wizla

wizla

Arrived at 3-15pm after a fairly easy drive up from London......very fast check in, preupgraded to executive room on floor 2 and received this via OLCI .
Room is very nice , fairly big, huge bed clean and great view of the countryside, bathroom a little small but great shower ( monsoon) and deep bath....bathrobes in wardrobe.
We went for swim , sauna and steam....... busy , screaming kids, in go the ear plugs......bliss!.......gotta say the spa facilities here are top notch and the loungers are very comfortable......my lady and I layed there for an hour or so.
Now back in room, will give the lounge a look but don't plan on drinking after last nights cocktails in London.....we plan to use restaurant or bar for food tonight and probably get an early night.......will report back!

cjd

Look forward to hearing from you. We are there again in just over a week with no grandchildren this time! However, it is Easter holidays, so I assume the pool will be quite busy with kids. We usually spend an hour or so in the lounge and then off to the restaurant, where up to now, the meals have always been very nice. Love the situation of this hotel.

wizla

Thanks, yeah it's nice here I've always liked it........ bagged a reasonable upgrade too.

Now in lounge, I was just gonna have a look and report on it but it's so good we ended up grabbing a table and sampling, very relaxed vibe and a very good offering!, beats last night at the Waldorf !

CANAPÉS- jalapeńo bites and chicken skewers ( sweet chilli dip ), very good cheeseboard and crackers, garlic bread and crudités.

WINE - Red , White ( no fizzy )

BEERS - Budweiser, peroni

SPIRITS - gin , vodka , whisky and Havana club

Yeah I like here, it's busy but doesn't feel like it.......few tables free.
Will try restaurant later , I better stop eating these jalapeńos!!!......haha, will report back!

wizla

Well lounge happy hours are officially 6-8 but it's now 8-25 and the booze and food is still out........dunno if that's the norm for here?.....gotta say it's very relaxed.....no one checks room nos , no keycard entry.......kinda works though.

RAPC

Yeah, it stays out longer when busy. When quieter they shut up shop earlier, but will pretty much load you up with whatever you need before they clear up.

It is rather relaxed, but at the busiest peak times they do check room numbers, but I've only seen it happen once or twice in stays there this year.

wizla

It was really nice mate, great offerings but I didn't touch the booze as I was slightly hungover from the Waldorf stay.

.......slept really well, beds comfy but very firm indeed but that's how I like them, early to bed and early to rise means I hit the gym early this morning, it's very good but not great as I was expecting as this is supposed to be the home of uk football, that said it done the job well.
Didn't use pool/ sauna.......maybe later at Hilton Manchester.
Now back in room, shower good and powerful but fairly small cubicle, forgot to mention- Starbucks coffee on level 1 balcony.......oh and my Sunday times newspaper arrived very early this morning.
Breakfast then check out.........will report back!

wizla

Breakfast a bit of a disappointment really, tasty but tepid, my lady waited ages for her tea to arrive, nice granola!.
Check out swift and we are on our way .

CONCLUSION- yeah, pleasant stay !, would happily recommend, they just need to sort the breakfast out.

ROOM NO - 243

NEXT STAY - Hilton Manchester Deansgate ( tonight)

njm42

We're here tomorrow night and looking forward to it!

Checked the app over the weekend and we'd been upgraded from a Compact Family Room to a Junior Suite... told my wife the good news and then went to check something this morning to find that we're back in the room we originally booked...

Will ask at check-in what was going on, and hopefully there will be some last minute flexibility! - Would always prefer not to be pre-upgraded rather than receiving it and then having it taken away!

adobbing

It's the Hilton one armed bandit in action again!
Stick or gamble!

Not sure whether you were able to check in at the time you spotted the upgrade, but when I now receive a decent room upgrade, I usually try and check in online in the hope that it secures it.

I too have experienced the Hilton Honors complementary "downgrade"!

wizla

Yep...me too....I watch the OLCI like a hawk the day before arriving and if it is good I go for it!.....good strategy.

adobbing

I don't imagine it's any kind of guarantee, but if they need your upgraded room for somebody else, I imagine they would first look at somebody who's not yet checked in!

I had a downgrade at an IHG hotel in the time it took me to get off the train and walk 5 minutes to the hotel check in desk.
OLCI not an option for them!

I also print off a copy of the "upgraded" room booking, or a screen shot, again this helps with negotiations at the front desk!

wizla

Yeah , that's my guess too - somebody not checked in yet.....again not sure but my gut feeling .....dunno but like you I always screen shot.

wizla

I'm not trying to rub it in but the j.suites here are very impressive!

njm42

Haha thanks...

Unfortunately check in wasn't available when it was showing

I received the text message welcome the day before, so queried it with them... was just told that upgrades weren't guaranteed, etc. They offered a bottle of wine, and I foolishly asked for a non-alcoholic alternative so was greeted with a custard tart that had been sitting on the side for a good view hours. Oops!

The Qatar team and visually-impaired Japanese team were there as well as a kids camp (not sure if residential or not), so I guess they must have been pretty busy.

Overall it was a nice stay - breakfast was definitely the highlight. Will be very happy to stay again (especially if I can get 7300HH and 2000 Avios for Ł130 spend inc dinner/lunch for us all).

Stayed at the DT Cheltenham on the way back down and was upgraded to a suite when I asked at check-in... the welcome and service was fantastic