Originally Posted by
gbryan84
IMO Hampton Inns and HGI's are the best in the Hilton brand as far as the treatment of Diamond members and going out of their way to put you in the best room they have even if its not really that much better. I have had terrible stays at most Hiltons and a couple of DT's (but love the DT-Times Square) and am not sure why I keep going back but I seem to always give them the benefit of the doubt....I usually end up getting screwed though. If Starwoods wernt so expensive compared to the Hilton alternative I would status match and stay there but *woods arnt everywhere I go so I would lose the Plat and Diamond status after a year.
I was a Hilton Diamond for 5 years and dumped them in favor of Marriott. I totally agree with you about the Hampton's and HGI's attempt to treat Diamonds well. My problem with Hilton's program is that the level of Diamond is too easy to reach and just about every time I checked in, the front desk person would tell me there were like 30 other Diamond's staying there that night so "NO UPGRADE FOR YOU!" I usually wound up in a tiny room between the elevator and the ice machine on the floor with the fitness center and a ton of people going to work out at 5:00 AM
. I think my room upgrade percentage with Hilton was somewhere around 15%....as a Marriott Platinum, it's more like 80%.
Marriott also has a lifetime status program to shoot for while Hilton doesn't.