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Waldorf Astoria Panama {PAN}

Has anyone stayed at Waldorf Astoria in Panama as a Diamond member? Did you get an upgrade? Is there an Executive Lounge? I have been reading the benefits on the Hilton website and it does not mention complimentary breakfast. Is that not a benefit at Waldorf properties?

Since this is a new hotel in Panama, any information would be appreciated. Thanks!

Waldorf properties do not have to offer breakfast as a bennie to anyone.

I emailed the hotel and found out some information.

WIFI is complimentary for Diamond
Room upgrade is complimentary if available

The hotel does not have an Executive Lounge

And, as suspected, complimentary breakfast is not a benefit at Waldorf Panama.

Waldorf=Astoria do not offer the same benefits as, say, Conrad, Hilton or DoubleTree. Be sure to have My Way preferences selected; some properties are hardnosed about this issue, and a few will try to imply you have selected other benefits. Edited down to relevant parts,

Code:

Diamond Elite Membership...



Diamond Elite Members will receive the following during stays as a

registered Diamond Elite Member:



A 50% bonus on Base Points earned during the period they are Diamond

Elite Members.



Complimentary In-Room, High-Speed Internet Access during stays at

Waldorf Astoria™ Hotels & Resorts, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Hilton

Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton™, Embassy Suites Hotels™ and 

Hilton Grand Vacations™.*



Complimentary access during your stay to health club or fitness center

where available and where the health club or fitness center is owned or

operated by the hotel.*



Two complimentary bottles of water per stay at Waldorf Astoria Hotels & 

Resorts, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by

Hilton™, Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn and Hilton Grand Vacations

properties.*



5th Night Free: For every Standard Room Reward stay of five or more 

nights, one night is free. Members can utilize the 5th Night Free benefit on 

an unlimited number of stays annually. Applies only to five consecutive 

nights within the same Standard Room Reward stay at the same property, 

up to 20 nights, when confirmed at time of booking. No more than four 

free nights will be awarded per stay. If free night is declined, reservation 

is cancelled, or check-out occurs before fifth night, the free night is forfeited and has no cash, point, or Reward value. Point value of the free 

night is based on the average nightly point value during the stay 

calculated by dividing the total point value of all nights by the number 

of nights in the stay. A standard room is defined by each hotel and 

subject to availability at participating hotels within the Hilton HHonors 

portfolio of brands. Applies to Standard Room Reward stays only, not 

to paid stays. Does not apply when stay is booked as part of a Reward 

Stay offer, package, or promotion offered by Hilton or any of its partners, 

or at All-Inclusive properties or Distinctive properties.



Choose a My Way On-Property benefit. (see below, please)



At Waldorf Astoria® Hotels & Resorts, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Hilton

 Hotels & Resorts, and DoubleTree by Hilton™ properties, Diamond 

HHonors guests will receive upgrades to preferred rooms, based on 

availability at the time of check-in (excludes Napua Tower at Grand 

Wailea and Imperial Floor at Rome Cavalieri). Upgrades for Diamond 

HHonors guests may include the next-best available room from the 

room type booked. Upgrades may also be rooms with desirable views, 

corner rooms, rooms on high floors, rooms with special amenities, 

rooms on Executive Floors, or suites, as identified by each property. 



Upgrades exclude executive suites, villas and specialty accommodations 

(which may include, but not limited to, "Vista" and "Villa" accommodation 

types), subject to the discretion of the hotel. Group reservations and 

certain rates are not eligible for suite accommodations and may not be 

eligible for complimentary upgrades. All upgrades are granted on a space-

available basis for the entire stay, as determined at the time of check-in. 

Preferred rooms are identified by each individual property and may vary 

within each brand. Upgrades will be given only for one room for the 

member, regardless of additional rooms the member may have purchased 

at or after the time of booking. The following brands do not offer 

complimentary upgrades: Embassy Suites™, Hilton Garden Inn®, 

Hampton Inn & Suites®, Homewood Suites by Hilton®, Home2 Suites 

by Hilton®, and Hilton Grand Vacations®.



*In-Room High-Speed Internet Access, Fitness Center / Health Club Access, In-Room Movie and Bottled Water benefits may not be complimentary at properties with a resort charge.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HHonors

Diamond Membership My Way Benefits
WALDORF ASTORIA Hotels & Resorts

Space available upgrade to a preferred room or suite*
Choose two out of the following three options (members receive all three if a room upgrade is not available):
1,000 Hilton HHonors Bonus Points per stay
One in-room movie included with your stay *
Discount at hotel/resort/facility – either spa, golf or restaurant as designated by the property.

* Based on availability for the entire stay at the time of check-in. Upgrades for Diamond HHonors guests may include the next-best available room from the room type booked. Upgrades may also be rooms with desirable views, corner rooms, rooms on high floors, rooms with special amenities or rooms on Executive Floors, as identified by each property. Some exclusions based on rate and room type may apply. See Terms & Conditions for details.

** Where locally available.

I'm staying there next week for 3 nights and will report back. Anxious to see this property. For the last two years, I've been at the Marriott. Stayed at the new Doubletree a few months ago and it was pretty nice.

Just got back from a 3 night stay. Got the free water, got the 1,000 points. Didn't watch a movie. No fee for the gym. No room upgrade. I was disappointed with the no room upgrade since to hotel didn't seem that full. Every morning when I left my room, only half the rooms on my floor had newspapers in front of them.

Waldorf Astoria - Panama City, Panama

Just got back from a 3 night stay. Sorry no pictures. So I got a pretty decent rate here ($184) so I decided to give the hotel a shot, rather than do the Doubletree again. Sorry no pictures. Good location, 1 block off Balboa Avenue and by a bunch of restaurants and nightclubs. Smallish hotel. Reminded me very much of a W brand property.

Very warm welcome as a Diamond member, with a long, handwritten note in my room. But no Diamond room upgrade which is how my preferences are set. The hotel didn't seem that full. One way I judge this is by how many rooms on my floor have newspapers out in the morning. On my floor, only about half. But on the other hand, I never asked for an upgrade. Room 1502, nice view through the many high rise buildings. Average size room with a large and very modern bathroom. Salvatore Ferragamo soaps and shampoos. Lots of little push buttons for the lights, Welcome button by the door turned everything on. Privacy button made the doorbell outside the room red in place of a do not disturb sign. Service button changed the doorbell to green for housekeeping. Good night button by the bed turned everything off. Nice big flatscreen on the wall. Controls on the remote so I could switch the source to my laptop so I could watch DVDs I brought. 50+ channels on the TV, several in English. Very little storage space for clothes. 4 very little drawers that barely held t-shirts and socks. Minifridge with soft drinks and beer. Several pint (I think) bottles of hard liquor as well.

Nice but small outdoor pool and hot tub with full bar. Didn't go into the spa, but it looked very nice. Better gym than most properties, but dumbells stopped at 50lbs. 6 new weight machines and lots of cardio machines. Free bottled water in the gym which I took advantage of every day.

Lobby bar was dead every night. Did lunch in the Bistro and had the small tacos al pastor (very good) and the tuna nicoise bruschetta (also good). Had sushi at the sushi restaurant. Good and a good value. But 4 pages of the menu was "coming soon!". Never hit the bar. Note to future guests: The elevator that takes you to your room DOES NOT make a stop at the restaurant or lounge. You need to use the other elevator by the front desk.

They did have a free car service that took me to a restaurant a couple blocks away (I would have walked, but they couldn't figure out how to show me where to go) and to a supermarket for some wine and water. Tipped the driver. Late model town car and brand new Lincoln MKT.

Nice little bag of Panamanian ground coffee as a departure gift.

Was it worth the $$ premium over the Doubletree? Not sure. Probably if I got a room upgrade like I did at the Doubletree. Staff was great.

BTW, if you want a GREAT restaurant 3 blocks away, try La Trona. Fantastic!

Thanks for the review.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chicago Wine Geek (Post 20657619)

But no Diamond room upgrade which is how my preferences are set.

Space-available room upgrades are now a standard perk for Gold and Diamond elites at Waldorf Astoria properties. Preferences only pertain to the other on-property benefits (1,000 bonus points, spa discounts, etc.).

Yep, you are right MS...

BTW, I knocked it out of the park earning points here. Total bill was only $800 and I got 20K points.

7,325 base
Diamond bonus: 3,662
WA Panama 5000 PTS Offer: 5,000 (didn't know anything about that)
Q2 2013 HHonors Daily Grand Offer: 3,000
MyWay: 1,000

19,987 total. Cool.

Has anyone visited this property recently? I would love to find out what benefits there are for diamond members. Thanks!

I had an argument with the Hilton e-mail team about Gold members getting both benefits when a room upgrade wasn't available - had to copy and paste their own rules to get the 1000 points.

PANAMA CITY, REP OF PANAMA WALDORF ASTORIA HOTEL - March 2015

From the moment the bellboy helped us with our luggage until the moment we checked out and the front desk arranged for a private transfer to the airport, the service was excellent.
We checked in at 9 am and with a couple of calls, Diana made sure we have an upgraded room with a nice view of the bay. I was walked to the elevators and the suitcases promptly followed.
Rooms are large, mine had a small balcony; absolutely great bathroom with rain shower and tub with very comfy bath robes. Rooms were serviced quickly and efficiently and bottled water and Nespresso coffee replenished (even though once I had to call because they forgot to leave coffee).
Happy hour in the lobby bar is fun; the bartender seems to be a local connoisseur about the history of drinks and everything else you may want to know. Gin tonic was well executed; chips were a little off but quickly changed to a nice mix of nuts.
The pool area is very nice, a little noisy, but then again you ARE in the center of town. Water was refreshingly warm and the hot tub bubbly. There is a steam room, very elegant spa and an exercise room.
Dinner at the restaurant was brilliantly executed. Our white wine was kept on ice and served it a little at a time (big pet peeve of mine). The food was nicely presented and the sushi fresh and the rice a little warm.
Summary: if you are in Panama City, I highly recommend staying at the Waldorf Astoria. Would recommend a higher floor with water views (although all views are partially blocked). Would recommend the restaurant for breakfast and for dinner and stop by the lobby bar for a happy hour drink. Try the Abuelo 12 year rum.

Stayed recently at the W-A Panama and was offered free breakfast as a HHD benefit. I mention as I know that absence of breakfast often dissuades HH members. I also received an upgrade to a junior suite, it's a very nice hotel and received great service.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan72 (Post 25925234)

I wonder how consistent that is? I recently returned from Panama but like you said, I was dissuaded from staying at the WA because I know there is no comp breakfast. I opted for the HGI instead which, IMO, had a very nice breakfast.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ceebee100 (Post 25925943)

I was surprised, as I know that breakfast is not a HH benefit at W-A hotels, so I asked and they said it was because I was HHD. If someone is relying on it, it may be worth an email to re-confirm (perhaps at least until others report similar experiences).