Because I didn't hop on it :rolleyes:

MR BL has done Disney Tokyo a few times - very clean, very small.

I am thinking I *may* have to do a quick trip to China in March. Perhaps take BL JR and her nanny (am I obligated to fly her in BF?) and do Shanghai, Xiamen and Hong Kong. I could figure out a half day trip to H:rolleyes:ng K:rolleyes:ng Disney in HKG.

I've never stayed at a HGI. I'm gold so maybe in a desperate situation, I'll try.

Quick question -- Does:

Main Cabin: Snack featuring a choice of cold sandwiches on French roll

mean one of those sandwiches will be meatless? or do you just take your chances?

Most likely either turkey or ham.

That means choices will be Turkey/Ham or Turkey/Tuna. I find that the Turkey/Ham grenades are more common, but the Turkey/Tuna bread is softer, tastier, and a wee bit bigger.

Are there others? Who knows. Maybe Final Five can tell us.

As a Gold or Diamond VIP with HHonors you can chose which VIP benefits you receive in the hotel. For HGI, IIRC, the choices are breakfast or 750 points. This selection is made online in your HHonors account (look for the MyWay link). The hotel can switch it at check in if you ask, but most of the time, they won't mention this.

Regardless of my MyWay choice for HGI, I always get the coupon for the water at the Pavilion Pantry.

The MyWay choices apply to all Hilton brands, and you can select different benefits by brand. You should definitely check it out, if you've not done that before. It also affects things like room upgrades, lounge access, and free breakfast at full-service properties.

I slid back to Silver in October but I'll take a look at it ( 3 more stays by the end of May and I can be compted back gold again, hmmm)

Edit: As a lowly Silver I can only play with the double dip options. Last time I played with the setttings was a few years ago when I was also a Silver.

Cool - good to know. I am not Hilton Savvy.

Thanks, guys. I think I'll look around for some pizza at CLE before getting on. I find tuna steaks to be the most delectable of dishes, and tuna sandwiches to be the most repulsive.

They're really not bad at all. Expect a room on par with an average full service Marriott/Hilton/Sheraton. The beds are pretty good, not the best ever, but better than what Marriott has at Courtyard. Bathrooms tend to be a decent size, well lit, with granite counters and Neutrogena amenities. All rooms have a microwave and small refrigerator. King bed rooms have either a small sofa or a lounge chair. All feature a very large working desk, and free Internet, usually both wired and WiFi. As a Gold you can elect either 750 bonus points or a free breakfast. Other amenities include evening room service, bar service in the evenings, the standard exercise room, a pantry at the front desk with snacks, toiletries, and other convenience items available at reasonable prices, and a well equipped business center with computers, printers, copier, fax, and basic office supplies. Printing, copies, and use of the computers is free, unlike many full service properties.

In comparison to Marriott, HGI is like Courtyard — only a lot better, with better benefits for elites. And because HGI is still a fairly new brand, it's hard to find one that's older than ten years, and many are less than five years old.

Amazingly, many Hilton HHonors VIP members don't seem to know that those options exist. The same holds true with the Double Dip options — Hilton defaults you to points + variable miles by default, I believe, which for most stays, is the worst option. Points + points or points + fixed miles are generally a better option, unless you're spending over $500/stay (for US airlines) or more than $1,000 per night (up to three nights, for BD miles).

You should get both and if you don't just simply ask for them. I travel on my own dime so the free breakfast works best for me.

Hamptons and Homewood are only 100 miles /stay /w the fixed double dip. I wonder if you can play around with that setting depending on you future stays? Say pick the fixed for miles for full Hilton stays and then switch to Variable for Hamtons?

For a very long time (several years) there was an easy trick that worked to get both the free breakfast at HGI and the 750 bonus points… or at any other Hilton brand, two VIP benefits (1,000 points and breakfast/lounge/upgrade). However, it appears that Hilton fixed that little trick with their systems a few months ago, because I haven't been successful in doing it since last fall. :(

Now that I'm looking back at things on-line I was getting the 750 points. I also wanted to cry when I looked at my last HGI bill to see how much I spent on breakfast in Scottsdale.:eek: That stay was on my dime :(