Staying here now & writing based on experience so far.

checkin
I will agree with other reviewers that the check-in experience isn’t great. I will go to the extend that when compared Eastern European/ European hotels, it’s sub-par.

I checked in around 3pm and the room had been pre-upgraded to one level up from what I booked. I had noticed that the standard suite is available through out my stay and I enquired about possibility & was told that suite is NOT possible because “Hilton policy only allows 2 category upgrade from the original room type”. The suite is however available as a paid upgrade.
That rubbed me off very badly as he was making rules out of thin air. I pulled my phone and made the check-in agent read the policy which clearly states diamonds are allowed upgrade upto standard suites.

The check-in agent then mumbled & excused to check with supervisor ; came back after few mins saying it’s beyond his wheelhouse & max he can do is river view room. I wasn’t in the mood to pursue it further and we were handed the keys & an envelope containing a generic printed letter & 10% discount voucher for spa / restaurant and a 50PLN credit voucher (in lieu of the lounge).

Room & Hotel Amenities

Functional great room with decent bed & view of the river, Ferris wheel & Gdansk sign. Room was well maintained & furnishing are intact. Nothing to write home about and definitely no complaints. The shower just had the shower head (no waterfall showerhead) and the water pressure was good. Standard Crabtree amenities & everything else that you expect from Hilton.

breakfast
I think this is where the hotel shines - the breakfast spread was really good and they had separate Gold / Diamond seating area and was told that we can order ala carte from the menu (the menu stated extra 39zlotty per person but the staff told it’s included in diamond benefit).

We ordered Eggs Benedict & Eggs Arlington with salmon. Both were really tasty and generous in portion size. The brekkie buffet included standard items and a mimosa / Prosecco station. The restaurant / buffet staff provided prompt service. Overall the breakfast was really good.

Other amenities

TBD.

Day 2 check-in experience

I had two 1 night reservations. Based on my interaction during check in yesterday, I had assumed that they had factored my multiple stays and that’s why they were reluctant with suite upgrade.

I had planned to go to Gdynia (and had train booked) so after breakfast, I went to front desk to make sure that my keys are programmed for the day. To my surprise, I was told by the staff that I need to pack my stuff and move rooms as the “river view room is sold out” and I will be moved to “superior room” (one category up from my original room). My repeated requests to allow me to maintain my current room wasn’t entertained. I didn’t had my phone handy to cross check inventory so I excused myself and went to my room to fetch my phone.

i noticed that the standard suite is still available; so i went back to front desk and demanded that they 1) either avoid me the hassle of changing rooms OR
2) force me to pack and change but then provide me with standard suite as per diamond upgrade policy.

Manager was called and after some back and forth - the “sold out” riverview room became magically available and my keycards were reprogrammed.

It’s apparent to me that the management isn’t keen on providing tangible room upgrades to diamond elites & that cascades down to front desk staff who echoes what’s being taught / trained. Various experiences here and independent reviews by diamond members in other blogs about the property reinforces this.

comparison with Hampton Inn

having stayed in both in this trip; I agree with poster above that Hilton (being a full service hotel) can be a better deal at upto 30% premium (in $ / points). Anything more than that, I don’t think it’s worth it since there’s only limited suites and management is stingy when it comes to upgrades.

hampton inn (generous with upgrade) despite being limited service is pretty impressive and have better views & central (for a tourist).

Best approach (imho) will be to split your stay across both brands.