Friendly Death, is the Seattle one you are talking about the Arctic Club? If so, thanks for saving me a trip, I thought it sounded cool (no pun :D) but you made it sound awful!

+1

Arctic Club is a weird property indeed. Rooms meant to feel "classic", but for me were outdated. The layout was bizarre as well. Woodwork in lobby and bar were amazing and food was above average. Parking was on the opposite side of the block though the location was on the edge of town with light traffic. I'd stay there again, but have also used other properties in SEA.

Well, after the research I did and all your great suggestions, I received the actual certificates today and they are for any hotel in the "Hilton Worldwide portfolio of brands", so I can use them for hotels other than Doubletree. That is going to cost them a lot more than theWit would have. I was already planning to use points for the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai, the Conrad Tokyo and the Conrad Hong Kong, so these will save me 160,000 points and, as near as I can tell from the thread about BMG certs, earn me a whole lot of points. Makes it worth it to have had a sleepless night at the DT Times Square.

Heh, now we're talkin'. Nicely done. ^

Bonoman beat me to it and clarified as well as I might have: some people really like it, and it's got loads of "character", but the quirks aren't all good. I wanted to like it. But it was more weird than cool. Admittedly, my experience might have been flavored by the thin connecting door, where my kids and I got to listen in on an unavoidably-loud, soap-opera-worthy persuasive exchange between a man and a female coworker he was trying to talk into consummating an affair. (Honestly more cliffhangers than anything on tv that night. Spoiler alert: after an hour of his hard-sell schmoozing, her ethics kicked in and she left him without cheating on her spouse and his girlfriend. Let's hear it for the gal's morality win!)

Seattle isn't awesome for HHonors properties for me since Hilton dumbed down their top floor lounge and breakfast, though. I've had a number of subpar SeaTac area stays. Maybe the new HGI will be nice.

I had a hideous stay here a few years back (hopefully its improved...doubt it) - noisy, staff rudeness & a bizarre Hhonors breakfast experience made me check out & stay at the delightful Hyatt at Olive 8 - absolute perfection & total paradise compared to the DT :D

Wow, thanks again, guys. Will give the Arctic Club the deep freeze.

DoubleTree by Hilton Acaya Golf Resort, Lecce, Italy
DoubleTree West Edmonton, Edmonton, Canada

Two of my favorites but for very different reasons.

I wouldn't use certs for Edmonton since I can get very cheap rates there but the consistent suite room upgrades for diamonds, good restaurant, local dinner theater make for a great stay.

If you like being out of the way and taking in a variety of experiences, Acaya works. It was good to get out to various places close by including Lecce. There is golf if you are into that (I am not) but I liked the tranquility, room size (and upgrades provided) and good food in restaurant and for breakfast (lots of places in Lecce too)!. Definitely not for those seeking a city experience.

I love the KL location. The exec lounge is great, especially the out door seating looking right at PETRONAS. The breakfast in the restaurant is amazing.

I agree about DT Johor Bahru being very "cheap". I have never been impressed by their breakfast selection. The offerings in Makan Kitchen may look extensive but if you scrutinize closely, there's hardly any quality protein. I would skip their breakfast and walk down to Jalan Trus (about 7 min walk) where there are loads of cafes that serve excellent breakfast!

DT KL has better breakfast serving in their Makan Kitchen. However it can get really chaotic if the crowds are there. I have yet to try the breakfast at the lounge.

On my list would be:

- Charlottesville, VA
- Bethesda, MD
- Paradise Valley Resort (Scottsdale, AZ)

Indeed the DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur comes highly recommended, we enjoyed our stay there and would stay again in our future. Cheers! ^

What about the Doubletree in Sunrise, Florida? It gets really good reviews and is next to Sawmills Mall.

I like the DT Suites Times Square. Great location and all suites and best Hilton breakfast in NYC.

II also like the Wit DT in Chicago