Right to gold
Jan 27, 2002, 2:28 pm
#17
formerly known as 2lovelife
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: ORF : UA_Premier_Gold4Life, Bonvoy_titanium, Accor_Plat
Posts: 6,952
I have great luck with the upgrades.... and breakfast.
Fountainblue gave us four breakfast certs., Seattle Downtown, Hawaiian Villiage, Dulles, Various Hamptons, Doubletrees. No complaints.
My yearly count is low as Priceline stays never counted. I didn't expect points, but tried to have my HH# added. The front desk must hate priceline as it is never added.
I do cough up enough for the paid stays. I do find Value, so it's worth it.
Fountainblue gave us four breakfast certs., Seattle Downtown, Hawaiian Villiage, Dulles, Various Hamptons, Doubletrees. No complaints.
My yearly count is low as Priceline stays never counted. I didn't expect points, but tried to have my HH# added. The front desk must hate priceline as it is never added.
I do cough up enough for the paid stays. I do find Value, so it's worth it.
Jan 28, 2002, 8:25 pm
#18
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 3,062
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by seanthepilot:
Fountainblue gave us four breakfast certs</font>
Fountainblue gave us four breakfast certs</font>
Jan 29, 2002, 10:31 am
#20
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Anywhere and Everywhere
Posts: 318
I am Gold and have had good success. I have always gotten breakfast and frequently gotten upgraded. Curiously, I usually get MORE bennies on award stays (see my post on Hilton Malta); maybe this is because I have always used Point Stretcher awards and maybe the hotels aren't very full then, by definition??? Maybe?? I do try to travel at off-peak times ordinarily. I do travel with a copy of the rules but have never had to use them. Nor have I ever had to pay any taxes on award stays.
One time I stayed at the Doubletree and got all the bennies, but the shower drip was so loud that I asked to be moved to another room. They moved me, but didn't change things in the computer system. So, when my guest showed up, they rang the wrong room. My guest thought I had stood her up. The manager called my friend and explained that it was their fault and not mine.
I also had the manager of the Sydney Hilton call me all the way from Oz to straighten out a very minor billing issue ($12 AUD). Another time in Barcelona, I couldn't find a restaurant I was looking for. The bellhop started to draw me a detailed map, then said he was getting off work in 10 minutes and would be happy to walk me there. This did result in my buying him several cavas, which then resulted in him taking me to numerous other local bars that he favored, which ultimately resulted in complete chaos. I felt this was excellent service.
Recently in Amsterdam, I could not find a taxi driver who knew where my hotel was and I did not have the address on me. I went into the Amsterdam Hilton, where I was definitely NOT staying, and the concierge made numerous phone calls to find the hotel, which had recently changed its name. It turned out to be pretty close, and he offered me an umbrella for the walk over there (which I declined as I would rather get wet than walk around with an umbrella in my hand). This was without identifying myself as having any status; in other words, they would have done this for any other lost idiot regardless of gold, blue, purple, mauve, etc.
So I think Gold status is definitely worth it and I have had consistently excellent experiences at Hilton and its other participating chains.
Doakes
One time I stayed at the Doubletree and got all the bennies, but the shower drip was so loud that I asked to be moved to another room. They moved me, but didn't change things in the computer system. So, when my guest showed up, they rang the wrong room. My guest thought I had stood her up. The manager called my friend and explained that it was their fault and not mine.
I also had the manager of the Sydney Hilton call me all the way from Oz to straighten out a very minor billing issue ($12 AUD). Another time in Barcelona, I couldn't find a restaurant I was looking for. The bellhop started to draw me a detailed map, then said he was getting off work in 10 minutes and would be happy to walk me there. This did result in my buying him several cavas, which then resulted in him taking me to numerous other local bars that he favored, which ultimately resulted in complete chaos. I felt this was excellent service.
Recently in Amsterdam, I could not find a taxi driver who knew where my hotel was and I did not have the address on me. I went into the Amsterdam Hilton, where I was definitely NOT staying, and the concierge made numerous phone calls to find the hotel, which had recently changed its name. It turned out to be pretty close, and he offered me an umbrella for the walk over there (which I declined as I would rather get wet than walk around with an umbrella in my hand). This was without identifying myself as having any status; in other words, they would have done this for any other lost idiot regardless of gold, blue, purple, mauve, etc.
So I think Gold status is definitely worth it and I have had consistently excellent experiences at Hilton and its other participating chains.
Doakes
Jan 29, 2002, 11:39 am
#21
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Sacramento area, CA USA
Programs: UA Gold Million Miler, HH Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,858
Hilton Sophia Bulgaria: Gold on half price UA certs. Hotel, who normally has free shuttle to airport only, insisted on taking us free to the train station and the driver insisted on carrying my luggage, while my husband followed, right to our seats on the train so we would not have problems with the language. FREE. They also booked our train tickets. FREE. We LOVED that hotel. They really treated us like Gold all the way: upgraded room, lounge, etc. Smiles, charm, efficiency. What more could you want???