As a Diamond they upgraded my standard room to Hammock Beach view on the third floor for my 4 night reward stay (60 pts but using AXON Award it was 190k points for all four nights). They also waived the $18 per night resort fee for Award redemptions. They upgraded the buffet to full hot breakfast buffet. No parking fee. This was all done on PRIME season of New Years week. I was very impressed. Third floor is coveted because of the ocean view (it clears the tree canopy) and then placing my room at the quieter south section was especially kind. There simply are not that many room choices at the south wing in comparison to over the tiki bar and jet ski area at the north wing. I also appreciated the overall condition of the premises and the room itself. There are special challenges to keeping a full complement of housekeeping and maintenace staffers in the Florida keys. Virtually every employee will be bused in from the mainland through bumper to bumper traffic snarls. I found every staff member in top form. I had a slight concern about the air conditioning and the speedy attention was very cool (can't resist the pun, folks).

One more important item. I left a valuable personal bicycle unlocked and unattended on the beach for twelve hours and later returned and retrieved it. People in the Keys seriously use bikes for transportation. I was profoundly impressed that the bike was still there after midnight on New years eve. Geesh... some people were really on their good behavior, halo-over-head mode. Kudos.

Overall, by the way, I liked how the manager solicits feedback after a stay with a personal Email. The manager is Mr. Vikash Maharaj and the usual Hilton Email address stystem is utilized. First name followed by a dot and then the last name followed by @ hilton.com