tkelvin69

Breakfast is quite good. Order off the menu with a good selection.

tkelvin69

Well, they have become firm on the no breakfast policy and state the drink coupons (2 for the stay) are an alternative benefit. When I stated there isn't any notice of the waiver of the benefit on the website they say they cannot change corporate websites. We know this to be false and many sites have additional information - pool closed, construction, poor wifi, etc. The next excuse is they don't offer a continental breakfast. How hard is it to have some bagels, fruits, juice and coffee? I offered to cancel my reservation and go elsewhere but was told I was past the cancellation time.

This is clearly a bait and switch with the property being cheap and not wanting to provide the benefit and not wanting it public knowledge. Shame on the Boulders.

storewanderer

Unacceptable.

Short answer is the property has some kind of "waiver" from Hilton to not provide free breakfast to HHonors Members through September 1. No clear reason why they have this waiver. They have facilities that can produce breakfast so I do not see any reason for this.

Perhaps HHONORS REPRESENTATIVE can look into this further, for the second time.

Not sure how much time you want to waste while you are there dealing with this. But if you want to handle it while you are there, ask to speak to hotel manager, named S***y. Once that fails (or if they refuse to connect you to her), let them know you will be contacting Hilton Corporate immediately. Then, send an e-mail to M**k N***l who is global head at Hilton Corporate over the Curio brand.

The other option I'd suggest if you'd rather not confront this issue directly in the middle of your stay is doing the breakfast (charge to room) then at check out if they refuse to honor the benefit (remove it from the bill) then let them know you will be filing a complaint with Hilton over their non-compliance with the terms of the Honors Program. Again for that I suggest you contact M**k N***l. Contact repeatedly until this is resolved.

I cannot stress enough what a bad taste has been left in my mouth by this property due to this issue. Nor can I believe what I had to do to get this hotel to actually honor the benefit this year. Waste of my time, their time, Hilton Corporate's time... probably took me two hours total to make it happen. Frankly, while I truly believe this is a "one off" rogue property in the program, it really creates an integrity issue for me with Hilton. How can I trust their Honors program to provide the advertised benefits? I've never had any issues before, never heard of this issue happening anywhere else... but in the back of my mind, I will not forget the miserable experience with the Boulders and subsequently Hilton corporate over this matter.

I am sure many properties would love to not pay for the breakfast benefit but this property is so arrogant and rogue that they willfully refuse to honor the posted benefit hoping that the "guest" does not fight them over it. Then, they fight with the guest a few rounds before they finally cave in and honor the benefit. You'd think you were asking them to give you a free TV at check out or something with how they are handling this.

tkelvin69

I did speak with the GM via phone 480 595 4688 and she was holding the line even though when presented with challenges to her lies - cannot change the website, cannot provide continental breakfast, never have provided breakfast since becoming curio (I've had 2 stays with breakfast) on the basis "if I give you breakfast then I'd have to give it to everyone". I think the front desk has been fed this inaccurate information and take the brunt of a GM without vision.

I'll take you up on the Curio contact and have already contacted the FT rep without reply back.

Kacee

Way to hang in there.

Amazing the lengths they will go to deny a benefit the marginal cost of which is close to zero.

storewanderer

I cannot even believe the statement of "if I give you breakfast then I'd have to give it to everyone."

First off, not "everyone" is a Gold or Diamond. Second, some Golds select the bonus points rather than breakfast. Hardly, "everyone."

This is the GM of a sprawling resort arguably one of the nicest properties in Hilton's portfolio in the US and either does not understand or willfully denies understanding the benefits of the Honors Program. I just wonder if there is pressure coming from the ownership on this topic or what. I hate to assess blame without knowing the full picture.

I can also attest that they previously provided the breakfast benefit under the Curio brand, including the bill to show the charge then the "reversal" of the breakfast.

The excuse of unable to provide a continental is also a complete load. The restaurants have fruit, bread, yogurt, and cereal they can serve. It would not be the greatest form but if they really want to play cheap here, they could do that. They could even do a makeshift set up in that lobby bar in the morning and throw out a little table with some canned grapefruit, loaves of white bread, a big party size bowl of plain yogurt, and coffee along with coffee mate powder and offer a bare bones continental breakfast to resemble a low budget motel if they hate to provide this benefit so much.

Some straightforward, honest answers would go a long ways here, HONORS REPRESENTATIVE.

Kacee

Almost certainly. It sounds like they have a special carve-out in their contract with Hilton, otherwise they'd be required to comply (even if that just meant a $10 coupon, as other properties do).

observer

I have just cancelled a booking in December at this property. Too bad. I was looking forward to it. Back to the Biltmore.

Hilton Honors Ambassador

Hi all,

Thanks for your message tkelvin69 - sent you a response back. I've been sharing this feedback directly with our team here at corporate. If you have other specific questions/comments about a stay, please feel free to PM me with any details.

Thanks,
Lauren

observer

Could we please have some clarification as to whether Curio properties can simply decide not to offer Diamond breakfast benefit? I have a booking at a Curio property in S Calif and will look elsewhere if this benefit is uncertain. There are a number of other Hilton portfolio properties in the area, though I would prefer the Curio property. Thanks.

BlondeBomber

I don't think they can unilaterally decide what not to offer. The terms on the website for Curio are quite clear

"AS A DIAMOND MEMBER, YOU RECEIVE THE FOLLOWING BENEFITS:

Upgrades to Preferred Rooms.

Diamond Hilton Honors guests will receive upgrades to preferred rooms, based on availability for the entire stay at the time of check-in. Upgrades for Diamond Hilton Honors guests may include the next-best available room from the room type booked. Upgrades may also be rooms with desirable views, corner rooms, rooms on high floors, rooms with special amenities, rooms on Executive Floors**, or suites, as identified by each property. Some exclusions based on rate and room type may apply. See Terms & Conditions for details.

Earn 1,000 Hilton Honors ® bonus points per stay.

Continental Breakfast

You will receive complimentary Continental breakfast for you and up to one additional guest registered to the same room each day of your stay."

Kacee

This property apparently has an exemption from Hilton. Which they apparently cannot even publicly admit (no offense intended to Lauren, who has always been great and is I'm sure just following the company line)

storewanderer

I would love to know the back end story on this "exemption."

The way the issue is responded to by the hotel GM is what really boils my blood. But I try not to assess blame since I do not know the full story. But, I will say it again: unacceptable.

tkelvin69

The GM quoted to me over the phone the portion (probably buried deep and in small print in the T&C) where benefits may not be given or an alternative benefit may be substituted. I didn't make the effort to try and find it but I'm sure Hilton legal would have something like that. The real issue is notice to the consumer.

Given there is no notice or reasonable way to expect this benefit would not exist aside from calling every hotel you stay at, I think small claims would be an option but certainly a waste of time.

observer

And whom would one talk with when checking? GM? Front office? Bellhop? They might give inaccurate information. Or policy might change day before arrival. Predictability is essential.