I agree, especially given the early hour, it would be pretty tough if they couldn't accomodate you, and you found yourself having to look around for another hotel at that hour!

Assuming that you did not need to immediately sleep, if you tried checking in at 4 am and was told no, the hotel should at least be willing to hold your luggage for you. Maybe you could hang out in the lounge for a few hours until a room was available or work out in the hotel's exercise room and then eat breakfast.

Had a bad experience with The DC Embassy Row last month property trying to check in at 8:00AM after a Redeye from SEA. She very curtly informed me that she had rooms available but she would have to charge me for an additional night, she then added that everybody knows that when you fly a Redeye you will have to pay for two nights. Being a (lowly) Gold didn't change her attitude.

Only when I called the Capitol Hilton, who agreed to allow me to check in early. Did she grudgingly allowed me to check in "just this once".

I should note that the rest of the Embassy Row staff was exceptional, but this night shift front desk person spoiled our experience there.

Had similar but regarding a LATE check out at Dubai Hilton Creek. The flight was in the early hours of the morning and I didn't need to leave the Hotel until 10pm, they'd allow me the normal late check out ( 6pm I believe )but the extra 4 hours I wanted cost me a day. Of course I also had to checkin at about 2am when I arrived but had already booked the previous day.

Of course the extra day for the late check out didn't appear on my Hhonors account and still hasn't !

Nigel

Early check in?
 

I have an overnight flight in august to Newark and was wondering about early check in availability or how to get it. My flight arrives about 6am. How early can one check in. I'm Gold. I'll definitely ask for 11th or 12th floor.

Thanks,

Rod

Just ask.

Seems to vary hotel to hotel, and depending on how busy they are/arent, phase of the moon, etc.

Call and ask.

If you are talking about the Newark Airport Hilton, be aware those are the nastiest front desk people in the chain working that hotel, so if you call and are told it's available make sure to get the name of who told you and the rest. I'm pretty sure when you show up at 6 am whoever is snarling at you behind the desk will go "nope, can't do it", but if you tell them you spoke with so and so then it will be "Oh, should have told us that".

I havent been to Newark Hilton, but with some other hotels early check-in I usually do better timing for 9ish (compared with say 7am) when at least some check-outs will have occurred.

If you can swing it, and it's important enough for you, why don't you just pay for the night before and tell them you're arriving REALLY late ;).

I would think this hotel is pretty well booked during the week, and if I wanted a bed waiting for me, I'd pay for the night before.

Heck, they always fight me when I show up at 1PM. (Not specific to HH - SPG and MR do the same, just like they do for late checkout.) They usually tell me to beat it and come back after 3PM.

Be prepared for a nasty response - at least you can dump your bags off with the concierge.

If you get a nasty response, plop yourself on a couch in the lobby area closest to the front desk, close your eyes and start snoring very loudly. :D

Better yet, take off your shoes/socks and con the nearest housekeeper out of a blanket and pillow. Get real comfortable in the lobby. :D

The combination of early checkin + upgraded room is sometimes harder to accomplish than just one of them, in my experience... You might decide which you'd prefer in case it's an issue when you arrive.

My only experience this early was the Capitol Hilton in DC in January. The red-eye from LAX arrived shortly after 6 am, and we got to the hotel shortly after 7 am. They had a room available on the concierge level and gave it to us--no problem. Even had breakfast in the VIP lounge (I am Gold) that morning after setting the bags down in our room. It was a 4-night stay, so I got 5 breakfasts, and even had a late check-out on the last day. A good stay.

early checkin
 

I'm a HH Gold and had a three night stay at the Atlanta Hilton that started last Sunday. I got to the hotel about 10 am. I'd booked an exec floor room with the AAA rate that was basically the same as run-of-house. When I asked about whether a room might be available I was told that my room would be available at 11 am, but that if I checked in before 1 pm, there would be a $25 early check-in charge. And if I wanted to just go up to the lounge to wait, I'd have to be checked in.

Later in the week I was talking with a Diamond HH member who told me he'd encountered the same thing, and had paid it.

Already this year I've checked in early at the Hilton St Charles in New Orleans, the Hilton Perimeter in Birmingham, and the Hilton Fisherman's Wharf in SF. Is this early checkin fee a new chain wide policy or just a practice at some properties?

On top of that, I will say that I was disappointed by the executive floor of this hotel -- no glasses or ceramic coffee mugs in the room, only paper/plastic. Not very impressive breakfast or hors d'oueveres. Is it just this hotel?

Thanks.
tom