Hello, I too have the diamond status from my VA plat. I’m wondering, if I book a mid-tier room what’s the likelihood of an upgrade and to what extent? To a suite?
eg book Family Happy Magic room (actual name!) at Tokyo Disney will I be upgraded to a suite? Or can I book a lower cat room and still be upgraded?
Had this exact situation in November last year. Booked cenovo room; no upgrade but they did give us a park view, which meant we could see the fireworks. Also stayed Hilton Nagoya and Osaka. No upgrade at any property in japan.
When I mentioned it at check in for Tokyo Bay, was told they were too full to accommodate upgrades.
Honestly, the cenovo room was fine for us. The lounge at Tokyo bay is excellent and you won’t spend much time there coz you’ll be so busy (queuing) in the parks.
Having booked the same Happy Magic Room myself for a laugh a few years back, I can say they'll only upgrade you to a Happy Magic Suite as they assume that when you book that specific room theme, that's what you want for your stay.
(Honestly, it was a pretty disappointing room - looked quite cool online but when you're there it's nothing special - so if you want the best chances of an upgrade I'd say book a 'normal' room.)
The Tokyo Bay Hilton can be incredibly busy at check-in, but there's at least a clearly signposted priority line for HH members, and at the restaurant for breakfast, HH Gold and Diamond also get a separate line (or can avoid the queues). Just check your bill carefully there: I found they'd automatically charged me for breakfast and WiFi even though these were covered via HH status, so they had to go through and remove the charges.
While it's not related to upgrades, my wife also still raves about the ramen she had at that hotel, so if you get the chance, I'm sure she'd highly recommend.
So is it worth to go from Gold to Diamond? I've got my Macquarie HH card which will die in May. I'm trying to meet the $40k spent to achieve diamond. Is it not worth it?
Three stays since hitting Diamond. Was advised I had a better room on all three occasions, however I honestly couldn't tell the difference. I find the other benefits more useful (lounge etc).
Some time in 2018 (or maybe 2017) I had a back and forth email convo with the General Manager of Hilton Sydney (or most likely one of his staffers) on this exact topic and my frustrations with it.
He mentioned that they do hold some rooms at most room-type-levels at Hilton Sydney to allow for upgrades for Diamonds and where possible Golds. When I was gold, I never got a single upgrade at Sydney over maybe 6 stays.
As a Diamond, I'm 1 for 1 in Sydney. Got upgraded from a standard room to an Exec floor room and couldn't give me a junior suite because they were 100% booked. They offered a further upgrade to a King Suite for a heavily heavily reduced rate (which I didn't take).
Elsewhere around the world, I've found the word 'upgrade' varies greatly between Hilton Group properties. In Las Vegas, the 'upgrade' (as a HH Gold) was from the crappier tower at the back of the resort to the to the better tower at the front of the resort that was a shorter walk.
Anyone have experiences as a Marriott Platinum? Do they give better upgrades than Hilton? Reading this post and experiences sounds like Hilton is very cheapskate at giving out upgrades..
If you book the cheapest normal room, there are often many levels of upgrade (Plus, Deluxe, City, Executive etc) that are effectively the same room just with difference in higher floor, slightly better view etc.
But the lounge benefit is worth it at the right hotels.
I receive “upgrades” I’d say 80% of the time normally it’s from the most basic room to an executive room and as a diamond I already get the exec lounge regardless although have gone from basic to suite a few times in North America.
The 20% where I don’t receive an upgrade is usually when I book a more expensive room such as a suite in the first place or extremely popular holiday spots such as Whistler where I also imagine there are many travellers with status.
I think it's the definiton of 'upgrade' that gets tricky here, hotels have so many room types now that you get 'upgraded' to the next room tier which is just the same room on a slightly higher floor, or a room with a few extra sqm, rather than a completely different room category. That being said, if I've booked a cheap room (as a Hilton Diamond) and still get lounge access I think that's very good value. I did once get upgraded at the Conrad Bali into a suite that was larger than my apartment here at home which was quite amazing!
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Room upgrades for Hilton Diamond?
Glasses
Glasses
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
Member since 16 Oct 2018
Total posts 7
Hello, I too have the diamond status from my VA plat. I’m wondering, if I book a mid-tier room what’s the likelihood of an upgrade and to what extent? To a suite?
Brassy
Brassy
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
Member since 15 Apr 2016
Total posts 36
Had this exact situation in November last year. Booked cenovo room; no upgrade but they did give us a park view, which meant we could see the fireworks. Also stayed Hilton Nagoya and Osaka. No upgrade at any property in japan.
russell
russell
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 04 Nov 2011
Total posts 232
Upgrades as a Diamond are hit and miss at best. No way of knowing until you check in really as there are too many variables.
Chris C.
Chris C.
Member since 24 Apr 2012
Total posts 1,116
Having booked the same Happy Magic Room myself for a laugh a few years back, I can say they'll only upgrade you to a Happy Magic Suite as they assume that when you book that specific room theme, that's what you want for your stay.
(Honestly, it was a pretty disappointing room - looked quite cool online but when you're there it's nothing special - so if you want the best chances of an upgrade I'd say book a 'normal' room.)
The Tokyo Bay Hilton can be incredibly busy at check-in, but there's at least a clearly signposted priority line for HH members, and at the restaurant for breakfast, HH Gold and Diamond also get a separate line (or can avoid the queues). Just check your bill carefully there: I found they'd automatically charged me for breakfast and WiFi even though these were covered via HH status, so they had to go through and remove the charges.
While it's not related to upgrades, my wife also still raves about the ramen she had at that hotel, so if you get the chance, I'm sure she'd highly recommend.
Michael Kao
Michael Kao
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 06 Nov 2014
Total posts 163
So is it worth to go from Gold to Diamond? I've got my Macquarie HH card which will die in May. I'm trying to meet the $40k spent to achieve diamond. Is it not worth it?
xtfer
xtfer
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
Member since 14 Mar 2017
Total posts 159
Three stays since hitting Diamond. Was advised I had a better room on all three occasions, however I honestly couldn't tell the difference. I find the other benefits more useful (lounge etc).
sim86on
sim86on
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
Member since 08 May 2014
Total posts 48
Some time in 2018 (or maybe 2017) I had a back and forth email convo with the General Manager of Hilton Sydney (or most likely one of his staffers) on this exact topic and my frustrations with it.
Ross
Ross
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 10 May 2014
Total posts 83
Nichokiu
Nichokiu
Member since 13 Apr 2018
Total posts 25
Anyone have experiences as a Marriott Platinum? Do they give better upgrades than Hilton? Reading this post and experiences sounds like Hilton is very cheapskate at giving out upgrades..
moa999
moa999
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 02 Jul 2011
Total posts 835
It's always very hotel and room dependent.
GB18
GB18
Member since 24 Oct 2018
Total posts 16
I receive “upgrades” I’d say 80% of the time normally it’s from the most basic room to an executive room and as a diamond I already get the exec lounge regardless although have gone from basic to suite a few times in North America.
rob01
rob01
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
Member since 10 Nov 2011
Total posts 110
I think it's the definiton of 'upgrade' that gets tricky here, hotels have so many room types now that you get 'upgraded' to the next room tier which is just the same room on a slightly higher floor, or a room with a few extra sqm, rather than a completely different room category. That being said, if I've booked a cheap room (as a Hilton Diamond) and still get lounge access I think that's very good value. I did once get upgraded at the Conrad Bali into a suite that was larger than my apartment here at home which was quite amazing!