Hilton Buenavista Toledo {ESP} (no longer Honors)
Jul 11, 2007, 6:19 am
#1
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Hilton Buenavista Toledo {ESP} (no longer Honors)
Hello FT,
Has anybody had any first hand experience of the Hilton Buenavista just opened in Toledo, Spain ?
We'll be spending 5 days in Madrid this October, and I was considering spending a night or two in Toledo. The hotel homepage however, has no pictures and there's nothing on Tripadvisor.
Unfortunately the opening of the Hilton Madrid Airport has been pushed back to "during winter" according to the homepage, so that's not an option for our 1AM flight arrival anymore.
Has anybody had any first hand experience of the Hilton Buenavista just opened in Toledo, Spain ?
We'll be spending 5 days in Madrid this October, and I was considering spending a night or two in Toledo. The hotel homepage however, has no pictures and there's nothing on Tripadvisor.
Unfortunately the opening of the Hilton Madrid Airport has been pushed back to "during winter" according to the homepage, so that's not an option for our 1AM flight arrival anymore.
Jul 11, 2007, 10:38 am
#2
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No experience w/ the hotel, but I liked Toledo. Bummer re: the airport opening being pushed back. It's been a while but I think it's only 20 minutes from the airport to downtown Madrid if you're staying there. Cheers.
Aug 28, 2007, 2:34 pm
#4
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Hudson, OH
Programs: UA-MM; Hilton Lifetime Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,350
Hilton Buenavista Toledo Trip Reports and Reviews
We stayed at this newly opened hotel in July, using a two-night point stretcher. It is a category 5, but only because, I think, it has four floors. Everything else about it is top notch. The hotel is situated on the outskirts of town. Taxi fare from the railway station is 12E, and taxi to Plaza Zocodover is 7-8E. More about that later. Located in a very nice area, and nicely landscaped. Pretty view of the Tajo River, and in the distance the cathedral in the old town.
Upon arrival, we were well-greeted, and upgraded to a suite! (Diamond) Since the hotel was recently open, and summer is off-season in Spain, the hotel had very low occupancy, so we may have lucked out with the suite. “Regular” rooms looked very nice also.
The suite was two large rooms. Nice big fruit bowl in the living area, with two bottle waters (in GLASS bottles <g>). And there were five vases of orchids throughout the suit – all fresh. Nice isolation between the bedroom and the living area. Two big-screen TVs.
No lounge. They are opening, in the fall, a “spirits and cigar” lounge, but all that will be at a fee for anyone.
On a day sightseeing, we first inquired about a shuttle. They said they were not prepared to run one yet, but by mid-Sept they would have regular service to the main Plaza; I imagine they didn’t want to start this service until occupancy picked up. But they were very helpful with all our questions, and when they called for a taxi, one always arrived within 10 minutes. Taxi takes you to the edge of the Plaza, which then is an easy walk to anywhere you want to go in that area (it is on a hilltop). Easy to get a taxi back also.
Hotel restaurant served terrific food, but it was expensive. Ate there on our arrival evening. All other meals were in town. Did use the bar several times.
This is a "category 6 property," IMO, with the cat. 5 rating. We did not find any flaws with the hotel. And the employees were all great. Of course with so few guests, they had lots of time to be helpful. But I give it my highest recommendation.
As an aside, the hotel near the Madrid airport was due to open this summer, but that has been delayed. We did pass it heading into Madrid, and it’ll be about 10 min from the airport. Looked like a 8-10 story rectangular shaped building. Then, high-speed train runs almost hourly between Madrid and Toledo – takes 30 minutes. Cost about 14E, and any Euro or Spain rail pass is NOT valid on this route.
Upon arrival, we were well-greeted, and upgraded to a suite! (Diamond) Since the hotel was recently open, and summer is off-season in Spain, the hotel had very low occupancy, so we may have lucked out with the suite. “Regular” rooms looked very nice also.
The suite was two large rooms. Nice big fruit bowl in the living area, with two bottle waters (in GLASS bottles <g>). And there were five vases of orchids throughout the suit – all fresh. Nice isolation between the bedroom and the living area. Two big-screen TVs.
No lounge. They are opening, in the fall, a “spirits and cigar” lounge, but all that will be at a fee for anyone.
On a day sightseeing, we first inquired about a shuttle. They said they were not prepared to run one yet, but by mid-Sept they would have regular service to the main Plaza; I imagine they didn’t want to start this service until occupancy picked up. But they were very helpful with all our questions, and when they called for a taxi, one always arrived within 10 minutes. Taxi takes you to the edge of the Plaza, which then is an easy walk to anywhere you want to go in that area (it is on a hilltop). Easy to get a taxi back also.
Hotel restaurant served terrific food, but it was expensive. Ate there on our arrival evening. All other meals were in town. Did use the bar several times.
This is a "category 6 property," IMO, with the cat. 5 rating. We did not find any flaws with the hotel. And the employees were all great. Of course with so few guests, they had lots of time to be helpful. But I give it my highest recommendation.
As an aside, the hotel near the Madrid airport was due to open this summer, but that has been delayed. We did pass it heading into Madrid, and it’ll be about 10 min from the airport. Looked like a 8-10 story rectangular shaped building. Then, high-speed train runs almost hourly between Madrid and Toledo – takes 30 minutes. Cost about 14E, and any Euro or Spain rail pass is NOT valid on this route.
Aug 29, 2007, 3:59 am
#5
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Sounds great. I've got a stay booked for October, and I can't wait to see if I could get lucky enough to get a suite as well (would be my first Suite upgrade after 3 years as Diamond ;-).
Can you report anything about the Spa ? Is it operating ? How big is it ? I need to manage the expectations of the missus' ...
Can you report anything about the Spa ? Is it operating ? How big is it ? I need to manage the expectations of the missus' ...
Aug 29, 2007, 3:16 pm
#6
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Hudson, OH
Programs: UA-MM; Hilton Lifetime Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,350
Please come back and report on your stay. We may try it again, and am interested in knowing how one is treated during a busier period. But we're sure you'll enjoy the place! Good luck!
Oct 22, 2007, 2:18 am
#7
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Just stayed at Hilton Buenavista Toledo last week. This was part of a vacation in and around Madrid that also took us to the Westin Palace and Sheraton Santa Maria de El Paular hotels.
Overall impression: Nice hotel. Staff needs better training.
The hotel is on the outskirts of town in an area under development, but we walked into the town center in 30-40 mins. The hotel is next to a busy road, and in rush hours the terraces can be quite noisy. For a newly built Hilton, however, it is a very beautiful hotel, and has a traditional spanish flavour to it. The grounds look good with a nice pool area (closed at this time of year).
There were not many people staying at the hotel on a wednesday in October. But even though the staff outnumbered the guests, they were not very competent. Was given an upgrade from standard to deluxe room (no Executive floor) but as Diamond I had to argue for both free breakfast and "Spouse stays free", but ended up beeing given both.
Strangely, after politely insisting on Diamond benefits while arguing with checkin ("you can only choose between one-class upgrade and free breakfast, not both") we were greeted by the hotel manager, who personally gave us a 15 min. tour of a beautiful art collection in the hotel, and some nice tips on what to do in town. Quite a mixed experience ...
However, it is a promising property and if you can find as low a price as we did (paid €106 non-refundable for a 1 person standard room without breakfast), it's a fine deal.
And the city of Toledo is very beatiful ...
Overall impression: Nice hotel. Staff needs better training.
The hotel is on the outskirts of town in an area under development, but we walked into the town center in 30-40 mins. The hotel is next to a busy road, and in rush hours the terraces can be quite noisy. For a newly built Hilton, however, it is a very beautiful hotel, and has a traditional spanish flavour to it. The grounds look good with a nice pool area (closed at this time of year).
There were not many people staying at the hotel on a wednesday in October. But even though the staff outnumbered the guests, they were not very competent. Was given an upgrade from standard to deluxe room (no Executive floor) but as Diamond I had to argue for both free breakfast and "Spouse stays free", but ended up beeing given both.
Strangely, after politely insisting on Diamond benefits while arguing with checkin ("you can only choose between one-class upgrade and free breakfast, not both") we were greeted by the hotel manager, who personally gave us a 15 min. tour of a beautiful art collection in the hotel, and some nice tips on what to do in town. Quite a mixed experience ...
However, it is a promising property and if you can find as low a price as we did (paid €106 non-refundable for a 1 person standard room without breakfast), it's a fine deal.
And the city of Toledo is very beatiful ...
Jan 23, 2009, 4:46 pm
#10
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Barcelona, Catalunya
Posts: 2,108
Did this a few weeks ago: from Madrid airport (Hilton) to Toledo Hilton.
The trains to Toledo leave from the Atocha train station. We finally decided on taking a taxi from the airport to the train station, but in theory you could take the metro to “Nuevos Ministerios” and then transfer to the “Cercanias” trains that will bring you to Atocha. (I did not want to go through this with luggage…)
The trains from Madrid to Toledo run every hour or every two hours (depending on the time of the day). It takes about 30 minutes and costs around 10€.
On arrival in Toledo you could ask for the hotel shuttle to pick you up (there is a small fee for this) but we just took a taxi from the train station.
The trains to Toledo leave from the Atocha train station. We finally decided on taking a taxi from the airport to the train station, but in theory you could take the metro to “Nuevos Ministerios” and then transfer to the “Cercanias” trains that will bring you to Atocha. (I did not want to go through this with luggage…)
The trains from Madrid to Toledo run every hour or every two hours (depending on the time of the day). It takes about 30 minutes and costs around 10€.
On arrival in Toledo you could ask for the hotel shuttle to pick you up (there is a small fee for this) but we just took a taxi from the train station.
Jan 31, 2009, 7:42 am
#11
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I stayed there recently and it is a beautiful hotel. The occupancy rate is still low but the staff was great. They went out of their way to make our stay special.
I booked the Presidential Suite and it included a large terrace and jacuzzi. Upon arrival, checkin was smooth and I asked for complimentary access to the internet and was given a voucher that lasted 24 hours and would need to request another daily.
The welcome gift was 2 bottles of water (the hotel brought up additional waters daily) and various sweets which were very good. The bathroom was large and the wall facing Toledo was glass, so you could enjoy the views from the bathroom.
The rate included breakfast at the restaurant and had the usual layout as well as cook to order. We ate dinner one night and the prix fixe was €35 per person and was very good.
The shuttle was available to center city for 5 Euros. We also used taxi's which was very reasonable.
Overall, it was a good stay and I would recommend the hotel.
I booked the Presidential Suite and it included a large terrace and jacuzzi. Upon arrival, checkin was smooth and I asked for complimentary access to the internet and was given a voucher that lasted 24 hours and would need to request another daily.
The welcome gift was 2 bottles of water (the hotel brought up additional waters daily) and various sweets which were very good. The bathroom was large and the wall facing Toledo was glass, so you could enjoy the views from the bathroom.
The rate included breakfast at the restaurant and had the usual layout as well as cook to order. We ate dinner one night and the prix fixe was €35 per person and was very good.
The shuttle was available to center city for 5 Euros. We also used taxi's which was very reasonable.
Overall, it was a good stay and I would recommend the hotel.
Jun 13, 2009, 10:26 am
#12
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: USA
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Posts: 779
Wanted to bump this thread again. Has anybody had any positive/negative experiences with the hotel? How hard is it to get into "central toledo" from the hotel?
Aug 22, 2009, 7:00 pm
#13
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: OH & NV
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Hilton Toledo, Spain Shutte to town
Does anyone know if the Hilton in Toledo, Spain has a shuttle to the old town? I know it is quite a hike to walk.
If so, how often and what times?
Sorry Shuttle is mispelled above, but do not know how to Edit Heading
Thanks
If so, how often and what times?
Sorry Shuttle is mispelled above, but do not know how to Edit Heading
Thanks
Last edited by SAPMAN; Aug 22, 2009 at 8:26 pm Reason: correction
Aug 22, 2009, 8:32 pm
#14
Join Date: Oct 1999
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They have some good rate with the VISA Signature card holders.
If anyone has been there --- please report...
Aug 23, 2009, 12:52 pm
#15
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I was there in Nov of the year the opened and they did offer a shuttle but it was NOT free, there was a small fee, per person and had if I recall a very good time table, or even on demand. The Taxi ride to the oldtown was also cheap, but shuttle price was better, I wanna say 3-4 Euro per person.. But I would call the hotel.. It is worth the hassle of the taxi or shuttle, this is a very nice hotel!