earlyriser

I have had four stays so far this year and not experienced this once.

ozztraveller

I just finished a 2 night stay and found the lounge to be quiet. There was no line up for drinks and plenty of empty seats. I find it usually busy over the warmer months and holiday weekends. The same went for breakfast in Glass.

markis10

Have a look at getting the Next there app : http://nextthere.com

Great little app that tracks public transport realtime.

Yes, mid winter rates are at their best as crowds are low, different story as you head into spring and cruise season.

puchong

Just be aware that the main road in front of the Hilton (George Street) is undergoing some heavy construction and is mostly closed to through vehicular traffic. The rear entrance, Pitt Street, is operating normally however.

Princess fiona

Actually I would agree with m0hamed based on numerous stays here as a Diamond over the past 6 years.
Yes I've had some upgrades but this is inconsistent at best. On my last stay in May not only was I not upgraded on arrival when higher rooms were available but I was moved from the room I had selected at OLCI to 10 floors down, same category. The front desk couidn't or wouldn't do anything and the Duty Manager was unavailable so I decided to go the Exec Lounge and sort it out which was eventually successful.

The staff in the lounge are terrific and do their best when its busy.
Have stayed at Australian Hiltons in CNS/BNE/MEL/ADL/PER/SYD. The inconsistency of the service at this property is a stand out for me.

kirkwoodj

As with all these things, YMMV. I stay here frequently as well, and have no problems. Sometimes get upgrades, but that is a benefit & not expected. I don't expect the EL to supply my dinner, and the drinks aren't anything special, so if it happens to be crowded with people who replace meals with EL fare, I'll just leave. Certainly there are nicer properties in Sydney and in the world, but this place does just fine.

DoggyDaddy

Thanks all for the comments. I bit the bullet and booked 5 nights in November or 222,000 points. As a lowly Gold, what do you think of my chances for any upgrade?

Once, in Venice, in the spring, we booked a room for 2 nights on points and wound up with a 3 room, 2 bath suite facing the canal. Don't expect that ever happening again.

DD

ozztraveller

As a Gold I would expect an Executive room upgrade and if not do ask as they try and upgrade whenever possible. Most rooms are the same size but you can always ask for a corner room which is slightly bigger. Any upgrade beyond this is hard for a 5 night stay.

As a Gold you can pay for an upgrade to full breakfast in Glass which I would try atleast once.

Location of the Hotel is in the middle of Sydney and you can get a train from the airport to the hotel. Just google Sydney Airport Link to Town Hall Station.

squeakr

This is the second threat in as many days that I've needed to intervene and delete some snarky comments. We all have things that aggravate us about our hotel stays or airline flights. One major problem is somebody else's minor inconvenience. Wanting to make light of someone else's complaint, and within reason, it's fine to do so. But please don't be snarky to each other or take the attitude of dismissing someone's concerns.

Thanks for understanding .

Squeakr
Co. Mod HH

matrixwalker2012

Well, at the rates this Hilton charges and the fact that a few of the apps basically makes for a light dinner, if I have access to the lounge, I might as well just eat here and then not need to eat dinner, and yes I can afford my own dinner, but why force feed myself when I can be satisfied with a few more free apps?

They want to charge a lot, well, when I’m there, I’ll take full advantage of them. Now I’m not going to cut my day trip short just to munch on some EL nibbles, but if I’m already there, might as well take what’s complimentary versus paying for other stuff if it’s all the same to me.

RooseveltL

No objections if traveling solo or with a companion. I'm surfacing when huge groups of 5-7 people occupying a significant amount of real estate preventing other guest like yourself from relaxing. I don't know if all are staying in the same room, a suite or just one person has privileges and decides to allow in three kids, grandma, nanny and their spouse wife.

ab007

Given this thread has seen so much activity thought I'd add a review.

We stayed here for 3 nights midweek in April as Diamond. I booked a deluxe room and with the hotel full that was what we were given. We had some chocolates, red wine, and prosecco left in the room which were well received. Whilst we didn't have an upgrade the receptionist did point out we had a high floor with a nice view of the sydney tower etc. which was true.

We ate breakfast in the main restaurant which we really enjoyed, the staff were helpful and we liked the variety of home made dishes (not sure I've seen home made baked beans in a Hilton before!). It was the best Hilton property breakfast we had in Australia, second overall only to the Pullman Port Douglas Sea Temple Resort & Spa property.

We used the lounge a handful of times which was never too busy as we tended to go mid afternoon between trips as appose to during the evenings. We didn't try breakfast in here but we did have afternoon tea on the last day (along with a late check out) which was good.

We moved onto the Wentworth Sofitel for 2 nights afterward, I have to say the hotel was a better experience but I wouldn't hesitate to use either depending on price. Both are well located depending on the purpose of your visit.

bj27

Just checked in here after an early morning arrival from the US. Previous stay was at the Sheraton on the Park with my parents over NYE period, and our experience there was terrible. I had actually booked at the Sheraton for this trip but then switched last minute to the Hilton after thinking about what a bad experience we had had.

I haven't actually been let into my room yet (I arrive around 7am so I totally understand), though front desk said should be ready within 1.5 hours and will text me when it's ready. Meanwhile she invited me to have breakfast in the lounge, upgraded me a Deluxe Room Plus (one category below the Relaxation Room), though I don't mind not having the extra space since I'm by myself. Letter of Diamond benefits was given to me as well as gym/shower access offered.

Lounge attendants and desk agent were friendly. Overall a much nicer experience so far (and I haven't even been given a room yet) than at the Sheraton.

Don't know if I'll be checking out the evening offerings as I have dinner plans all nights here, but will report back either way.

Let me know if anyone has any questions while I'm here.

Pjh104

I must admit to have benefitted from a Doubletree in London giving Diamond benefits including Exec Lounge access to my son and daughter and their partners when we all stayed (three rooms all booked undere my name as a Diamond member) one night recently.

What does hack me off is when you hear people on the phone in the Lounge (and this has happened to me twice) and the conversation goes something like..

"Yes, well we're at the Hilton"
"No, it'll be ok, just come up to floor x and we'll let you in"

I suppose to some extent this is Hilton's fault for not policing the Lounges as they used to...

bj27

The Hilton Sydney has an EL agent who requests a room number everytime you come in, so I think there is some policing going on, though I haven't seen anyone getting denied entry in my short stay here so far (nor have I been in the EL much lately)