exerda

Mixed experiences for me this trip; I had two 1-night stays at the Centennial (both on points, as the room rate was $400 SGD+).

First stay, I was upgraded to a "suite" (well, half of a suite; the adjoining room was occupied). This is not the first time I've had a Hilton property tell me they've upgraded me to a suite and then it turns out to be a regular room with the adjacent one closed off and occupied. No matter; I booked a "deluxe executive king," and that's what I got (I am though a bit tired of Hilton claiming an upgrade when giving what was booked, but whatever; this seems the norm for me, and the last real suite upgrade was at the FRA airport Hilton). Was asked if I wanted late check-out, and was given 2pm without hesitation (as I had a 4:30pm flight, 2 was perfect, as it got me to the airport even allowing for traffic by 2:30pm). Overall, the stay was very good, and the staff quite accommodating. The bay view room on the 31st floor was comfortable and spacious enough for a night.

Second stay, I checked in and was thanked for being a Diamond, then given the exact room I booked (deluxe king, IIRC), and told I could use the exec lounge because of my Diamond status. I had to ask about late check-out, and was grudgingly given 2pm (I asked for 3pm or 4pm; I had 5pm dinner reservations and a 10:20pm flight). Honestly, the hotel seemed a lot less busy on a Monday night than it had on a Thursday night; I offered to take a different room if I could get later, but after much typing away, was told 2pm was the latest they could manage. (I'll miss that with my Marriott Plat going to Gold soon; they always offer 3pm and sometimes later... not sure why Hilton can't do the same, particularly for Diamonds.) Went to the lounge and asked for a beer (at ~10pm) and was told I had to go to the bar downstairs. This despite the fact the kitchenette on the 31st floor lounge has several beers (and most of them not Tiger, which is a good thing), and the very handout I was given at check-in said that drinks after 8pm were available at the lounge but would be a room charge. I pointed that out, and the lounge staff was insistent that they had nothing and I should go to the bar or order room service (Tiger or Heineken, yuck!). During the night, the smoke detector started beeping (seriously?), and I had to completely shut off the a/c as it didn't respond to any temperature settings and kept running full-blast (it was set to 18C when I got to the room--brrrr!). Was told they weren't sure they could do the complimentary clothes press before the next morning (so I just hung them in the bathroom and took a long, steamy shower). It was just night-and-day from the previous stay.

I like the location better than the other properties in town, but I have to say I am not sure I'd repeat even on a points stay.