wizla

It’s the morning of travel for my stay tonight, no preupgrade yet so I have not done OLCI or digital key.
I should arrive around 2-30pm but I’ve got a 270 mile drive down in apparently bad weather.
Will report back!

UPDATE- just noticed I’ve been upgraded to a king executive room on floor 6.
OLCI done and requested digital key.

wizla

Arrived 4pm due to bad weather, no queues at FD so got my keys cut and off I go to my room

KING EXECUTIVE ROOM - super king bed ( English size ) , room medium/large , fridge ( with two waters ) , nice decor, partial sea view on floor 6 at end.
Bathroom small but spotless and two robes again nice decor
I will upload some photos later.
Due to arriving late I will not have time to use gym but will go for swim and sauna.......will report back

wizla

....... pool area fairly busy but nice vibe, sauna plenty hot enough, locals seem friendly, I like the ice shower and the ice rub.......very nicely nice , the loungers are very comfy too.....monsoon showers in changing rooms are not very powerful but area clean and tidy...don’t forget to bring £1 coin for lockers.

I’m now in the lounge, arrived 6-20pm, keycard didn’t work but dragon rescued me and re cut card... it’s half full and there is 8 of us in here, yep it’s a small lounge and I could see this getting very busy at times, that said there’s a nice vibe in here, unfortunately my first impression was of some guy putting beers into his rucksack and filling a flask with whisky from the buffet , shame!, he’s left now and he knew I saw him.
There is a small balcony but the weather here is awful ......yeah, I like this lounge.

CANAPÉS - nice cheeseboard and crackers ( no grapes ), southern fried chicken drumsticks, veggie spring rolls, crudités, olives , dips and breadsticks.

BEER - Heineken

SPIRITS - beefeater gin , Jim bean whisky and white rum.

WINE - red, white .....no fizz ( Boooooooo )

The lounge is now full but it’s not uncomfortable although quite warm , no jacket required!, I’m going to be here until around 8-30 pm , not on stage tonight until 10pm so no rush......will report back!

wizla

Now coming to the end of happy hour and what have we learned........well, I prefer this lounge to the old one, I had a wander out onto the balcony now the rain has stopped and it’s okay, a few seats out there , no view to speak of but nothing unpleasant....... service has been good, nothing ran out, slightly disappointing beer selection and some fizz would have been nice too..... I did try the white wine with my cheese but it tasted very weak to me ( I’m no wine expert) ....hours are are 6-8 pm but lounge actually closes at 9pm .....the dragon just gave me the 10 min food and drink warning.
I haven’t eaten today since late breakfast so I did sample most of the food , the chicken was okay but the veggie spring rolls are really not good ( over cooked) ........ it’s been a great evening, the lounge remained fairly full all night with folk coming and going .
There is a selection of books to read in here too, mainly biographies which I enjoy, there is no toilet or shower facilities in lounge there are computers and a printer , there is a front desk but I’m not sure if check in/out is available in here.......I guess I better get to this gig......will report back!

wizla

...... got back from gig at 2am, still a few people in the bar having a nightcap, I didn’t indulge.
Slept well, very comfy bed, I also had a bath before retiring too and I have to say the bath tub is a good size.
I popped to the lounge to grab a coffee after waking and it was very quiet, take away cups available and I recommend an extra shot of coffee for cappuccino’s as it’s a little weak.
I simply couldn’t face the gym this morning as I was hungover somewhat but did use the sauna and pool, it was very quiet and peaceful.

BREAKFAST - I took breakfast in the restaurant ( was told as a diamond member I could choose restaurant or lounge ) , it was very busy and whilst the hot food was good it felt noisy and uncivilised , people in vests and nightwear, screaming children and people barging past , I bailed to the lounge to finish with a coffee and I wish I had my breakfast here as the spread looked nice and it was very peaceful as there was only one other guy in here.

CHECK OUT - I checked out at 10-30am, I used express check out , the box is on the front desk.

CONCLUSION- no complaints, there was a couple of issues.....I had to get my keys re cut twice also the hotel has a set of twin lifts at one end and a single lift the other, use the twin lifts!.....the one to the right of reception has a mind of its own and is faulty......all lifts require key card to operate.
The digital key worked ( I tested it ) I also noticed they left a plastic key card in room with a welcome note....nice touch .
I liked the lounge , yes it’s nothing amazing and no prosseco but I felt comfortable and relaxed, service was sharp and friendly.
I’m mindful of the other reviews and reports here but personally I enjoyed my stay and felt looked after with a nice upgrade and a very nice spa.....I would definitely return.

ROOM NO - 636

NEXT PLANNED STAY - Hilton Canary Wharf ( 17/6/19 )

wizla

King executive room -

wizla

New executive lounge -

wizla

UPDATE- just to mention upon checking my bill ( email ) I have not been charged for parking, don’t know if this is a diamond perk here or I got lucky.

cjd

Think you got lucky! Haven't checked out yet, but received email copy this morning of final receipt and it's showing 2 nights parking charges of £11 per night. Will ask at check out if it's a diamond benefit!

wizla

Ah ok....... what’s your opinion of the hotel in general ?

cjd

My wife and I really liked it. Checked in on Sunday at 3pm and we were upgraded to a King Corner Suite after booking a standard King room. Loved the room and decor. Large bathroom with separate free standing bath and large walk in shower. Second washroom/wc. Good size lounge with wrap around balcony. Photos up thread show the corner suite. Had 2 nights on a rate including breakfast and dinner. Ate in the restaurant each night and service and food very good. Visited the Exec lounge each evening for the last hour and it was rather small, but quiet and no problem getting seats. Didn't partake of any food as just eaten. Hot food was chicken wings and vegetable samosas. Shame there's no prosecco now. Had a swim in the pool on Monday late afternoon and had the pool to myself. All the staff very friendly. On checkout, enquired about car parking as to whether Diamonds got complimentary parking. Informed that the car park is owned by Horizon Parking and the hotel actually pays them the £11 rate per night for hotel guests and that is why guests have to register the car on checking in. Enjoyed the hotel stay, but shame the weather was rather poor. Surprisingly, I had pre-paid on an Advance Purchase Rate which included dinner, but for some unknown reason, I was given a refund of £17 off the rate at check out.

wizla

Sounds good!........ I was upgraded to the same on my previous stay, really nice suites and balcony but it was December so couldn’t take advantage of this.
Agree with the lounge prosseco, huge shame!, I stuck with Heineken Friday night but would have preferred some fizz.......... I also had a chat with the lounge dragon and she she said the lounge is hardly ever full during happy hour....... it was full at one point whilst I was in there but folk came and went,I was there from just after start until 9pm ( for research purposes of course ��).........great spa isn’t it, I too pretty much had it to myself Sunday morning.
I’m Glad you had a great stay!

lcylocal

Just finished a one night stay here.

All in all a good Hilton and will stay again.

Was pre-upgraded as a Diamond to a King suite, which was very large and nicely furnished. Only a single bottle of water in the room, which I gathered seemed to be policy, but another sent as soon as I queried. Sadly water in plastic bottles not glass, which seems odd given current focus on deducting plastic use.

Used the lounge which was nice. Hot options were chicken goujons and falafel. Only thing missing was any kind of sauce for the goujons and any crackers for the cheese.

The wine was pleasant. All soft drinks are served from a dispenser which means the range is limited: Pepsi, 7UP, maybe Diet Pepsi, tonic and sparkling water. Some more mixers and sugar free options in (glass) bottles would be a very good addition.

I ate in the restaurant afterwards. The food and service were really good but it was a bit on the pricey side for a non-London location. Part of the restaurant was being used for an office Christmas meal which became quite loud and intrusive - the hard floors and lack of any partitioning features didn’t help.

Breakfast was ok. Ingredient quality could be better, especially the sausages which seemed very cheap. The cold buffet too didn’t look up to Hilton standard. Poached eggs available cooked to order. Staff were friendly but no mention or special perks for status (I could see their list did not have status flagged). Paper napkins were used at breakfast, which I found a little weird given there were proper napkins used in the same restaurant at dinner.

I’m not sure if this Hilton offers a turndown service, if it does it wasn’t offered. It would have been handy given the number of curtains in the suite!

In the round, a very solid hard product, with a little bit of a tendency to cut corners on some of the soft product. This seems to be a bit of a pattern at UK Hilton’s which is a shame.

wedgeh2002

Staying here this weekend as a Diamond - no pre upgrade (yet at least). Read through a chunk of this thread, some interesting and useful information, thanks. On the whole seems like we should be in for a decent stay.

wizla

I liked it when I stayed last year but get to lounge early for happy hour as it’s quite small...... I would also try to get breakfast early too as it gets busy and noisy.