This might explain what happened to us at the Colombo Hilton in Sri Lanka. I've stayed there 4 times this summer. On the first three, I got an upgrade to a suite, use of the (very poor) Executive Lounge, and free breakfast. On my last stay, just 5 days after the prior one, I received an upgrade to a suite but nothing more. On challenging this, I was told that they had been giving more than required by their agreement with Hilton and had decided to meet policy rather than exceed it.

I find this a very troubling change. It will certainly cause me to examine my Hilton loyalty if more reports emerge about diamonds being denied lounge access and breakfast. It's true that the policy does not explicitly state that we get those benefits, but until the Colombo stay, I had received them 100% of the time.

If Hilton has indeed sent new instructions out system wide, it would certainly be nice if we, their loyal customers, were so advised. Nothing creates illwill faster than unrealistic expectations.

(I am Hilton diamond.)