newbluesea

There's a Conrad in New York?

ColumbiaPete

Well there WILL be but it's a heck of a hike from the Waldorf.

http://embassysuites1.hilton.com/en_...-York/index.do

CMK10

I understand her disappointment but this quote really irked me.

Are pizza boxes for the lower class?

Thunderroad

The OP made a mistake. The article is in fact about the Waldorf-Astoria. Quite outrageous conduct by the hotel.

Especially given that it's NYC pizza, the best in the world!

But the more general point about being walked from a luxury hotel (even one as possibly overrated as the W=A) to the thoroughly mediocre Hilton still stands.

Echarais

I agree. There are stories of being walked to the Hilton, Marriott in TS, and some other lower budget hotels. I think our upcoming stay may be our last. The recent actions by this hotel, and the lack of concern to remedy situations speaks volumes, and staying seems like rolling the dice. We will be calling to confirm our stay a few times in case Cinderella decides to roll up and rent out the whole thing.

RichG

Excellent loyalty-building publicity in the New York Times for Hilton!
Just what they need.
Whatever the walked people got, I think they'll be getting more, particularly HHonors members.
The biggest problem here is not informing people beforehand, as soon as the hotel knew they wouldn't be honoring the bookings. The Super-8 down by the interstate doesn't have the staff to do that (yes, I've seen the Saudi royal family there), but the Waldorf does.

skimple

I think the Hilton is a more convenient location than W-A if you're with family and doing the tourist thing. But still, Hilton should have offered up more to the people that were walked than just a room at a nearby Hotel.

Personally, I think the W-A isn't that great, compared with other, non-Hilton options in the same price range.

Echarais

We called the W=A to confirm our stay next week, citing this issue, and our concerns. The reservations manager my husband spoke to said they'd never walk a Diamond member (which we are), but the hotel is near sold out and that walking on Christmas Eve when we arrive is a real possibility. YIKES! Can you imagine showing up with your family on Christmas eve, and then getting walked to another property? She also eluded to the fact that we will not be getting an upgrade because of them being close to over-selling the property. I think we will shoot for a comp'd breakfast buffet Christmas morning if that is the case...unless she is lying and we do get walked.

tennster

Why are you "shooting" for a comped breakfast? Did the hotel aggrieve you in some way (at this point)?

Echarais

Nope. They are pretty stingy to say the least. They said we'd have access to the continental breakfast in the club lounge, but I have celiac disease and cannot eat almost anything they offer. They have been pretty terrible in the service dept IMO. They act like they are doing you favors by "letting" you stay there. We typically stay at Intercontinentals, and we will be on the 2nd half of our trip. We just thought it would be fun for our little ones to stay at the W=A because it is decorated so nicely for Christmas. Unfortunately we paid the prepaid rate, and cannot get out of this reservation. Just awful.

Notenut

Did I miss something? Last I heard even Diamonds only got a voucher for a muffin and a Starbucks in the lobby. Since they stopped comping breakfast at Oscar's I haven't been back.
Also, there is no club lounge- unless you're talking about The Towers, which is a whole different operation.

Echarais

The lounge is in the Towers, and the woman we talked to said that is where they give access to if they cannot upgrade, even though you are not staying there. I'm not sure if there is truth to that. Starbucks is closed Christmas, so I supposed maybe that might be why...not sure.

Notenut

Please report back on how that works out.
Although I don't have personal experience in that area, many posts in the W=A thread have said that 'Towers is Towers, and Waldorf is Waldorf' and the two don't mix.

JDiver

Walking is actually pretty common, and perhaps most common in the upscale properties that are the preference of government diplomats, royal families, etc. Saudi oil, royal family, CIPs (Commercially Important Persons), etc. almost invariably trumps HHonors status - another good reason to actually avoid the upper crust properties during high demand times such as UN conferences, New Year's, etc. (Frankly, given the widely available reviews about the W=A and their lack of Diamond recognition, why anyone would want to stay here is beyond me, though I understand the idea of a prestigious name and enhanced security features here.)

There are many who have much more impressive DYKWIA credentials - and money! - than we do; imagine a Saudi official calling the W=A representing the Ibn Saud royal family (which all Saudi officials of importance belong) and offering to pay the highest fee displayed on the in-room placard - those you and I know are ridiculous and extortionately high - with a significant additional payment, plus the hotel's management knowing from previous stays a gazillion bucks will be spent on extras ranging from expensive foodstuffs to bubbly, courier, etc. etc.

It's also likely the "walk" will not be to a really great room in a really great hotel at rhe worst of times - those have already been sold. So the "walkee" is unlikely to be happy. (Though some denigrate the Hilton Athens, we got EL access and a decent Acropolis view room, and our award booking honored, last summer though Binyamin Netanyahu and a significant retinue booked in.^)

Also be aware of your complete rights if you do get walked - iirc, that means an HHonors Diamond gets a "Benjamin" ($100 cash) in addition to another room and transport to the new location (but note, HHonors status will not necessarily carry over to a non-Hilton property, where one might find themselves.)

To minimize being walked, people should communicate with the booked property if arriving late, especially during high demand times, or during a time of very high demand, and IMO just avoid the highest end properties during those times if there's a chance of those "haut falut" people being there too - they'll get the kowtowing and service, not you*. If you insist, communicate the day before expected arrival and perhaps once again the morning of arrival so you can troubleshoot and be ready to make the best of a walk or other issue.

(As a SPG Gold, I remember a stay at the Sheraton Libertadór where some service denials including a two hour late departure were all replied to with "ˇtenemos gente alta!" - "we have high people here!" Forget that place...)

There is a lengthy thread here about being walked as a diamond.

Thunderroad

"(Frankly, given the widely available reviews about the W=A and their lack of Diamond recognition, why anyone would want to stay here is beyond me, though I understand the idea of a prestigious name and enhanced security features here.)"

Many good, useful points, JD, but IMHO opinion your parenthetical one is the most on-target. Having stayed there once (which was enough) and read others' reviews, I think that at least some of the folks who stay there are those who haven't been there before and are unaware of better options with less prestigious names.