flyingzzzd's

My last stay here as Gold I was informed Executive Lounge access was definitely not available. As they were not able to upgrade me to an Executive room (fully booked) then I could not get lounge access. No amount of explaining how little I cared about the room and how much I cared about the lounge access would get them to budge.

Finally I asked if I could pay for lounge access and that was swiftly approved! The lounge was 2/3 thirds full that evening and almost empty the rest of the following day. Needless to say I was not impressed.

Service here runs from wonderful to horrible. It is completely dependent upon the individuals you encounter. Surfers Paradise Hilton I have found to be much the same. If you want exceptional service from a Hilton in Australia, Brisbane is the property to go to.

jsmith50

Travelling to Australia 2-4 times per year, I have stayed in many of the properties referenced earlier in the thread. For my most recent trip to Australia last month, I needed rooms in Sydney on arrival in Australia and as we returned to Sydney for our departure flights to the US. Stayed at the Hilton on arrival and documented this experience elsewhere on the Hilton site. Refused breakfast at Glass, told to eat breakfast in the overcrowded lounge. On our return through Sydney, we made the decision to stay at the Marriott on Circular Quay. We could have stayed at the Park Hyatt, Intercontinental, Four Seasons, etc. for significantly less than the $700 USD/night the Hilton was charging for the cheapest, most basic room category. I've stayed in each of those hotels previously and had much nicer rooms and significantly better service than often is offered at the Hilton. I'm afraid they are, at least occasionally, pricing themselves out of the competitive market in Sydney for an inferior product than what other chains and boutique hotels can offer.

trm2

I wish I would have known. I was there that weekend also and agree, the lounge was packed with long lines for drinks.

I heard Glass tell a Gold that there was a charge of $29 each for breakfast, but I got it free as a Diamond.

sudosandwich

The reviews in this thread makes me want to cancel my reservation for next year and go with Shangri-La or Four Seasons instead. But then the only reason that's keeping me from doing so is the Hhonors program...

wheresmybagba

As a Gold my partner and I were always given free breakfast at Glass.

Speaking of Glass though, it was just a disaster on that Sunday - so many service fails, they really can't seem to cope with the busy periods, particularly anything that involves cook to order eggs! We did go for breakfast with a couple of friends, no status so they would have to pay for breakfast, the attendant at the front desk offered them one free breakfast as they were a guest of a diamond. They were happy with that.

I'm not sure if it was especially busy that weekend for some reason...I paid $169 for my room a few weeks in advance using the little league code but otherwise it would've been $199 which is pretty keenly priced - I suspect the hotel was completely full.

llamaesque

For better or worse I'm giving the Hilton Sydney another go next week, this time on a Friday rather than a weekday. Let's see if that makes any difference in terms of upgrade availability.

Susiew237

stayed here one night last week. We have no status. Booked an executive room so had access to the Lounge. We arrived at the hotel just before 9 and were very surprised that the lounge closed at 9pm as we would have like to go and sit and have a cup of tea. anyway, we were offered a free drinks voucher at one of the bars.

I have to say I thought the room was incredibly lack lustre. It felt really small and pokey and had no redeeming features at all.

Went to the lounge for breakfast and I did think that it was one of the better contintnental breakfast spreads I've seen for a while. However it would be better if they had cooked available.

overall, wouldnt stay here again. For the money, I prefer Intercontinental which has the most spectacular view in Sydney from the lounge.

wheresmybagba

Your plan seems a bit flawed to me. Booking an exec room for lounge access on a 1 night stay but then arriving at 9pm when 'cocktail hour' is long since over? I assume perhaps the exec room was the cheapest room available when you booked? Otherwise I'd be booking a standard room and stumping up for full cooked breakfast in Glass...the overall cost would likely be about the same.

Susiew237

yes I agree, I dont really know why we booked that room now that I think back. Perhaps we thought the "room" itself might be a bit nicer.

shillard

There are multiple room types/ configurations.

Some have baths, some don't, some a little bigger (mostly a little smaller)....

joetro

I am thinking of changing a couple days booked from the Park Hyatt to here, in order to save some PH points with a good rate of 190 AUD at Hilton. However, this would be right after coming from the US, landing in Sydney around 8 am. I would also ideally want to not have to pay for internet access. I'm a lowly Silver, with ATT home wifi. Given this, is there any possibility of (a) being able to get into a room early on a Saturday as a silver and (b) using ATT wifi code to avoid paying for Hilton wifi?

m0hamed

Most international arrivals into SYD occur early in the AM. The only way to guarantee an early arrival and access to the room is to prebook the night before.

The Park Hyatt are very good with accommodating early arrivals, but I have no experience at the Hilton.

You may have to wait until check in time. As for the ATT wifi code, I don't know if this has any bearing on Hilton internet but ATT does not exist in Australia.

You could buy a prepaid wifi device from many places outside the hotel.

jsmith50

I would agree with the previous post. The only way to guarantee a room is to prebook the night before, especially with a Saturday check in where it's not unusual for people to request late check outs. The LA to Sydney flights arrive early morning hours and frequently I have gotten on the train for downtown and arrived at the Hilton by mid-morning. My experience is very hit or miss with check in. They will always offer to store your bags so that you can sight see. On occasion, I have had them ask if I was willing to take a lesser room than I had booked (on one trip, I was given an handicapped-accessible room because it was available).

WiFi at the Hilton, if you don't have free access is quite expensive. The daily rate is high and they also offer a by the minute option if you just need to quickly check e-mail. However, they do have free internet in the lobby. You'll need an access code but you can get that from the front desk or from the concierge station. Your AT&T code won't work at all at this property.

Good Luck!

joetro

Okay, thanks. On the one hand I think it would be nice to save my Hyatt points. On the other, I had wanted to only stay in one hotel per city on this big trip so I wouldn't have to keep unpacking and moving, taking expensive taxis to hotels, etc. Good to know about wifi. I really want to use it to check e-mail and get my map bearings straight, not for work. But, I do really need to have it at times, and I don't want to pay the $29 fee.

wharvey

We are going to Sydney in November... I was looking for a room using points...

Cheapest room on points: King Executive Room or Twin Executive Room for 123,217 points per night. OUCH!