Hilton Cancun Golf & Spa Resort {MEX} (no longer Honors)
Jan 1, 2007, 1:33 pm
#586
Moderator: Hilton Honors, Practical Travel Safety Issues & San Francisco
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: San Francisco CA
Programs: UA, Hilton, Priceline, AirBnB
Posts: 11,005
in this case the best recourse might be to ask the hotel...
although things can change, I think this might be your best bet. I don't see things changing much between now and April?
Jan 1, 2007, 11:58 pm
#587
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Philadelphia, LAX, Paris
Programs: UA 1K/2MM, SPG/Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Lifetime HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, AA Exec Plat
Posts: 3,327
Thanks for all those nice replies and comments! Yes, Dawn, I remember you, although I'm a little jealous that you've gone to Cabo for 2 years now without coming back to Cancun! For everyone who has plans to visit next year, I think you are really going to be impressed. The great staff is the same, of course, but with $43M of post-hurricane repairs and improvements, you are going to love it. I wish I could vacation there with my own family sometime!
For those of you who asked, I am now at the Hilton Miami Airport. Just started and trying to get the lay of the land. I typically don't implement a lot of changes right away when I get to a new hotel, rather I like to observe things for a few months. This hotel has a great staff too and it is not your stereotypical airport property. It is very beautiful and always busy! If anyone has experience at the Hilton Miami Airport, please feel free to post or private message suggestions. I would love to hear from you.
Dave
P.S. - I suppose I should change my screen name at some point. The Hilton Cancun's address was Kulkulcan Blvd. Kilometer 17, hence the moniker I used. Miami Airport is on Blue Lagoon - I'll have to see if that one is taken!
For those of you who asked, I am now at the Hilton Miami Airport. Just started and trying to get the lay of the land. I typically don't implement a lot of changes right away when I get to a new hotel, rather I like to observe things for a few months. This hotel has a great staff too and it is not your stereotypical airport property. It is very beautiful and always busy! If anyone has experience at the Hilton Miami Airport, please feel free to post or private message suggestions. I would love to hear from you.
Dave
P.S. - I suppose I should change my screen name at some point. The Hilton Cancun's address was Kulkulcan Blvd. Kilometer 17, hence the moniker I used. Miami Airport is on Blue Lagoon - I'll have to see if that one is taken!
Your staff at the Hilton Cancun was amazing! Some of the best and friendliest staff that I have encountered in my worldwide travels.
We also stayed at the Westin Regina down the road from your place in July (just to compare) and my wife flat out preferred the Hilton Cancun, even though the Westin was not bad.
I will be booking the Hilton MIA on all my travel to South Florida from now on. Best wishes on your success at MIA for 2007.
Jan 2, 2007, 12:04 am
#588
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Philadelphia, LAX, Paris
Programs: UA 1K/2MM, SPG/Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Lifetime HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, AA Exec Plat
Posts: 3,327
My personal experience is that the staff at the Hilton Cancun is wonderful, and I would go as far as calling them fantastic!
Since you will be staying at the hotel before AND after your tour, I do not see any reason why they cannot store your luggage for you - I store my luggage quite often at lots of different hotels (Hilton and others) over the weekend and even for weeks at a time if I plan to return to the property because of a long project.
That said, a simple 5 minutes phone call to the hotel should take care of your concerns - it's quite amazing that practically everyone in Cancun speak English very well, unlike in other parts of Mexico.
Since you will be staying at the hotel before AND after your tour, I do not see any reason why they cannot store your luggage for you - I store my luggage quite often at lots of different hotels (Hilton and others) over the weekend and even for weeks at a time if I plan to return to the property because of a long project.
That said, a simple 5 minutes phone call to the hotel should take care of your concerns - it's quite amazing that practically everyone in Cancun speak English very well, unlike in other parts of Mexico.
Jan 3, 2007, 6:44 am
#589
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: SFO
Programs: AY Plat, LH FTL
Posts: 7,374
Excellent: Staff - friendly and professional interaction with EVERYONE I had contact with!!
Good: Infrastructure - great location and a resort like setting with all the typical resort services and amenities. This place has a lot of potential!!
Bad: caveat, I was on a "room selected at check-in" rate during a busy holiday weekend. However, I did not receive my preferred choice of a king bed and was allocated a very old, tired and noisy room on a so-called Honors floor. This was probably the worst Hilton room I stayed in all year!
Another bad - HHonors benefits are merely adequate - a chocolate bar and access to the Exec lounge including continental b-fast, evening appetizers but pay as you go alcohol. I know this is consistent with the minimum Hhonors recognition however, there are other properties that go beyond the minimum and when given a choice, those are the properties I will patronize.
Conclusion: Given the not so nice room I received and the minimal Hhonors recognition, my money would have been better spent at a Hamption Inn or a Homewood Suites where I would have likely received a more modern room, a more complete breakfast and in the case of Homewood, a light evening meal and a drink or 2 gratis.
You've got the means and the track record to improve the shortcomings I mentioned. At some point, I'll give your property another chance.
Jan 3, 2007, 6:49 am
#590
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Philadelphia, LAX, Paris
Programs: UA 1K/2MM, SPG/Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Lifetime HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, AA Exec Plat
Posts: 3,327
Quick trip report:
Excellent: Staff - friendly and professional interaction with EVERYONE I had contact with!!
Good: Infrastructure - great location and a resort like setting with all the typical resort services and amenities. This place has a lot of potential!!
Bad: caveat, I was on a "room selected at check-in" rate during a busy holiday weekend. However, I did not receive my preferred choice of a king bed and was allocated a very old, tired and noisy room on a so-called Honors floor. This was probably the worst Hilton room I stayed in all year!
Another bad - HHonors benefits are merely adequate - a chocolate bar and access to the Exec lounge including continental b-fast, evening appetizers but pay as you go alcohol. I know this is consistent with the minimum Hhonors recognition however, there are other properties that go beyond the minimum and when given a choice, those are the properties I will patronize.
Conclusion: Given the not so nice room I received and the minimal Hhonors recognition, my money would have been better spent at a Hamption Inn or a Homewood Suites where I would have likely received a more modern room, a more complete breakfast and in the case of Homewood, a light evening meal and a drink or 2 gratis.
You've got the means and the track record to improve the shortcomings I mentioned. At some point, I'll give your property another chance.
Excellent: Staff - friendly and professional interaction with EVERYONE I had contact with!!
Good: Infrastructure - great location and a resort like setting with all the typical resort services and amenities. This place has a lot of potential!!
Bad: caveat, I was on a "room selected at check-in" rate during a busy holiday weekend. However, I did not receive my preferred choice of a king bed and was allocated a very old, tired and noisy room on a so-called Honors floor. This was probably the worst Hilton room I stayed in all year!
Another bad - HHonors benefits are merely adequate - a chocolate bar and access to the Exec lounge including continental b-fast, evening appetizers but pay as you go alcohol. I know this is consistent with the minimum Hhonors recognition however, there are other properties that go beyond the minimum and when given a choice, those are the properties I will patronize.
Conclusion: Given the not so nice room I received and the minimal Hhonors recognition, my money would have been better spent at a Hamption Inn or a Homewood Suites where I would have likely received a more modern room, a more complete breakfast and in the case of Homewood, a light evening meal and a drink or 2 gratis.
You've got the means and the track record to improve the shortcomings I mentioned. At some point, I'll give your property another chance.
Jan 4, 2007, 1:24 am
#591
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: FRA/FLL
Programs: AA, LH, others
Posts: 347
work2fly commented on his trip to MIA, I would think, not Cancun:
and then
Jan 4, 2007, 9:11 am
#593
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: RIC
Programs: US CP, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Plat, *wood Gold, Amex Plat
Posts: 1,600
For those of you who asked, I am now at the Hilton Miami Airport. Just started and trying to get the lay of the land. I typically don't implement a lot of changes right away when I get to a new hotel, rather I like to observe things for a few months. This hotel has a great staff too and it is not your stereotypical airport property. It is very beautiful and always busy! If anyone has experience at the Hilton Miami Airport, please feel free to post or private message suggestions. I would love to hear from you.
Jan 4, 2007, 9:45 am
#594
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Philadelphia, LAX, Paris
Programs: UA 1K/2MM, SPG/Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Lifetime HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, AA Exec Plat
Posts: 3,327
Dear Dave,
It looks like you will have some work to do to transform the Hilton MIA into a place that will please this very tough FT crowd
This is especially important for Hilton since one of your competitors, the Westin Diplomat in nearby Fort Lauderdale, is a favorite of this tough FT crowd in how the hotel goes out of its way to treat SPG Platinum members (like myself) like true VIP with upgrades to some of their best suites.
As a HH Diamond member and SPG Platinum member, I can choose to give my business to either of my 2 favorite chains. In Cancun, Hilton won out over Westin (for now), and I will see if that will be the case in South Florida
Best wishes for your success at MIA, and hope to see you post on FT again soon.
It looks like you will have some work to do to transform the Hilton MIA into a place that will please this very tough FT crowd
This is especially important for Hilton since one of your competitors, the Westin Diplomat in nearby Fort Lauderdale, is a favorite of this tough FT crowd in how the hotel goes out of its way to treat SPG Platinum members (like myself) like true VIP with upgrades to some of their best suites.
As a HH Diamond member and SPG Platinum member, I can choose to give my business to either of my 2 favorite chains. In Cancun, Hilton won out over Westin (for now), and I will see if that will be the case in South Florida
Best wishes for your success at MIA, and hope to see you post on FT again soon.
Jan 6, 2007, 8:44 am
#595
Join Date: Feb 2006
Programs: HH Silver, MR Plat Prem & LT Plat, Hyatt Plat,SPG Plat, Hertz PC, National EE, UA 1K
Posts: 3,405
Dave,
Best of luck in MIA. I have stayed at that property a while back...like someone else said...some work must be done there!
OT, but could you get me a good room for Superbowl weekend?! HA!
Hope to see you soon...I will try Hilton MIA again and get away from "M" at this location!
Best of luck in MIA. I have stayed at that property a while back...like someone else said...some work must be done there!
OT, but could you get me a good room for Superbowl weekend?! HA!
Hope to see you soon...I will try Hilton MIA again and get away from "M" at this location!
Jan 20, 2007, 8:07 am
#596
Join Date: Jan 2005
Programs: Hilton (Gold), Starwood
Posts: 152
Hilton Cancun photos and info/just returned
Hola! We have returned from the Hilton Cancun this week. We only stayed one night and then on to the Moon Palace all-inclusive resort. Here is a link to a slideshow I put together if you would like to see photos of the resort and rooms. We stayed in a "standard" room and have photos of that. I took outside photos of the "deluxe" rooms with the larger balcony as well as the villas. Everything was excellent except for a very bad tasting pina colada. They must have forgot some ingredients or something - but at 80 pesos - we didn't want to try a second. We should have just sent the first one back. Other than that, the resort was excellent from comfy beds to fabulous service! We have stayed at 6 resorts in the Cancun/Rivieria Maya area so know a lot about the area. It was unusually windy when we were at the Hilton so there was no way to swim at the beach, but the blue waves were gorgeous - just breathtaking!! We also used the bus system if anyone has questions on that.
http://www.shockwave.com/rd/photojam...9259901066_434
http://www.shockwave.com/rd/photojam...9259901066_434
Jan 20, 2007, 9:08 am
#597
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Northeastern US
Programs: HH Gold
Posts: 71
The Hilton Cancun advertises queen size beds yet a review recently on TripAdvisor stated that they are not queen; that they are, in fact, double size beds.
The difference is of course significant and VERY important to us as we are bringing our daughter with us on this trip in March and must have queens not doubles or we'll need to make a change to our reservation. Last year at the Pierre Marques in Acapulco we booked a king with a roll-away and our daughter (who is 5'10") was miserable sleeping on what was essentially a low-quality cot for nine nights.
Can you tell us the true bed sizes in the double occupancy rooms at the Cancun Hilton?
D. Whitley
The difference is of course significant and VERY important to us as we are bringing our daughter with us on this trip in March and must have queens not doubles or we'll need to make a change to our reservation. Last year at the Pierre Marques in Acapulco we booked a king with a roll-away and our daughter (who is 5'10") was miserable sleeping on what was essentially a low-quality cot for nine nights.
Can you tell us the true bed sizes in the double occupancy rooms at the Cancun Hilton?
D. Whitley
Jan 20, 2007, 10:40 am
#598
Join Date: Jan 2005
Programs: Hilton (Gold), Starwood
Posts: 152
We had a king bed sorry. I searched and online on different sites there are descriptions as 2 queen beds and 2 double beds(hotel-rates dot com). To be safe, you better assume they are double beds I guess. Perhaps emailing the resort would be helpful. Good luck.
Jan 20, 2007, 4:22 pm
#599
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Philadelphia, LAX, Paris
Programs: UA 1K/2MM, SPG/Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Lifetime HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, AA Exec Plat
Posts: 3,327
I have a totally different position. For us, hands down, we'd pick a Jr. Suite any day of the week. Most importantly, we have different hours. We always will. I am up at 5:00 a.m. and hubby will sleep in until 10:00, even on vacation...or should I say, especially on vacation.
So.....given the chance to have a suite with two distinct and separate rooms, hands down we'll take the latter. I get to get up the morning, go for a run, have my coffee, and not have to worry about disturbing my husband. I don't like having to be quiet or not turning lights on...and this is perfect because I can close the door and I don't have to worry about any of it. There is a door to the balcony from both the bedroom and the living room area.
The balcony is AWESOME. We figured it was about 400-500 square feet. It was very, very private too. I don't understand the comment about a one-person spa....I am 5'8" and hubby uis 6' and we both fit into it fine. In fact, we had our coffee/tea in the tub about 3 mornings.
We actually liked being in the hotel. The spa was close, the exercise room is in the hotel and the restaurants were nearby. The walk to the lounge was not bad at all.
I would pick the suite over the villa any day of the week. I can always walk down to the beach and I surely wouldn't give up the two rooms to be closer to the beach. You feel like you are sitting on top of the water from the awesome view from the balcony as it is!
I have a photo album on kodakgallery.com of our trip, including many pictures of the property. If anyone wants to see it, email me at [email protected]. You do not have to sign in to view the pictures any longer.
Dawn
So.....given the chance to have a suite with two distinct and separate rooms, hands down we'll take the latter. I get to get up the morning, go for a run, have my coffee, and not have to worry about disturbing my husband. I don't like having to be quiet or not turning lights on...and this is perfect because I can close the door and I don't have to worry about any of it. There is a door to the balcony from both the bedroom and the living room area.
The balcony is AWESOME. We figured it was about 400-500 square feet. It was very, very private too. I don't understand the comment about a one-person spa....I am 5'8" and hubby uis 6' and we both fit into it fine. In fact, we had our coffee/tea in the tub about 3 mornings.
We actually liked being in the hotel. The spa was close, the exercise room is in the hotel and the restaurants were nearby. The walk to the lounge was not bad at all.
I would pick the suite over the villa any day of the week. I can always walk down to the beach and I surely wouldn't give up the two rooms to be closer to the beach. You feel like you are sitting on top of the water from the awesome view from the balcony as it is!
I have a photo album on kodakgallery.com of our trip, including many pictures of the property. If anyone wants to see it, email me at [email protected]. You do not have to sign in to view the pictures any longer.
Dawn
Jan 22, 2007, 10:12 am
#600
Join Date: Jan 2005
Programs: Hilton (Gold), Starwood
Posts: 152
I am very impressed. I received an email from the director of food and beverage after I shared we had a bad pina colada last Sunday. Hilton sent us a survery after our stay, and I mentioned this. The follow up is appreciated and sounds like they will follow through with making sure the bartenders at the swim up bar really know the recipe of the pina colada. Great job Hilton! ^