Originally Posted by DannyDarko

I was just going through Hilton's updated lounge policy and was quite shocked at the news that access to the Executive Lounge seems not at all so very probable for Golds anymore.

For Americans, this may not be that bad, as they've all got Diamond status anyway because there's a Hampton Inn at every corner to gain status (more than 1,800 properties) and the Executive Lounges in the States do not even come close to those in the rest of the world, Europe especially, but for Europeans this is very hard, because gaining Diamond status with 14 Hilton properties in your country (Germany, in my case), ten or twelve in the surrounding countries and exactly one Hampton Inn on the whole of the continent, loyalty isn't made that easy.

The new T&Cs say:"If you are an HHonors Gold Member, you'll be given access to the Executive Floor lounge when you receive a room upgrade to the Executive Floor. If an Executive Floor room upgrade is unavailable, you'll still receive daily complimentary Continental breakfast in lieu of lounge access."

It says: "if an Executive Floor room upgrade is unavailable", not "if a room on the Executive Floor is unavailable", which seems to implicate for me that you're left to the goodwill of the hotel and that it even wouldn't be of any use to show them on your iPhone that an Executive Room could be booked for the dates of your stay right now. I think I know a number of hotels that are glad about this loophole.

Any other interpretations? Am I exaggerating here?