Following up on discussion above: our visitor took a taxi from the FRA Hilton to the FCT yesterday morning. She reports that the driver seemed very happy to take her, that he'd made exactly the same trip the last time he picked up a passenger at the Hilton and that he'd complained about "stupid" people trying to reach the FCT on foot after exiting T1 on the "Departures" level (where there is only a road and no path/pavement/sidewalk for pedestrians).

The fare on the meter was just under 10 EUR.

Because they hadn't consulted my guide. ;)

I'm glad to hear taxi drivers are happy to take people to the FCT from the Hilton/HGI.

... a truly excellent guide which can now be advertised as an aid to not being thought stupid (or run over) by FRA taxi drivers!

They're especially happy when the tip more than doubles the base fare (which, frankly, should be the minimum recommendation on this trip).

Just stayed there overnight. The rooms a pretty small, and the one I got was facing inwards the building.

Since I m HH Diamond I was upgraded to the Executive floor, the lounge was solid but really nothing to write home about.

But the biggest drawback at the hotel where the staff at checkin / checkout. On check-in they gave me the wrong room (wrong bed type & Welcome letter for another guest where in the room). When I called reception, the answer was pretty much: "Why hassle me? You have a room, you got an upgrade - where is the point".

When checkout I asked for the correction of my address, which was a question too much. The reply was "Couldn´t you asked this at checkin?"

Then I was asked if they can use my Visa card for the payment, I told them that I would prefer the payment in cash. The answer was: "Sure you can, then I will transfer your money back to the Visa card - this will last a few days".

So why ask me for the choice of payment, when you already used my creditcard. Just very poor service.

I rarely complain about hotels, and I stay about 100 nights a year in decent hotels all over the world, but this was just too far away from what I expect. Given the fact that this was my first experience a Diamond I could not see any difference in treatment - but I have four more nights with Hilton in 2013.

Am I likely to get upgraded to a room with lounge access as a gold?

Thanks.

I was on 3 occasions I stayed there but don't expect too much from the lounge.

That's useful information -- I've been upgraded and given lounge access as a Diamond and it's good to know that that should continue when I drop to Gold. :)

:confused: Maybe you caught them on a bad day (or several bad days)? Or maybe I'm easily pleased: decent beer in the evenings, decent coffee, acceptable snack/breakfast items, lots of space.

Lat checkout
 

How is the FRA Hilton for late checkout? Our flight is not until 7 pm so we'd like to use the room until at least 4 pm or even 5 pm if possible.

We'd be staying on pts and I'm just a Gold, so I worry about them kicking us out at around 2 pm or charging a rather high rate for the additional few hours.

Booking one night HH stay before flying home in July. 2A 2C. I guess we will need 2 rooms? Pros and cons of HGI vs. Hilton? (point difference is negligible and we have plenty).

Post 129 above gives my answer -- the Hilton rooms are larger and I found the Hilton to be generally much nicer. That said, the HGI breakfast was more than acceptable and I might even prefer their breakfast area to the Hilton lounge if I was travelling with children (especially if I wasn't going to use the lounge in the evening).

Worked for me.

Seeing as the points are the same for both hotels, staying as a gold means the possibility of no lounge privileges at the Hilton.

So what kind of breakfast do golds get if they don't have lounge privileges?

Just stayed at the Hilton FRA. Had stayed at the HGI at FRA on two previous occasions. I much prefer the Hilton, got upgraded to the Exec floor. Thought the lounge was quite adequate. Decent drink selection and food. The lounge attendants were very helpful and kept the place very clean. As a bonus it was not crowded at all. My room was larger than the a king room at the HGI. If you are a breakfast person the HGI wins hands down. Customer service at the desk was superb.

It is important to note your status as a Diamond. I prefer HGI because as a lowly silver member I get free wifi, which I don't at the Hilton and I will never get an upgrade to the Exec floor. As a Diamond, you get free wifi at Hiltons, so that HGI benefit isn't relevant to you and HGI doesn't have an Exec floor. So, low status might prefer the HGI, whereas high status is likely to prefer the Hilton.

I agree. I have used the FRA HGI on occasions that the Hilton was much more expensive, or I was arriving after the evening reception. The breakfast at either is not a big deal to me as I usually get up and go to the LH lounge in the terminal.

HGI
 

Last mintue booking yesterday due to LH strike starting today & managed to get into FRA last ngt to make the USA flgt this morning.
Hilton nxt door was showing full so best price here ;279 euro , was in a rush so booked it , at check-in was asked if i wanted 1000 pts or breakfast , having not used HGI that offen i was surpised as DIA that breakfast was not included so took the breakfast anyway.
Asked nicely about upgrade & was told the only 2 suites were taken, so did not take any further notice.
Got to the room to find a small box for this price with basic small bathroom, by this time it was after midnight & getting up at 6am just accepted it but really for this price i expected a little bit better regardless of the short time spent.

"Supply and demand".

If there is a LH strike be thankful you got ANY room in the airport!

Frankly for 6 hours I'd doze in the lounge if I had to, or caught up with some work on laptop, and not pay 279 Euro.

We were last there around New Year and had pre-booked Hilton thank goodness at some silly low rate. :cool:

There was bad weather unexpectedly and tons of cancellations.

Girl in lounge said when she started her shift there was about 50% occupancy, and as day wore on it had grown to 100%. So a Diamond booking, gets WHATEVER room is left, period.

As it was Xmas/New Year low season the kitchen staff and food supplies were on minimal level and she said ordering more snacks etc for lounge was erratic as food in Kitchen near exhausted.

What are the times for the evening snacks in the Executive Lounge at the Hilton Frankfurt Airport?

Iirc. 1800 hrs.

747FC, thanks!

update on EL hours?
 

Anyone stayed recently who can comment on EL hours? Specifically breakfast on a Monday, I have relatively early departure. Well upthread, I see 0630 and 0700. TIA

I intentionally booked the Hilton FRA since saw it on some award list. So much for awards. The signage to the Hilton and Hilton GI is absent at FRA. The standard rooms are small, two bars on wifi, check-in lines long, after room change my amenity was not moved, limited English channels and content on TV, almost nothing left at EL near closing time and a longer than expected walk. Cxling my next res. The Sheraton FRA is much better.

Never been signage to the Hiltons, just to THE SQUAIRE of which they're a part. YMMV on the other stuff, I've recently been arriving too late and departing too early (so I can use LH FCL!) to bother with EL. Haven't had any of your other complaints and I speak German so no issues with TV. Good luck w Sheraton!

Unless these signs have been taken down since I took the photos in December 2013...

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5545/...4a977a95_z.jpg

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2853/...e26b4209_z.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7443/...cb99baac_z.jpg

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That's not actually true. In many cases, as NewbieRunner's photos demonstrate, the Hilton and HGI signs are right next to (or above) Sheraton signs. It's a slightly longer walk but in my experience (roughly equal number of FRA Hilton and FRA Sheraton stays) well worth it. That might not be true for someone with top-tier SPG status, of course.

I've stayed at the FRA Hilton as both Diamond and Gold. Always booked the cheapest room and never ended up in anything "small".

I checked in today and offer the following support for all views recently expressed.

It's extremely difficult to read the signs depending on all the portals that one enters from considering the small font size. Once you miss one of the signs you end up walking a fair piece before you find one facing you again. Again just mixing up the arrows pointing in multiple directions aggravates your read. There are many turns and multiple levels to take.

general rule.

Unless you are directionally challenged, you need to keep going up to clear the roads around the terminal and at the same time head directly away from the arrivals/departure levels. If you find it easier to find your way to the Shearaton it's not out of your way and they will kindly guide you to the turns to take to the Hilton.

The strongest recommendation I can make is follow the large signs to tracks 4&5 of the train station and you;re only a hundred yards from the entrance to the hotel.

if still unsure before boarding a train by mistake, ask

PS: the lounge is great and the food plentiful at published hours

From FRA T1 check-in level (which is where most arriving passengers come out despite being called the check-in/departure level) facing the road there are two sets of escalators going up to pedestrian bridges across the road. One takes you directly to the Sheraton.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5540/...1a873998_z.jpg

The other set of escalators (between doors 2 & 3) take you up to the pedestrian bridge leading to the long-distance train station (Fernbahnhof), Squaire and the Hilton/HGI. There is also an elevator next to the escalator.

Walking from Frankfurt Airport T1 to Hilton/HGI Frankfurt Airport ;)

Arriving passengers do not end up on this level if they are arriving from outside Schengen. They are forced to go to the arrivals level, which is one level below the level you show here. It is simple enough, however, to go up one level to the one shown here.

Correct. Arriving from the States you are directed to the lower level and must negotiate the maze below the roadway. There are no signs downstairs with directions to the Hilton properties. I would happily correct my post if I had seen them. Looks like the escalator was non op anyways.

I do have "top" tier Diamond status. For what its worth the staff at the Sheraton was marginal and tv content very limited. The Hilton did have a better selection. Most important. Wifi was full strength.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to avoid the Sheraton and stay at one of the Hiltons at the airport or take the S-Bahn into Mainz. Stayed at the Sheraton a few years ago and had a miserable stay. Their regular rooms in the non-renovated tower is absolutely horrible.

Fair enough. Arriving in Z or C (or T2) will involve finding your way to the B check-in area first. Non-Schengen flights arrive in B and C, in addition to Z.

Passport control at the bottom of the escalators for Z arrivals (and A non-Schengen bus gate) is usually very quiet and the quickest way to go landside but it's not convenient for anything other than the FCT and hotel shuttles (obviously not for the Hilton/HGI or the Sheraton).

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8046/...e56f9501_z.jpg
Exit door from non-Schengen arrivals in Z

The exit opened a few years ago for the extension of Pier A/Z but I agree that signs are sparse in that area. As RTWSTARALLIANCE pointed out you have to walk along on the lower level towards B or go up the escalator.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7752/...8d453f7b_z.jpg
Link between A and B on the lower level (looking towards A)

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8887/...59e78fcb_z.jpg
On this level A, B and C are separated by service roads between them

As pointed out earlier it's best to follow the signs for the railway stations if you are not certain how to get to the Hilton/HGI. Bear in mind that there are two railway stations at FRA: for regional trains (Regionalbahnhof - marked with the letter S) and for long distance trains (Fernbahnhof - marked with the letter T). Make sure to follow the signs for the long distance train station (Tracks 4-7).

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NewbieRunner, you don't happen to live inside FRA? Or perhaps you designed it?

Has someone actually designed FRA? :rolleyes:

From the lower level you can also walk to the parking gaage and take the elevator up to level 7 or 8. That is the walkway level right around the corner from the Squaire very close to the Sheraton.

I do prefer the Hilton, but wal;k to the Sheraton form their cigar bar.

Just checked into Hilton FRA as a Diamond and was informed that no HHonors benefits are available because my reservation was not made direct, as of October 1 (so he said). The standard HHonors T&C's permit reservations to be made by authorized travel agents using one of the primary global res systems. So, is this policy specific to the FRA property?

How did you make the reservation?

Sounds like you are having a rough go of it. Did they walk you all the way there from London? Ouch! :p

One of the big U.S. corporate travel agents, Tzell, who are IATA members and who use Amadeus. I emailed the HHonors help desk and am awaiting clarification from them.

Sounds like the property went rogue. Let us know what you hear.

Hilton Frankfurt Airport
 

Check In I arrived here in the evening and got a warm welcome.  It is a little bit of a trek from the terminal although is technically attached!  There is a Hilton and a Hilton garden Inn that share almost the same entrance. Room My room was upgraded to an Executive King as I am a Diamond Member.  The room was really well equipped and I got 2 bottles of water and some chocolates, along with a nice welcome note.The bathroom was really modern and the shower was powerful.  There was also a separate bath with shower head so I can assume that parents would be happy with this room too!The bed was slightly hard for my tastes - as I find all Hilton beds to be but the room was cozy and I slept well. Service At all times everyone was friendly and super attentive.  Check-in and out was a breeze and the lady in the Executive lounge was also very friendly despite working hard! Dining I had the evening canapés in the Executive lounge and thought they were average.  There was pasta, and mini pizzas for the hot options.  The pasta was OK but not very exciting and the mini pizzas were very soggy - like they had been boiled!  There was a selection of cold snacks, mini sandwiches etc.The white wine was very nice and they kept replenishing.  There was also a red and some spirits although not a great selection from what I can remember.I also ate breakfast in the main restaurant - I could have had it in the lounge but thought there may be better choice in the restaurant.  There was, but only just.  The restaurant had the usual buffet of hot and cold items, no omelette station or the option to have anything cooked to order. Location The hotel is attached to the airport but please note it is still a bit of a walk to get to.  The signs are OK, although a little small and I am sure some miss them completely.The hotel is also above the train station, but if you want to go into Frankfurt the platform is also a bit of a walk.  I only mention this as the hotel sells itself as being VERY close to these and if you have difficulty walking it is actually a bit of a trek.Of note - the hotel handed a very handy little card with how to get into central Frankfurt by tain - ask for it as you may need it! Overall Overall, I really liked this modern hotel.  It was well equipped, had friendly staff and the lounge was one of the better ones.  I still wish Hilton could do better with the food for the evening snacks but that again is a personal taste.If you want to stay attached to the airport this is a good choice - it is also pretty easy to get downtown from here so could be used as a base for wider tourism.

From the review by aks120: "The restaurant had the usual buffet of hot and cold items, no omelette station or the option to have anything cooked to order."

My stay was in August 2016, and the restaurant chef cooked 2 fried eggs for me when I asked the waiter for them.