Questions and Answers

Hi Lucky,

First of all, thank you very much for helping me save SO much money when booking hotels/flights and taking advantage of promotions.

I read your article about Waldorf Astoria properties joining in on the free continental breakfast benefit for Gold/Diamond HiltonHonors members, and thought of booking a 3-day stay at the Waldorf in Beverly Hills. This morning I called to ask about some technicalities regarding this benefit and was surprised when the concierge told me that breakfast is not included, but that instead they offer a $15 credit at their restaurant.

So I decided to take this to Twitter, and asked @HiltonHonors, who initially replied “Yes, Continental breakfast is included for Gold/Diamond members. Please visit the following link to learn more [Link].”

Feeling pretty confident about my position, I called the Waldorf again, hoping for a different answer, which didn’t happen, at which point I tweeted both @HiltonHonors and @WaldorfBevHills asking for clarification. @HiltonHonors replied via private message:

“Hello Lucas, please kindly note that there were some changes to the Hilton Honors benefits starting on January 1, 2018. Effective January 1st, 2018, all Gold and Diamond Members now have the ability to receive complimentary Continental breakfast (or a food & beverage credit) at all Waldorf Astoria. For the Waldorf Astoria Beverley Hills you will receive a food and beverage credit of $15.00 for the registered guest up to 2 people only. Please know that if breakfast is not the selected my way benefit on your profile for the Waldorf Astoria, you will not receive the food and beverage credit. You will receive the bonus points if that is your option. Feel free to review more details of the changes to the program at [URL=’https://t.co/9kRCO94DU1′][U][LINK][/U][/URL] under member benefits. We hope that this information helps you. Thank you. – FG.”

What do you think about this?

Thanks!
Lucas

It’s not uncommon for properties to offer a credit rather than a set menu as an elite benefit.

In this case, the house restaurant is the “Jean-Georges Beverly Hills” which does have a “Continental breakfast” on the menu that includes “assorted pastries” and “coffee, juice, or tea”. I can’t find the price of that particular item, but it seems like it’s probably about $15.

Personally, I’d rather have a credit towards whatever I wanted so don’t see this as a big deal, but if the “Continental Breakfast” on the menu is more than $15, that’s certainly cause for complaint.