Evo40

Any of the usual Hilton discounts should work (AAA, MVP, etc.), if they're available. I used MVP (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilt...-mvp-rate.html) when I was last there.

Other than what Google Maps shows me, I don't know anything about Morongo Casino. PSP is the closest commercial airport, but it's on the small side. If you're going to do more in Southern California than just one city/location, I would highly recommend renting a car at your arrival airport, if that's an option for you. It's a pretty car-centric culture there.

mommafrica

Thanks. I figured the same concerning renting a car and seeing more of Cali. Plus it's cheaper from BUR-LAS via SW @ $137 for 2ppl ai (1hr non-stop). This means 2 nights for the S/O at the Morongo and then a drive back to BUR.
I was talking about the restaurant for discounts. I already and always use MVP.

Evo40

Sorry for misunderstanding the discount!

I don't know of any discounts for Cafe Sierra...the best I could say is doing a reservation on OpenTable (for their points) and charge the bill to your room...at least you'll get Honors points for the dining spend. You can upgrade from the complimentary continental breakfast to full breakfast as a Gold/Diamond for about $10 p/p, if I recall.

acarney

Did a stay here at the end of October for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal. Literally right across the street from Universal and can walk over there, though you do kinda have to walk around from the lobby area around some parking lots to get to the street to cross. Certainly feels safe but might be a little annoying if there are a lot of cars coming or going.

Sheraton was still deep into a massive remodel & has the lounge closed and the WATER shut off daily from like 3 to 5pm or something which is why I picked Hilton this time. I like Sheraton more for the slightly cheaper price (at least I usually could get a bit cheaper) and being able to book a lounge level room. The lounge was perfect breakfast for me (also a vegetarian) with coffee, some fruit, and a muffin or something. Was quick, easy, perfect for what I wanted. Rooms were fine but felt very worn. If they’re done with the remodel I assume they’re much better now...

Hilton rooms weren’t like amazing, but very nice professional/business style. A good Hilton but not like resort best in the portfolio or anything. Breakfast buffet is ok, but super overpriced unless you get it free. You can upgrade for $10 but that gets you mainly a bunch of meats and stuff. Slightly better location for Universal and possibly better views of the park.

If the Sheraton remodel is complete it’s probably a toss up, or down to which has status/better point earning for you. Both have been busy based on my October Halloween stays in previous years, but I would say Hilton was busier and couldn’t offer me an upgrade (just gold) the night I checked in but if I wanted to move rooms they would upgrade me the next night. I skipped it since it was a short two night stay and I knew I wouldn’t be back to the hotel until like 1am the following night, lol.

mommafrica

How far are you from the Sheraton Universal Hollywood?

mommafrica

I'm slowly breaking it down to the Sheraton based on the shuttle to the studios (I'm disabled). I wish that they had a shuttle to BUR. Called the hotel and the concierge said that Uber is $6+ as opposed to the Super Shuttle $13x2. As long as I have no need for a car until our last day, we will be OK providing that restaurants and everything else is close by. I've already reserved a car at BUR for that day for BUR-PSP.
Someone said that the lounge is supposed to open next week.

acarney

Jesus, the lounge is STILL closed?! Man...

So by "studios" I assume you mean Universal Studio's? If so, yes, neither would really be an "easy" walk for you if you have some disability. Even with Hilton the properties (Hilton & Universal) are so large that it's still a 5 min walk with some down hill a little and then back up hill a little. Either I was completely stupid and couldn't find an entry/exit point with the Hilton that was close to walking over to the road and crossing to Universal, or one doesn't exist and they planned their hotel HORRIBLE for that. Honestly you end up walking around 3/4 of the property (if you exit near the front desk) and have to walk around basically on their parking lot/road ways. They have some sidewalks but not one long one around the towers to the "front" (the side facing the road and Universal studios). I felt fine since it was slow and well lit at night, but if there were shuttle buses and cars coming and going I would have looked crazy walking around with them driving next to me.

I'm not sure your level of disability (wheelchair bound vs some mobility, etc) but you might want to research/call Universal Studios and get some information on their VIP tickets. If you have limited mobility but can handle a couple stairs (such as what you would find on a shuttle bus) and walking some but not long standing in lines, the VIP might allow you to have a better day. I've done the VIP tour a few times. The back lot studio tour is closer to an hour and a half or two hours compared to the normal 30 to 45 min. You see everything you would on the normal tour, except you're in a smaller "tram" that carries like 25 people. It has two fairly steep/large steps getting in/off but is nicer and has more room compared to the standard ones. You also get to make two or three stops and actually walk around the back lot for pictures and stuff. Usually you get to go into one sound stage for five minutes or so and look at an active set (unless they're actually filming that day) and some extra stuff like that. If rides won't be your thing, or you'll be limited one which you can do, this might add a nice chunk to your day. They may also have a full wheelchair accessible VIP tram (and normal tram actually) so you might want to call and ask. In addition you also do all the normal rides and shows but have zero wait time in lines, like literally the longest wait is maybe two to three minutes. They also will be able to better explain if each attraction is suitable for you based on your ability and what you're ok doing. I've been on the tour three or four times and there have always been a couple people that want to skip one or two rides based on personal reasons and the guides have always been able to "drop them off" at a gift shop for five or ten minutes while taking the rest of the group to the ride and then gathering them back up for the next one, etc. They also have a fantastic VIP lunch in a nice little "hidden" indoor sit down location (with a GREAT outdoor area that has AMAZING views). It's buffet style but very gourmet. I've seen hot meats and sushi and baked salmon and stuff like that, but at the same time it's also pretty darn vegetarian friendly (as theme parks go) with probably 8 to 10 different food items that are marked vegetarian. The tour is a bit pricy compared to normal tix, ~$300/person but is well worth it if you can afford it and plan to spend all day at the park. You totally never wait in lines, get a great meal, get to spend ~2 hours on the back lot tour where you're usually sitting back relaxed as they drive you around, but get up and get to walk around a few times for a few minutes each time. Certainly call ahead and ask them about it and their accessibility options.

As for restaurants around the hotel... well there really aren't any unfortunately. Universal Studios is up on a hill and both hotels are about 3/4 of the way up the hill. Pretty much nothing else is up there besides offices and stuff for Universal. It's not far to get to Burbank or Studio City (literally like half a mile or something) but the hill is steep and probably wouldn't be something you wanted to tackle. You can Uber it probably, or if the shuttle runs regularly to Universal Studios and you don't have to have a park ticket to use it, you can do the Universal Studios City Walk. It's a decently sized out door shopping area with a big AMC movie theatre and a couple restaurants. A handful of quick service ones but also a few more "dine in" style ones. Hard Rock Café, Tony Roma's, Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, etc. https://www.citywalkhollywood.com/ It essentially butts up against the park's front gate, https://www.citywalkhollywood.com/Visit/Map/

I hope you enjoy and PLEASE post an update on the Sheraton thread on how the remodel went! Not a lot of people from here seem to hit this Hilton or Sheraton and post updates very often so sometimes information is a year or so old. I'll most likely be doing another Halloween trek down to SoCal and have the same tough time deciding on if I stay at this Hilton or at the Sheraton, so any news on how the remodeled rooms are, the lounge, and pictures or anything will greatly help me this fall

mommafrica

THIS IS/WAS GREAT! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!
And I definitely will post updates. That was the problem w/ this from the beginning as you can tell.

Mickidon

I just came back from the Hilton and maybe I had a string of bad luck but I would never, ever consider staying there again. Aware of lukewarm reviews, I decided to
try it anyway as I had a meeting a few miles away. The only reasons I can imagine staying there are 1) if all you want to do is visit Universal or 2) have to be there
for a wedding or conference. The location is odd for anything else - you just feel trapped on a hill with nowhere to go, other than to Universal Studios or City Walk
(super touristy and worth one short visit.) A few issues:

-we are gold and got nada at check in. I asked for water and was told it wasn't given out at that level, though I saw many others get it.
-booked on the Executive Floor and saw on the app that we were where we should be assigned, on the 24th Floor (though I didn't complete check in.) Upon arrival, two people were checking people in and the wait was 25 minutes. We were given a room on 18 and I questioned whether it was quiet and an executive room. Yes to both. Actually it was no to both - no robes, upgraded amenities and, worst of all, the floor was under construction, with a huge, dusty work space one door away
in addition to work being done around the elevators. I requested a switch and was moved to 24 to the very room I was originally assigned.
-toilet very sluggish, diverter on shower not working well and styling was a bit old and it was dark at night (only a few table lamps.)
-this is a big hotel but the lobby shop was closed every night at prime time. Apparently there was one employee and when she went on break, that was it.
To have the only snack place closed early evening at such a large hotel is ridiculous.
-the included breakfast is buffet and there is a huge emphasis on what sections are and are not included and the poor server had to explain it to everyone who walked in. The upcharge is only $10, so maybe be sporting and include in for executive rooms, since there is precious little else and certainly no lounge.
-The connecting door let in an incredible amount of noise, to the point that I actually got up in the middle of the night and rebooked on an early flight. By the way,
I ran into many people who were changing rooms for noise, construction, etc.
-At 3:45 AM when I left the hotel for LAX there was no one at the front desk and the bell phone went unanswered. I got a cab because the lovely woman cleaning
windows gave a big whistle and got the attention of a taxi. I would have liked to know there was some level of security in the lobby in the middle of the night, as
elevators do not require room keys to operate.

My bar was set low for this stay and this Hilton managed to slip under it.

acarney

Mickidon

The work on 18 looked significant - there was a construction door (open for the few minutes I was in the original room) and a big chunk of the floor was
isolated. Several people mentioned construction noise in their reviews on TA but what they are doing is not clear, but it seems to be a floor by floor project. If you are at least a floor away, I suspect you wouldn't notice. If you call ahead to find out exactly where they are working and then check in on the app to select your room accordingly, it should be fine. I was bothered by not getting the room I actually booked and was not looking for an upgrade. My guess is that someone moved out of our room and they tried to pawn it off on us- they seem to have this attitude that "people are in the parks all day anyway."

Apparently these hotels are benefitting greatly from the Harry Potter crowds and both are looking to add new towers. Although they are not approved, if they
are built, it will be miserable in many ways. As well, since the hotels are doing well as they are (and I do think our experience was uniquely poor), they don't
have a lot of incentive to improve.
Universal Hilton plans new tower as tourists flock to Harry Potter's wizard world
https://urbanize.la/post/31-story-ho...aton-universal

To digress, I did take the VIP Experience you mentioned and thought it was worth every penny and was a very efficient, pleasant way to see the park.

acarney

And that's exactly the position I'll be.... doing the VIP again (with a different friend this time, lol) and then the Halloween Horror Nights again, soooo... hotel plans look like this...

Check in Wed night ~11:30 or midnight (coming from Knotts Scary Farm), hit Universal ~8:30am Thur and return to hotel maybe at 5pm to shower or change for the night, back at Universal till ~1am. Wake up Friday and out and about Hollywood/LA by 8 or 9am and then hit Warner Brother's Halloween event till about midnight, then out of the hotel Saturday at about 7:30 to trek down to LAX to drop my friend off. So isolated construction won't be terrible for me unless they're working overnight. The concern I was having was if they would be turning water off at certain times (the Sheraton did last year) or shutting down some of the elevators for upgrades (again what the Sheraton was screwing with...)

acarney

Wow... not much love for this location is there?

I never got around to replying back here. I had a great stay in fall of 2018 here and then returned in fall of 2019 and had a.... rough stay. The actual room and time in the hotel wasn't bad, but the parking garage had major issues. There were a couple times none of the card readers worked and like 10+ cars were backed up and multiple people had to call for help. I actual jumped out of my car, left it running 2nd or 3rd in line at the gate and ran INTO the hotel to flag someone down to get out there and help because about 10 minutes had passed and no one could get out. (I was of course late for one of the halloween VIP packages across the street at Universal... just $600 worth of tickets for my friend and I... wasn't happy) It took another five minutes or so before someone finally came out and helped. They had to manually open the gate for EACH CAR. Like for every person the staff member would tried their key card two or three times, then swipe their staff card and open the gate, then try the same with the next car. I was about to explode that they weren't just opening the gates in both lanes to let the 15+ cars now that were in a line out. Screw checking everyone's card until you get the line clear!

I tested it when I came back around 2am and sure enough I couldn't get out again. I was able to back down and repark my car but went right to the front desk to ask for my card to be reprogrammed and to tell them they still had problems. The next morning I didn't want to deal with it at all so I went right to the desk and asked for the property manager. He was able to waive my parking charges for all three nights (like $100 or something) and award like 20k extra points or something. I probably should have pushed for more, but I was with a friend and wanted to seem easy going, but let them know I was upset with the quality. Then he gave me some paper "master key" that looked like a QR code and he said it would open the gate no matter what! EVERY staff member should have one of these magic keys and be told to go use it if anyone has issues with the parking gates, not just one head maintenance guy!

Anyway, the location can't be beat and I find myself booking again for this Halloween as long as it's safe to go...

Question I have is this, does anyone know what the executive floor is? This location doesn't have a lounge, right? So is it just a high floor? Anyone know if it's the top floor, top three, etc?

CHCflyer

I stayed here last week as I was flying into BUR and was visiting a friend who lives 15 minutes away. After a 20 minute wait to check in I was not thrilled to be told my room wasn't ready - at 18.00! They gave me a regular room overlooking the theme park. No recognition of diamond other to grudgingly say I have a whole $18 to spend on tips (that's what it felt like). A bottle of water at check in would have been nice as it was unseasonally warm - a couple of bottle sat on the in-room fridge, so not all bad.
I didn't try the restaurant for dinner but had a room service pizza - an inch thick of cheese was ....generous but inedible.
I went to the main restaurant and it has the ambiance of if high school canteen with quality to match. Convention centre tables and chairs set out in serried rows.
Room was big, clean and bland - probably refurbed back in the early '90s.
My exchange rate makes everything in the US seem exceptionally poor quality and value for money - Hilton Universal costs and quality really made my credit card wince.
This is a hotel where they really don't have to try hard - traffic just keeps rolling through the door and they can monetise everything associated with the theme park.
Check out took another 20 minutes as they seem to tap a thesis into their computer - entering China is easier. They need more than two on the front desk as every transaction seemed complex and required them to pop into the back office.
I won't be back - the Hampton Inn over at Sherman Oaks was more than adequate for my previous stay and mercifully without the party-goers.