JDUB

Hello all!
Can anyone share some information about this property? Is it nice, does it have an executive level, pssibilities for upgrade, etc.? Like most everyone I'm Hhonors Gold. Thanks in advance for your help and for all the valuable information I've learned from reading this forum.

dant

i liked this property a lot. it has an exec floor and lounge had one of the best food selections i've seen. i was only gold when i stayed and was put on the exec floor without asking.

MisterNice

This is one of the finest small city hotels in the HH system. Big rooms, the 4th floor is the executive level, really nice complementary booze-n-food 500-800 PM with reduced drink prices after that (approx 2 dolla/drink), big pool, cheap outdoor bbq and caribe music in the summer on Wednesdays etc. Sometimes pricey but "go for it!"

MisterNice

JDUB

Thanks guys...I not only appreciate your input, but also your taking the time to reply.

JayBrian

I concur with MISTERNICE, its a nice property. I know because MISTERNICE hosted a few of us local flyertalkers to a happy hour there a while back.

Jay

MisterNice

One other thing. The concierge attendant is usually Mary-Francis. She really is a delight. Often she will bring or ask if you want goodies without begging, asking or whatever, ie drinks, hors d oeuvres, nuts etc. She is one of the few concierge I tip and do so for the very same reasons (but only if she brings the goodies). Too many sit in a corner, constantly watch the TV and think they deserve a tip fot their attentive TV watching.

MisterNice

Theicom

This is a great hotel, but it is not the "Brandywine Estate" they make it out to be, at least on the outside.

YVR Cockroach

Has anyone got any opinions or experiences about this property?

"Proper" name is Hilton Wilmington/Christiana though it's in Newark (MD border IIRC).

[This message has been edited by terenz (edited 08-12-2002).]

winstoda

Very nice place. Nicest Hilton property in the state. Doubletree on 202 is nice too. Upgraded rooms on the executive floor are your best bet. Traffic around the hotel is a mess as it is located in an area that is always under construction and always a mess.

The hotel is in Christiana (the state's biggest mall is here too). Newark is further south although the mailing address for the whole area is Newark.

[This message has been edited by winstoda (edited 08-13-2002).]

markbach

I echo winstoda's comments, especially about the traffic.

There's also the Embassy Suites in Newark, which is only about 2 1/2 years old.

PS, email me when you're going to be around. I'd be up for dinner if you're available.

Mook

Any Delawarean who lives north of Bethany Beach will tell you they live "in Wilmington."

(Newark, Christiana, and Wilmington are really only separated by about 6 miles of I-95, in case you care.)

Mook

P.S. I'd love to meet the both of you for a drink some time, but alas I'm on the West Coast full-time for the near future ...
------------------
"Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty."

-- Thomas Jefferson

[This message has been edited by Mook (edited 08-13-2002).]

YVR Cockroach

Thanks for all the replies. It's been about 10 years since I've been to/through Wilmington when I lived in Philadelphia. Just remembered a bunch of newish motels on the opposite of the I-95 exit from Christiana Mall. Is the development around the Hilton fairly new (i.e,, last 10 years?)

winstoda

DelDot decided that they could improve traffic in the area of the Hilton (Churchman's Crossing) by eliminating the traffic signal there and building an limited access interchange instead. Hasn't worked very well. The hotels you remember along 95 were probably the Courtyard and the Fairfield. Hilton is on the other side of Delwaware 7/Delaware 1 in an office park right next to Christiana Hospital. Development is exloding each year to the point where little open space is left. Gotta fit as many tax free stores next to 95 as possible.

I lived for years in Dover. I'd say the true dividing line in Delaware is the C&D Canal. Anything south of the C&D is downstate. Downstate folks hate venturing "up north". Of course in the summer downstate is the place to be.

MisterNice

The Hilton is a very nice property, one of the best in the USA. It often can be pricy because of such. The really nice executive lounge is on the 4th (highest) floor with super nice hor d vours and free booze approx 4-8 pm and about 2 dolla/drink after that. It worth PAYING for if you cant get an HH upgrade. Lounge closes after breakfast Fri and reopens Sun afternoon.

Getting to it from I-95 is easy. Just follow the “hospital” signs and the Hilton is about 1 mi from I-95 on the left.

MisterNice

[This message has been edited by MisterNice (edited 08-13-2002).]

smk219

Booked a one night stay at this Hilton not far outside Wilmington. It was a decent facility (kind of a strange layout) and they did upgrade us to the executive level and provide breakfast coupons without having to ask. The rooms was fine and the comped breakfast included the Sunday buffet brunch which was very nice. Although the seating and service were haphazard and left a little to be desired.

The one thing that I found particularly annoying occurred when I got my checkout folio. We stayed there for less then 24 hours but we assessed a standard $3.00 Connectivity Package charge. This fee was to cover broadband usage and phone use. The phone was not picked up once and the broadband system was never touched. What I find particularly annoying is that there was no notice of this charge. They included a cardboard brochure along with the hotel key and breakfast coupons but they never mentioned that a charge would be assessed.

The desk clerk on duty took the charge off and seemed to agree that the fee was ridiculous. The manager on duty said point blank that this was a fee that all Hilton's were in the process of adding. I don't think that he had any idea what he was talking about. The brochure, which I kept, is put out by the company that manages the franchise, not Hilton so I am almost positive that it is their company policy and not Hilton's.

I guess what bothers me is that there was no mention of this tacked on fee when reserving or when checking in. I am all in favor of hotels adding technology and services but it seems unfair to charge every guest room a technology tax if there is no usage of the facilities. I know that it is only $3 but it is the principal of the matter.

Any thoughts?