You summed it up very nicely!

No resort fee on award stays, and I would expect the same for free night certificate stays.

I am staying there now for a few days. Lots of check-ins today, so it will be a busy weekend. I expect it will fall off by Monday.

Most guests seem to be wearing masks. Not 100% but pretty high. When I was here in June, mask usage was low. On that stay, there were several times I asked guests who were not wearing masks to please take another elevator. They seemed surprised, and the doors closed before they could say anything. I really don't want to be in an elevator with folks who are not wearing masks.

In June they did not assess the resort fee, but they are charging it now. As a single Diamond, the $30 breakfast allowance more than covers my breakfast choices. I am told you can order breakfast to take up to your room, and I will try that tomorrow as Saturday will be busy.

I was prebooked into an oceanfront suite in the new tower, no further upgrade on arrival. They do give you a Diamond Benefits card at check-in, and it lists a complimentary one tier room upgrade based on availability. With a note that it includes standard suites, but excludes premium room types.

The $42 parking is pricey, but I don't want to hassle with street parking so it costs what it costs.

I am enjoying the a/c as Huntington Beach has been hitting near 90 degrees - it is unusually warm.

There are no bellmen, but they are trying to keep the bellcarts in the arrivals area. I think they have some sort of system in place to round them up periodically.

The Internet has been astoundingly fast so far, running 150mb/s down and 300 mb/s up. I am told that the access points have been upgraded and expanded.

In June they were not yet using the Hilton CleanStay stickers when I arrived, but they started using them during that stay and they are still being used.

BTW, my opinion on rooms is that the corner rooms in either tower are the best! All of the corner rooms have wrap around balconies, and you have a wider field of beach and ocean view to enjoy. I like the junior suites in the old tower, but the corner rooms in the new tower are pretty sweet also.

With the junior suites in the old tower, you can watch sunrise and sunset from your bed.