cjd

Had 2 recent stays at the Gatwick Airport Hilton, prior to flight and also on our return. First stay included 9 days parking in the adjacent euro car park. Due to accident on M25, we missed the evening Exec Lounge, but were given a drinks voucher for the two of us. Room was in the new wing and had no problems. Bed was comfortable and no aircraft noise. Good choice at breakfast in the restaurant.
On our return, we were given a junior suite in the old wing. Good size suite with large bathroom, but very small corner shower. Poor design, as there was room for a large walk in shower. Again, the king bed was comfortable and no aircraft noise. Nice to have the extra room in the suite. Took breakfast in the restaurant, so never saw the Exec Lounge on either of these 2 stays. Didn't get charged the above mentioned £1 service charge on either stay.

kyushuman

A one night stay last Thursday night. GBP98 so a great price. Had a 08:25 flight from Gatwick to Algiers Friday morning, so it was great to stay at the Hilton.

Pros:
10-minute walk to BA counters, fairly simple route.
Very good breakfast spread in the main restaurant, lots of options and seemed fresh and varied.
Breakfast begins at 05:30, which was great for me since I wanted to be leaving by 6:30am.
Spacious room in the "new" wing, though "new" only relates to the fact that the original wing is horribly old.
Quite friendly and efficient check-in
Rail station below had a one-day GBP17.10 Southern Rail ticket that allowed unlimited travel in Zones 1-6 in London and also the Southern Rail segments between LGW and Victoria Station.

Cons:
When I asked about Exec Lounge upgrades for HHonors Gold, I was told, quote: "At this hotel, only Diamonds get Exec Lounge. As a Gold you've been upgraded one category but not to Exec room". After checkin I looked online and saw that they were still selling Exec Rooms. Am I mistaken that HHonors says Golds get Exec Lounge upgrades if available? In other words, does this hotel follow the HHonors rules? For me it was actually fine because I went into the city to have drinks and dinner with a university friend and got back about 22:00. Morning breakfast was in main restaurant, which was excellent.
Furnishings were quite old and room was bland and without character

ab007

Completed a few stays here recently and will be back again next week. I've yet to be charged the '£1' but fairly happy with the property otherwise.

Usually upgraded to exec room (new wing) albeit last week I arrived late and hadn't done OLCI, I was given a room on the ground floor of the extension which I think may be a deluxe? Given it was late, the lounge was closed by that point and I used the restaurant for breakfast I can't say it made any difference to that particular stay.

For those not flying (or not away for long) I find the short stay car park (what you walk through to access the terminal) is usually far better price than the hotel parking and very convenient.

Breakfast in the restaurant is very good although it can get very busy, but I always opt for it over the lounge unless time is short. The evening offerings in the lounge are definitely cut back from what I remember a year or two ago, but the lounge appears just as busy. I worked in the lounge Monday afternoon from approx 4pm, it suddenly became crowded approaching 6:30pm and there was somewhat of a stampede when the food appeared, holiday makers getting their value for money maybe...? Food was well stocked and tables cleared etc, but I do miss the various things like cheese and biscuits which have gone.

I had a gold card holder checking in next to me this week, she was offered an upgrade to an exec room for £15 which I thought is pretty good value (considering the difference in room rate when booking, as appose to the value of what you get!).

Nickl

hugolover

£15 is all its worth. By far the worst lounge in the UK I have ever visited. Rooms in a shocking condition.

:D!

Golds are upgraded to rooms with lounge access at the discretion of the hotel.

Aloha1

I've stayed several time at the Hilton attached to Terminal 5. Found the lounge more than adequate and the on site Chinese restaurant is one of the best I've ever eaten at , including in China. Rooms are pedestrian but satisfactory.

treppenlaeufer

One night stay here this week, and was very underwhelmed. Likely the worst European Hilton I have visited in a long while. And definitely do notnopt for the lounge breakfast.

cjd

This is off topic, but assume you mean the Heathrow Hilton at Terminal 4. The Heathrow Hilton T5 is not near the terminal.

wizla

Yes I was thinking that too ?

kyushuman

I understand that-- just wondering if Lounge access rooms are available, it's fine for hotels to ban all Golds from Lounge Access?

ab007

I'm not aware there are any rules about upgrading Golds to exec floors (from what I can see on the Hilton site it indicates Golds may receive an upgrade of up to an exec room). Again at check in this week a Gold ahead of me was offered the £15 upgrade when he asked if he could have an exec room/ lounge access.

Following this thread with interest as I'm staying here once a week at the moment and the mayhem in the lounge is somewhat tarnishing my experiences, no wonder they need to limit the number of exec rooms they fill. Food and drink appear at 6:30 after which point it's hard to get a table and as soon as the food is carried out a crowd seems to gather - this week an orderly queue formed, in previous visits it's been more of a stampede!! Interestingly listening to the two work colleagues chatting next to me, one was in an exec room but the other had no status and was in the main/ old building - that kind of thing won't be helping the lounge capacity problems

Cymro

To be fair, they're not banning it, they're just exercising their discretion not to grant it.

This is a clear case of either pay, or accept it (and if you arrive after the lounge is closed, accepting it is no cost to you, albeit I did manage a free beer at 10+ p.m. from the lounge here!)

kyushuman

Actually, you just defined the word "ban"-- They have banned Golds from getting upgrades that they get at most hotels.
That said, again, I didn't need or want it that time I stayed there.
And yes, the lounge may be full, etc-- but based on the actual experience of the guy above who stays here often and watches lounge upgrades be sold to Golds, the policy is to never give Gold free upgrades to the lounge, against the HHonors policy of space available, and instead sell it.
(If it was "too full," how could they still be selling Exec Lounge rooms after I'd checked in?)

Cymro

The policy is not a space-available upgrade to an exec room, though. It is a space-available upgrade to a superior room, which usually means one category up (but explicitly says it can include higher floors, better locations, views, etc.) In practice, most hotels will honour a one-category upgrade.

In this case, if you book a standard room, you could get a deluxe room, which is a one category upgrade, without getting executive room access, fully within the policy. If you booked a deluxe, you would have some argument for getting an upgrade to the same bed type in an exec (unless the policy was applied harshly to the letter), but assuming you booked a standard room you had everything you were entitled to with an upgrade to a deluxe.