Have you ever literally laughed out loud when you opened the door to your hotel room? Well, that just happened to me, during my most recent hotel stay.
In this post:
“Thanks for being a Diamond, we’ve upgraded you to a suite”
During my Aer Lingus & Iberia A321XLR adventure, I had a night in Dublin, and decided to stay at the Hilton Dublin Airport (more on that in a bit). At check-in, I was told “thanks for being a Diamond, we’ve upgraded you to a suite.” “That’s very kind, thank you so much,” I responded.
Then I opened the door to my suite, and couldn’t help but laugh. Below is what the living room looked like (if you can even call it that)…
…and then below is the bedroom.
Of course I get what’s going on here. This is some sort of a family suite, and the idea is that the living room can be configured to accommodate more guests. However, there were two things I found funny:
- Typically you’d think that the default would be for this to be configured as a living area with couches, and it would only be turned into this setup upon request; admittedly I got a free upgrade, so that might be why they didn’t care to change it back
- I don’t think I’ve ever seen a living room with two side-by-side couches that convert into beds, in quite this way
Even beyond the strange configuration, there were some other things I found to be odd. There were two sets of balconies, but the doors were locked, and they had “spikes,” presumably to keep birds away. It felt a bit like being in a jail, in terms of not even being able to crack a window open.
The shower setup also left a little to be desired.
But wait, y’all told me not to stay at this hotel?!
When I tentatively planned this trip, I booked the Hilton Dublin Airport. But then when I wrote about what I had booked, several of you warned me not to say at this property, and that it’s outdated. I appreciated the feedback, so I decided I should rebook my stay, and go somewhere else instead.
Unfortunately I found the choices to be very limited — the Hyatt Centric was sold out, the two popular Marriotts were charging 800 EUR per night, etc. In the end, I decided I’d just stick with the Hilton, given that I’d be leaving at 3:30AM. And hey, sometimes it’s fun to review a not-great property as well.
Indeed, the Hilton Dublin Airport is more than a little outdated, and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. However, at least the staff were friendly.
Bottom line
I was grateful to receive a suite upgrade at the Hilton Dublin Airport on account of my Hilton Honors Diamond status, since suite upgrades aren’t necessarily that consistent with Hilton. That being said, the room setup left a little to be desired. Since I was traveling alone, the two extra beds didn’t exactly do a whole lot for me. The whole thing gave me a laugh, since I was caught off guard when I opened the door.
What’s the most unusual room upgrade you’ve received?
Oh, my… that view really is quite “Supermax”, isn’t it!
… “ I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.”
… :-) i like that! … Dublin sure needs a lot of upgrade itself when it comes to Hotels in town.
Oh my, hope the add. Honors points made up for the sort of non necessary recommendation at DUB?!
More and more frequently the "upgrades" I receive is not suites of any kind but the same room I booked from one side of the building to another side (not even necessarily a side with decent views) or a few floors higher and still the same room.
My worst upgrade was at Marriott Vancouver airport which is nearly 15 minutes away from yvr by car. The general manager emailed me to say how please...
More and more frequently the "upgrades" I receive is not suites of any kind but the same room I booked from one side of the building to another side (not even necessarily a side with decent views) or a few floors higher and still the same room.
My worst upgrade was at Marriott Vancouver airport which is nearly 15 minutes away from yvr by car. The general manager emailed me to say how please she was to upgrade me to a suite. I responded "yeah no I booked that suite, you didn't upgrade jack not to mention you couldn't even bother to open the lounge on weekends or advertise hotel shuttle when the shuttle drivers have been on strike for over a year)
I’ve stayed three times at this property and echo all the comments. The latest stay I couldn’t resist and unload on all the issues I faced at each of those stays.
1) This hotel does not offer wash cloths just bath towels and oversized hand towels. I asked why in my review and was told: “if you want wash cloths you need to ask for them. We don’t place them in the room to...
I’ve stayed three times at this property and echo all the comments. The latest stay I couldn’t resist and unload on all the issues I faced at each of those stays.
1) This hotel does not offer wash cloths just bath towels and oversized hand towels. I asked why in my review and was told: “if you want wash cloths you need to ask for them. We don’t place them in the room to cut down on laundry” WTF?!?!
2) You can only have ALL the lights on or off. There is no way just to have a side light next to the bed on to read. They ALL have to be on. I asked in my review WHY!?!? The response “yes, we are aware of this but have limitations on each room’s electrical system and we are looking into this.” Wow, that gives me comfort sleeping in this electricity challenged building!
3) Points and stays not posting. All three stays I had to contact Hilton Honors to get my points and nights credited. Received a “We are sorry you had to do this” reply.
Again, this is one of the least offensive properties at Dublin Airport. I will try the Radisson next time around and forgo my Honors Points.
Am I the only one not caring so much about large rooms (suites) instead of well designed ones? A 20sm room that is tastefully furnished is much better than some 100sm suite with beds in the living room(?!). Even if it’s just a Hilton I wouldn’t have been happy about the upgrade.
Leaving at 3:30am? Skip the hotel and party in the city.
I think Lucky goes to sleep at 8pm so 3:30am is a full night for him. Plus he has lounges to review before they get busy!
It'd be quite interesting to have @Ben go out and about and review other places (in addition to lounges, hotels, and airlines) for sure.
I stayed at the Hilton Suites in the NW Chicago suburbs a few years back. I got Diamond upgraded to a conference suite - by which I mean, I had what was otherwise a standard one bedroom suite that had a giant alcove with an entire 12-person conference table just off the main living space. Not sure how common that is but it’s the weirdest I’ve seen.
Thats an upgrade? The place looks like trash. That looks like a 1 star hotel in Dubai, but of course western idiots will pay out the a$$ thinking its a good deal... They just dont know any better. This would never fly in Asia!
The Conrad Dublin is a pretty solid hotel. Very good location, nice bar, excellent breakfast and a good option to use a free night certificate or book via Amex FHR.
Morrison House, Dublin - Curio Collection, is directly across the river from Temple Bar. I loved staying there! Close enough to walk to everything, yet across the river for peace and quiet.
Score for DCS.
Suite upgrades are not a myth created by self anointed gurus.
Now if only OMAAT tested the late checkout.
Sounds like they had it set up for someone who needed that config and canceled.
I've had things like Embassy Suites or a Hilton suite putting me in the room that has a conference table instead of a living room. Which I was fine with given I only had like 8 hours in the room overnight.
I've been given a room in a Four Points that was basically three rooms combined into one...
Sounds like they had it set up for someone who needed that config and canceled.
I've had things like Embassy Suites or a Hilton suite putting me in the room that has a conference table instead of a living room. Which I was fine with given I only had like 8 hours in the room overnight.
I've been given a room in a Four Points that was basically three rooms combined into one big floor area (with odd shelf-less closets where two of the bathrooms would be) with a small living room set up in one corner, a bed against the far wall, and this massive "dance floor" size area in the middle empty except for a 4x4 table with 4 kitchen type chairs that looked wildly out of place.
I once found a suite like this. I just converted the sofa back to a couch (which takes literally 3 seconds), problem solved and I enjoyed the upgrade :) The bathroom is another story, that'd be quite a disappointment.
I don‘t really get the point, what exactly is unusual they just forgot to revert the set up. Presumably as you said it is usually booked by families.
Ive seen such "sofa beds" in Europe a few times actually. Mostly in Germany and Switzerland. That's the point they are easy to move around.
We did tell you....
(If you must stay in the vicinity of the airport, the Radisson would have probably been a better choice - a few minutes walk from the terminals, no shuttle required)
@ Daftboy -- Indeed y'all did! And I had considered the Radisson, but it was $100 more than the Hilton, and when you combine it with lack of a relevant loyalty program for me, I decided against it. But all else being equal, it does seem to be the better option.
DCS has made good on his bid adieu from this website after his relentless (and fallacious and futile) attempts to convince us all that a Hyatt points and Hilton points are of equal value. To his credit, he did make a good and underreported note that all hotel loyalty programs are effectively 10-15% cash back schemes. In other words, if you earn and burn points exclusively through hotel stays, then Hilton and Hyatt points are...
DCS has made good on his bid adieu from this website after his relentless (and fallacious and futile) attempts to convince us all that a Hyatt points and Hilton points are of equal value. To his credit, he did make a good and underreported note that all hotel loyalty programs are effectively 10-15% cash back schemes. In other words, if you earn and burn points exclusively through hotel stays, then Hilton and Hyatt points are in fact equal. Unfortunately he was willfully ignorant to the fact that we earn points in other ways, and when we have the choice to transfer a Chase UR point to Hyatt or Hilton, the choice is tantamount to asking whether you want pro bono representation from Skadden or from DLA Piper.
I have stayed multiple times at this property, yes it's outdated. However, truthfully for what other options one can get close to the airport with shuttle is very limited - therefore, for me as long as it's clean and ok for a quick one night stay - I am not going to complain. The only complain I have of this property (and those around) are the crazy asking rates. It looks like you are planning...
I have stayed multiple times at this property, yes it's outdated. However, truthfully for what other options one can get close to the airport with shuttle is very limited - therefore, for me as long as it's clean and ok for a quick one night stay - I am not going to complain. The only complain I have of this property (and those around) are the crazy asking rates. It looks like you are planning to stay in the centre of Paris!
What you experience is what I have been experiencing recently, at other non-Hilton properties, where I get upgraded to a room with a sofa bed, the bed is properly all laid out when it's only the 2 of us (original rooms are just a King).
Also - there was once at this property I was given a room that was flooded. Had to go back down to the reception for a new room - they did offer me a drink but it was so late I just wanted to get into the room to sleep for an early start the next day.
It is only on really long layover, I would go for something in the city.
Watch out, our Hilton fanboy in chief will probably show up and call “fake news” your review. He keeps boasting about his 6 PM late checkouts and “almost always” suite upgrades.
This tired, outdated family room hilariously mislabeled as a “suite”! is certainly not the type of rooom a Lifetime Diamond member like DCS would get.
@Stanley Yeah the fake news is the 6 pm checkouts and almost always suite upgrades. I usually get 1 pm at best and even then they are acting like they did you a solid.
DCS has made good on his bid adieu from this website after his relentless (and fallacious and futile) attempts to convince us all that a Hyatt points and Hilton points are of equal value. To his credit, he did make a good and underreported note that all hotel loyalty programs are effectively 10-15% cash back schemes. In other words, if you earn and burn points exclusively through hotel stays, then Hilton and Hyatt points are...
DCS has made good on his bid adieu from this website after his relentless (and fallacious and futile) attempts to convince us all that a Hyatt points and Hilton points are of equal value. To his credit, he did make a good and underreported note that all hotel loyalty programs are effectively 10-15% cash back schemes. In other words, if you earn and burn points exclusively through hotel stays, then Hilton and Hyatt points are in fact equal. Unfortunately he was willfully ignorant to the fact that we earn points in other ways, and when we have the choice to transfer a Chase UR point to Hyatt or Hilton, the choice is tantamount to asking whether you want pro bono representation from Skadden or from DLA Piper.