Over the Christmas holidays my wife and I did a road trip from San Francisco down to San Diego and back. We stayed at a different Hilton property every night with diamond status which made for a compressed view of a wide range of Hilton properties. Each property was booked based by reading the various property-specific threads in this forum. Thanks for all the help, everyone :)
Here's a summary of each hotel on the trip. All prices listed are for the room plus taxes and exclude parking charges.
Hilton Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley - $72.55 Thank You rate. A perfectly fine hotel to start the stay. We were upgraded to a full suite on the 2nd floor with a living room, little dining area, bar, and expansive bathroom with a stupidly large jetted tub. Second stupidest tub on the trip, but more on that later. I can't remember if the breakfast came with hot, or was continental only. Only downside? The room just wouldn't get warmer than about 66 degrees, regardless of what we set the thermostats to.
Hilton Garden Inn San Luis Obispo/Pismo Beach -$132.39 MVP rate. Upgraded to top floor view, but not a suite. Didn't mind since upgrades aren't an HGI benefit. Nice hotel overall with a full hot breakfast. Downside? The water in the room never got hotter than about lukewarm. I mentioned it at checkout and was told it was a hotel wide-problem they could have fixed, but they needed access to one person's room and that person wouldn't give access. We should have invoked the guarantee, but I forgot that was an HGI thing until after we left.
The Beverly Hilton - $165.04 Thank You rate. Booked King bed in Wilshire Tower with Thank You rate to ensure we were at least in the new tower. I asked at check-in if an upgrade worked out and we were moved to a studio suite. The best part? A large family was making a big stink just down the front desk from us about finding adjoining suite rooms and was told there were no suites available. Heh heh. I also asked about a late checkout and was immediately offered 3pm! They don't have coffee makers in the rooms by default but if you ask they'll bring the Hilton standard one up with real coffee mugs. Of all the hotels we stayed in the Beverly Hilton had by far the best maintained rooms. Oh, and parking is $36 a night. OUCH. Breakfast was cold continental only.
Waterfront Beach Resort, a Hilton Hotel - $271.24 AAA rate. We booked a king bed and were upgraded to a one bedroom corner suite on 7th floor with a view of the beach looking north. They'd only give us 1pm for late checkout though. Breakfast was standard continental spread or $15 towards any menu item. Lovely view. Of all the hotels we stayed at on the trip I'd say this was the best overall room simply because of the view and nice little separate living room.
Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines - $169.93 AAA rate. Worst stay of the trip. We booked king bed, got upgraded to a "golf course" view on the hhonors floor with a sliver of a view to the ocean if you stood in the right place on the balcony. When I asked about a suite upgrade they said none were available as they were being renovated. Breakfast for diamonds is any three items at the coffee stand. Oh, and the fire alarm went off at 6:20am. And self-parking is $22. The hotel overall feels tired. The carpet in the halls is worn and gross, the room was just bland and average, and three items at the coffee stand? Blah. Unless you are here to golf stay somewhere else.
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotels San Diego Mission Valley - $83.85 Thank You rate. No suite upgrade but the room we were in was recently renovated and looked great. The executive lounge was being renovated so we were given coupons for breakfast AND coupons for two appetizers + two non-alcoholic drinks at the bar instead. Parking is $12 self-park or $16 valet, but there is a ton of free street parking right out front of the hotel so we just parked there. The downside to this hotel is the Internet. By far the slowest of the whole trip, and when I mentioned it at checkout the desk agent agreed and said sadly that it was remarkable how much money they'd dumped into updating the Internet during the remodel.
Hilton Carlsbad Oceanfront Resort - $105.95, Thank You rate. This was a mid-trip addition to give us more time in the San Diego area. The hotel is crazy new and looks lovely. We were upgraded to an ocean view with balcony, but it was a two queen room instead of one king. We went back down and were switched to a king room with similar view, across from a secondary elevator that thankfully we couldn't hear. As with the DoubleTree in Mission Valley we were given coupons for two appetizers + non-alcoholic drinks in the bar, plus two full breakfasts including hot items. Parking is $12 self across the street or $16 valet. There are still some maintenance teething pains with the hotel. One of the corner guards on the wall in the hallway fell off as we went by and there were still smears of grout that hadn't been wiped off tiles in the bathroom properly.
Beverly Hilton (2nd time!) - $165.04, Thank You rate. We re-jiggered our trip mid-drive to add another day in LA, and rebooked the Beverly Hilton since we enjoyed it so much the first time. Second visit we got upgraded to a 7th floor room with balcony, but no suite ("hotel is sold out"). At check-in the desk agent knew we'd asked for a coffee maker last time and asked if we wanted another one sent up. Again one of the best maintained rooms on the trip.
Doubletree by Hilton Hotel and Spa Napa Valley American Canyon - $73.53 Thank You rate. We were upgraded to first floor lagoon view room with patio. It doesn't seem from the map like the hotel has suites at all. Overall the hotel is just odd. It's a LEED Gold hotel, and yet there are no towel racks in the room to hang your towels on for drying. The rooms have oddly tall ceilings which leads to the rooms feeling very sparsly furnished. Overall the room was comfortable but worn: the desk chair was a knock-off Eames Aluminum where the faux leather had worn right through to the arm frame.
Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Sonoma Wine Country - $67.89 Thank You rate (!!!) This used to be a Red Lion hotel and is basically a huge wedding/conference hotel. We were apprehensive at check-in as we'd seen mixed reviews, but the stay was just fine. I asked at check-in if an upgrade had happened to work out and we were moved to a "junior executive suite" with the stupidest biggest tub I have ever seen. Seriously. I looked at it and felt guilty just THINKING about all the water it would take to fill it. The rest of the room had a nice sitting area, dining room table, and slightly modern/refreshed furnishings. Breakfast was cold continental only. Note that this hotel is nowhere NEAR Sonoma. It's about 30 minutes away.
Hilton Garden Inn Napa - $126.77 MVP rate. Very nice lobby, and very nice HGI overall. We were upgraded to a suite-type thing with a little living room and jetted tub. Full hot breakfast with made-to-order crepes, omelets, etc. Other than that, it's a nice HGI. What more is there to say?
Here's a summary of each hotel on the trip. All prices listed are for the room plus taxes and exclude parking charges.
Hilton Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley - $72.55 Thank You rate. A perfectly fine hotel to start the stay. We were upgraded to a full suite on the 2nd floor with a living room, little dining area, bar, and expansive bathroom with a stupidly large jetted tub. Second stupidest tub on the trip, but more on that later. I can't remember if the breakfast came with hot, or was continental only. Only downside? The room just wouldn't get warmer than about 66 degrees, regardless of what we set the thermostats to.
Hilton Garden Inn San Luis Obispo/Pismo Beach -$132.39 MVP rate. Upgraded to top floor view, but not a suite. Didn't mind since upgrades aren't an HGI benefit. Nice hotel overall with a full hot breakfast. Downside? The water in the room never got hotter than about lukewarm. I mentioned it at checkout and was told it was a hotel wide-problem they could have fixed, but they needed access to one person's room and that person wouldn't give access. We should have invoked the guarantee, but I forgot that was an HGI thing until after we left.
The Beverly Hilton - $165.04 Thank You rate. Booked King bed in Wilshire Tower with Thank You rate to ensure we were at least in the new tower. I asked at check-in if an upgrade worked out and we were moved to a studio suite. The best part? A large family was making a big stink just down the front desk from us about finding adjoining suite rooms and was told there were no suites available. Heh heh. I also asked about a late checkout and was immediately offered 3pm! They don't have coffee makers in the rooms by default but if you ask they'll bring the Hilton standard one up with real coffee mugs. Of all the hotels we stayed in the Beverly Hilton had by far the best maintained rooms. Oh, and parking is $36 a night. OUCH. Breakfast was cold continental only.
Waterfront Beach Resort, a Hilton Hotel - $271.24 AAA rate. We booked a king bed and were upgraded to a one bedroom corner suite on 7th floor with a view of the beach looking north. They'd only give us 1pm for late checkout though. Breakfast was standard continental spread or $15 towards any menu item. Lovely view. Of all the hotels we stayed at on the trip I'd say this was the best overall room simply because of the view and nice little separate living room.
Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines - $169.93 AAA rate. Worst stay of the trip. We booked king bed, got upgraded to a "golf course" view on the hhonors floor with a sliver of a view to the ocean if you stood in the right place on the balcony. When I asked about a suite upgrade they said none were available as they were being renovated. Breakfast for diamonds is any three items at the coffee stand. Oh, and the fire alarm went off at 6:20am. And self-parking is $22. The hotel overall feels tired. The carpet in the halls is worn and gross, the room was just bland and average, and three items at the coffee stand? Blah. Unless you are here to golf stay somewhere else.
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotels San Diego Mission Valley - $83.85 Thank You rate. No suite upgrade but the room we were in was recently renovated and looked great. The executive lounge was being renovated so we were given coupons for breakfast AND coupons for two appetizers + two non-alcoholic drinks at the bar instead. Parking is $12 self-park or $16 valet, but there is a ton of free street parking right out front of the hotel so we just parked there. The downside to this hotel is the Internet. By far the slowest of the whole trip, and when I mentioned it at checkout the desk agent agreed and said sadly that it was remarkable how much money they'd dumped into updating the Internet during the remodel.
Hilton Carlsbad Oceanfront Resort - $105.95, Thank You rate. This was a mid-trip addition to give us more time in the San Diego area. The hotel is crazy new and looks lovely. We were upgraded to an ocean view with balcony, but it was a two queen room instead of one king. We went back down and were switched to a king room with similar view, across from a secondary elevator that thankfully we couldn't hear. As with the DoubleTree in Mission Valley we were given coupons for two appetizers + non-alcoholic drinks in the bar, plus two full breakfasts including hot items. Parking is $12 self across the street or $16 valet. There are still some maintenance teething pains with the hotel. One of the corner guards on the wall in the hallway fell off as we went by and there were still smears of grout that hadn't been wiped off tiles in the bathroom properly.
Beverly Hilton (2nd time!) - $165.04, Thank You rate. We re-jiggered our trip mid-drive to add another day in LA, and rebooked the Beverly Hilton since we enjoyed it so much the first time. Second visit we got upgraded to a 7th floor room with balcony, but no suite ("hotel is sold out"). At check-in the desk agent knew we'd asked for a coffee maker last time and asked if we wanted another one sent up. Again one of the best maintained rooms on the trip.
Doubletree by Hilton Hotel and Spa Napa Valley American Canyon - $73.53 Thank You rate. We were upgraded to first floor lagoon view room with patio. It doesn't seem from the map like the hotel has suites at all. Overall the hotel is just odd. It's a LEED Gold hotel, and yet there are no towel racks in the room to hang your towels on for drying. The rooms have oddly tall ceilings which leads to the rooms feeling very sparsly furnished. Overall the room was comfortable but worn: the desk chair was a knock-off Eames Aluminum where the faux leather had worn right through to the arm frame.
Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Sonoma Wine Country - $67.89 Thank You rate (!!!) This used to be a Red Lion hotel and is basically a huge wedding/conference hotel. We were apprehensive at check-in as we'd seen mixed reviews, but the stay was just fine. I asked at check-in if an upgrade had happened to work out and we were moved to a "junior executive suite" with the stupidest biggest tub I have ever seen. Seriously. I looked at it and felt guilty just THINKING about all the water it would take to fill it. The rest of the room had a nice sitting area, dining room table, and slightly modern/refreshed furnishings. Breakfast was cold continental only. Note that this hotel is nowhere NEAR Sonoma. It's about 30 minutes away.
Hilton Garden Inn Napa - $126.77 MVP rate. Very nice lobby, and very nice HGI overall. We were upgraded to a suite-type thing with a little living room and jetted tub. Full hot breakfast with made-to-order crepes, omelets, etc. Other than that, it's a nice HGI. What more is there to say?