suite.
Like the IAD 1k center used to be, Hilton Seattle is only a stay of last resort....
.Echo comments about thin walls and worn rooms.
I had 12 stays in Seattle last year. In addition to the one above, the only other at the Seattle Hilton was because my meeting was at that hotel. The other 10 were (mostly) at the Homewood Suites which is further away from the hill but near Queen Anne or the Hampton which is a true bargain and always gave me a suite.
Like the IAD 1k center used to be, Hilton Seattle is only a stay of last resort....
Jun 5, 2003, 3:59 pm
#35
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 4,329
Had a one night stay at the Seattle Hilton this week. I am a Diamond and was assigned an XX06 room on the HHonors floor.
cons
The rooms definitly needed to be renovated.
The chairs looked old.
There were stains in the carpet and I didn't think the lighting was adequate. Even with all the lights on I felt like I was in the dark.
The bathroom counter was way too tiny, especially with the coffee maker on the counter.
Shower pressure was weak and the water temp kept changing.
Lots of morning light seepage from the window.
pros
Free access to the Gold's Gym
Free High Speed Internet
Good location
cons
The rooms definitly needed to be renovated.
The chairs looked old.
There were stains in the carpet and I didn't think the lighting was adequate. Even with all the lights on I felt like I was in the dark.
The bathroom counter was way too tiny, especially with the coffee maker on the counter.
Shower pressure was weak and the water temp kept changing.
Lots of morning light seepage from the window.
pros
Free access to the Gold's Gym
Free High Speed Internet
Good location
Jul 9, 2003, 11:51 am
#36
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 2,837
OK, add me to the list of of FTers who think this hotel stinks! I decided to give it a try despite the many warnings on this forum. Maybe things had improved? Not really:
-My room was adequate and on the HHonors floor. The south view isn't really too great but I assumed they were probably full and thus my upgrade was limited. The carpets were dirty. The coffee pot, coffee mugs and drinking glasses were all dirty. Maybe they had been wiped clean with a washcloth. I washed everything in the sink with the complimentary Rainwater body soap and then ran water through the coffeemaker to sanitize it.
-The front desk clerk was officious, quizing me on my reservation: "Last name please....first name please....address and zip code please...." When I asked why the quiz when she had my HHonors card and drivers's license, she responded "we have to make sure you're really who the reservation says you are." ???? I asked if I was receiving an upgrade and she replied "of course."
-I had to ask for my breakfast certificate. The front desk employee replied "I don't have one right now but I'll see what I can do and I'll have it put under your door." When I returned to my room about 11pm, there was no certificate. I called the front desk to ask again. The front desk employee responded "I don't know anything about that but I'll try to get you one and I'll put it under your door." I picked up my breakfast certificate at the front desk the next morning.
-I took a long hot shower in the morning and due to no fan in the bathroom, when I opened the door the steam set the smoke alarm off at 5:30am. I called the front desk immediately. Ten minutes later, security called and said they would take care of it. Just as I was leaving 5 minutes later, the alarm finally shut off. Wake up call for everyone on the 26th floor!
-I tried to use the computer in the alcovebehind the concierge desk -"the business center". It was not operable and the concierge called maintenance. They came in 15 minutes and rebooted it by hitting the cpu until the power went off and it turned back on. The wood frame surrounding the built-in-the-wall monitor was broken and 2 of the 4 sides were missing.
In summary, I should have listened to all of the advice previously posted. This place is run down and the employees are poorly trained. Perhaps a management change is in order? I will not stay there again.
-My room was adequate and on the HHonors floor. The south view isn't really too great but I assumed they were probably full and thus my upgrade was limited. The carpets were dirty. The coffee pot, coffee mugs and drinking glasses were all dirty. Maybe they had been wiped clean with a washcloth. I washed everything in the sink with the complimentary Rainwater body soap and then ran water through the coffeemaker to sanitize it.
-The front desk clerk was officious, quizing me on my reservation: "Last name please....first name please....address and zip code please...." When I asked why the quiz when she had my HHonors card and drivers's license, she responded "we have to make sure you're really who the reservation says you are." ???? I asked if I was receiving an upgrade and she replied "of course."
-I had to ask for my breakfast certificate. The front desk employee replied "I don't have one right now but I'll see what I can do and I'll have it put under your door." When I returned to my room about 11pm, there was no certificate. I called the front desk to ask again. The front desk employee responded "I don't know anything about that but I'll try to get you one and I'll put it under your door." I picked up my breakfast certificate at the front desk the next morning.
-I took a long hot shower in the morning and due to no fan in the bathroom, when I opened the door the steam set the smoke alarm off at 5:30am. I called the front desk immediately. Ten minutes later, security called and said they would take care of it. Just as I was leaving 5 minutes later, the alarm finally shut off. Wake up call for everyone on the 26th floor!
-I tried to use the computer in the alcovebehind the concierge desk -"the business center". It was not operable and the concierge called maintenance. They came in 15 minutes and rebooted it by hitting the cpu until the power went off and it turned back on. The wood frame surrounding the built-in-the-wall monitor was broken and 2 of the 4 sides were missing.
In summary, I should have listened to all of the advice previously posted. This place is run down and the employees are poorly trained. Perhaps a management change is in order? I will not stay there again.
Jul 9, 2003, 2:51 pm
#38
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 2,837
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Spiff:
It's an ok property but there's a perfectly good Embassy Suites down the road that's about the same price; why not stay there instead?</font>
It's an ok property but there's a perfectly good Embassy Suites down the road that's about the same price; why not stay there instead?</font>
Spiff, I am talking about the downtown Seattle property. To my knowledge, there is no downtown ES.
Jul 9, 2003, 3:43 pm
#39
Moderator: Coupon Connection & S.P.A.M
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Louisville, KY
Programs: Destination Unknown, TSA Disparager Diamond (LTDD)
Posts: 57,952
Ack, my mistake!!!
For some <beer induced> reason I had PDX on the brain!!!
For some <beer induced> reason I had PDX on the brain!!!
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by flytoeat:
Spiff, I am talking about the downtown Seattle property. To my knowledge, there is no downtown ES.</font>
Spiff, I am talking about the downtown Seattle property. To my knowledge, there is no downtown ES.</font>
Jul 9, 2003, 4:08 pm
#40
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Philadelphia, PA USA
Programs: US Chairman's Preferred, HHonors Gold, SPG Gold, Hertz 5*
Posts: 901
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by flytoeat:
Spiff, I am talking about the downtown Seattle property. To my knowledge, there is no downtown ES.</font>
Spiff, I am talking about the downtown Seattle property. To my knowledge, there is no downtown ES.</font>
Maybe Spiff meant the Homewood Suites downtown?
Jul 9, 2003, 4:56 pm
#41
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: AA EXP, 1 MM and CX RULES!!
Posts: 1,341
Go to The HGI, Renton when in Seattle. Good rates, especially AAA rates, free breakfast (or upgrade it for just $2.20 if given a cont bkft coupon), free parking, comp airport shuttle, bottles of water + pantry $5 free, bigger rooms, king beds, cool TVs and C-SPAN.
So close to the airport and REALLY a treat!
SHADO
So close to the airport and REALLY a treat!
SHADO
Jul 9, 2003, 6:55 pm
#42
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 2,837
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by SHADO:
Go to The HGI, Renton when in Seattle. Good rates, especially AAA rates, free breakfast (or upgrade it for just $2.20 if given a cont bkft coupon), free parking, comp airport shuttle, bottles of water + pantry $5 free, bigger rooms, king beds, cool TVs and C-SPAN.
So close to the airport and REALLY a treat!
SHADO </font>
Go to The HGI, Renton when in Seattle. Good rates, especially AAA rates, free breakfast (or upgrade it for just $2.20 if given a cont bkft coupon), free parking, comp airport shuttle, bottles of water + pantry $5 free, bigger rooms, king beds, cool TVs and C-SPAN.
So close to the airport and REALLY a treat!
SHADO </font>
Aug 21, 2003, 9:48 am
#43
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 135
Seattle Hilton Update: As of 8/16/03 our stay was OK. We were greeted at 1:30 with “You could check in now but your room won’t be ready until 3:00 or later.” No, “Hi, Welcome to the Hilton.” Needless to say once we showed the Diamond card she checked us right in and our room was ready.
As a Diamond we received a room on the Executive Floor (nothing exciting) and 2 breakfast coupons. The problem was there were 3 of us listed in the room. The front desk person said that 2 was their policy but she’d get the manager. The manager also said that 2 was all that we were entitled to and as I began to whip out my Palm with the quote from the Hilton website she said that she’d make an exception and give me a 3rd coupon.
Both the bellman and the concierge were helpful, warm and friendly! The concierge booked us at Il Fornaio and we received a complementary appetizer complements of the concierge and the restaurant.
We also applied our breakfast coupons to the Top of the Hilton restaurant. The food was great (huge portions) but the service was just OK.
Overall, the location of the hotel was great as it’s an easy walk to shopping and attractions in the city. The front desk staff and the restaurant staff should take lessons in customer relations from the bellman and concierge.
As a Diamond we received a room on the Executive Floor (nothing exciting) and 2 breakfast coupons. The problem was there were 3 of us listed in the room. The front desk person said that 2 was their policy but she’d get the manager. The manager also said that 2 was all that we were entitled to and as I began to whip out my Palm with the quote from the Hilton website she said that she’d make an exception and give me a 3rd coupon.
Both the bellman and the concierge were helpful, warm and friendly! The concierge booked us at Il Fornaio and we received a complementary appetizer complements of the concierge and the restaurant.
We also applied our breakfast coupons to the Top of the Hilton restaurant. The food was great (huge portions) but the service was just OK.
Overall, the location of the hotel was great as it’s an easy walk to shopping and attractions in the city. The front desk staff and the restaurant staff should take lessons in customer relations from the bellman and concierge.
Aug 22, 2003, 4:22 pm
#44
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Bryn Mawr PA & Wailea HI
Posts: 15,726
IMHO the Seattle Hilton and the Reno Hilton are tied for the crummiest Hiltons in the entire USA, and the Ontario Hilton is a close contender. My best guess is they are doomed to become Radissons.
MisterNice
MisterNice
Sep 15, 2003, 11:50 am
#45
Join Date: May 2001
Location: ORF & AUS; I have an ex-wife and and an ex-house in both cities.
Programs: AA Gold, DL GM, Hilton Diamond, SPG Gold
Posts: 891
Thumbs up for the Seattle Hilton
I know that this property has gotten some bad reviews here, but I thought I'd post a positive comment. I was supposed to be there this tomorrow for a conference. I called this morning to cancel (even though I was supposed to give 72 hours notice on my reservation. The hurricane is coming for us Atlantic Coast people and I didn't want to leave the wife and kids. Additionally, the thought of a flight to the East Coast on Thursday was too much.
I just got a VM from a lady at the Hilton telling me that because I am Diamond and there is an emergency going on here, I wouldn't be charged the cancellation fee, even though I hadn’t asked for the relief.
I just got a VM from a lady at the Hilton telling me that because I am Diamond and there is an emergency going on here, I wouldn't be charged the cancellation fee, even though I hadn’t asked for the relief.