- Introduction: A New Era Of German Business Class
- Review: Lufthansa Lounge Detroit Airport (DTW)
- Review: Lufthansa Business Class 787 (DTW-FRA)
- Review: Lufthansa Welcome Lounge Frankfurt Airport (FRA)
- Review: Hilton Frankfurt Airport (FRA)
- Review: Condor Business Class A330-900neo (FRA-SEA)
- Are Condor’s “Prime” Business Class Seats Worth It?
- Review: Marriott Seattle Airport (SEA)
- Review: Alaska Lounge Seattle Airport (SEA)
- Review: Amex Centurion Lounge Seattle Airport (SEA)
- Review: Alaska Airlines 737-900ER First Class (SEA-MIA)
For my quick review trip to Germany, I had one night in Frankfurt. Since I’ve recently reviewed the Marriott Frankfurt Airport and Sheraton Frankfurt Airport, I figured that this time I’d review the Hilton Frankfurt Airport, to see how it compares.
All-in-all, I had a pleasant stay at the hotel. The Hilton Frankfurt Airport has a convenient location, a solid club lounge, a good breakfast, and a light-filled atrium.
The funny thing is that even after staying at the Marriott, Sheraton, and Hilton, I’m not sure I actually have a favorite between all of them? They’re all solid airport hotels, but none will blow you away. I have the fondest memories of the Sheraton, simply because I’ve been staying there regularly for 15 years, but that’s not necessarily an endorsement of the hotel being superior.
Anyway, let’s get into the review…
In this post:
Booking the Hilton Frankfurt Airport
For the night I was staying, the Hilton Frankfurt Airport was running €190 all-in. As a point of comparison, an award redemption at the hotel would have cost 51,000 Honors points. Based on my valuation of 0.5 cents per Hilton Honors point, this was a situation where paying cash was the better value, so that’s what I did.
Hilton Frankfurt Airport location
There’s a huge convenience factor in booking an airport hotel that’s connected directly to the terminal and doesn’t require taking a shuttle, and that’s an area where the Hilton Frankfurt Airport excels. In fairness, the Marriott, Sheraton, and Hilton Garden Inn, all have the same situation.
It’s easy to access the Hilton from Frankfurt Airport Terminal 1 (if you’re in Terminal 2, you’ll first want to take the train between terminals, as it’s located in the Squaire).
To get to the hotel, start at the Terminal 1 check-in hall on the departures level (one level above arrivals). There’s the A & Z check-in hall, and then there’s the B & C check-in hall, and between the two you’ll see an escalator.
Take the escalator up a level, and then take the enclosed bridge that goes toward hotels, the Squaire, etc.
Then follow the signage toward the Hilton, which will take you through the long corridor leading to the Squaire.
At the very end, just near the escalators and elevators leading down to the train tracks, turn right, in the direction of the Squaire East.
Then just take the escalator up a level, and you’ll see the entrance to the Hilton Frankfurt Airport there.
As you can see in the above picture, the 334-room Hilton Garden Inn and 249-room Hilton are right next to one another, and they even share the same gym. So for all practical purposes, consider this to be a dual branded property.
I’d say that the Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn are maybe an additional five minute walk from the Terminal 1 check-in hall compared to the Marriott and Sheraton.
Hilton Frankfurt Airport lobby & check-in
The Hilton Frankfurt Airport has a large atrium, so the lobby has plenty of natural light. As you enter the hotel, there are a few seating options. Then reception is to the left, while the lobby bar is to the right.
I was immediately helped at check-in. I was thanked for being a Hilton Honors Diamond member, and was told that I had been upgraded to a club room (unlike Marriott, Hilton doesn’t promise space available suite upgrades, but rather they’re offered at the hotel’s discretion).
As part of an upgrade to a club room, I’d receive access to the executive lounge, and would also receive breakfast in the restaurant (since the lounge isn’t open in the mornings). I appreciated that I was able to check-in early at no extra cost, even though it was before 9AM.
With keys in hand, I headed to the glass elevators, located at the end of the lobby.
Hilton Frankfurt Airport guest room
I was assigned room 10108, located on the 10th floor (guest rooms at the hotel are on levels six through 11).
I was assigned a queen executive room. While compact, I thought it was (mostly) well designed. The room featured an entryway with the bathroom to the right, and the rest of the room straight ahead.
The room had a bed with four pillows — I find Hilton’s beds to be reasonably comfortable, but not the best in the industry.
Across from the bed was a desk with a rolling chair, as well as a chair with a side table for lounging. There was also a wall-mounted TV.
I appreciated the variety of outlets available at the desk, so I didn’t even have to use my international adapter.
Along the interior wall of the room was the closet space, as well as the minibar.
There was a kettle, an espresso machine, and even food & drinks for purchase in the minibar. A stocked minibar is quite a rare treat nowadays at a non-luxury hotel.
While the Hilton has some rooms facing outwards, I was assigned a room with a view of the atrium. It’s not exactly the most exciting view, but at least it’s quiet.
The bathroom area had a sink, a bathtub, a walk-in shower, and a toilet.
Toiletries were from Crabtree, and were in reusable wall-mounted containers.
I wasn’t a fan of how the shower didn’t have a full door, and for that matter water pretty freely spilled over from the shower into the rest of the bathroom.
I found the room at the Hilton to be perfectly nice. The Hilton opened in late 2011, so it has been open for well over a decade now. The hotel hasn’t undergone a full renovation, but at least the hotel is well maintained. I’d say that the design of the hotel feels a bit outdated at this point, but not terribly so. I got that feeling more in the club lounge than in the room, frankly.
Hilton Frankfurt Airport club lounge
The club lounge at the Hilton Frankfurt Airport is located on the 10th floor, and was just down the hall from my room. At the moment the lounge is open daily from 12PM until 9PM, with a nightly happy hour from 6PM until 8PM.
The executive lounge seems unnecessarily large to me, with endless seating. There are dining tables, lounge chairs for relaxing, couches, and more.
There’s also a business center area, with a couple of computers and printers.
Throughout the day there were self-serve non-alcoholic drinks available, including water, soda, coffee, and tea. There were also some basic snacks.
During the evening happy hour, more food and drinks were available. Complimentary beer, wine, and liquor, were available to drink.
There was also a pretty good food selection, significantly better than you’d find at virtually any Hilton club lounge in the United States. This included sandwiches, tuna poke bowls (as they were described), veggies, cheese, noodle salad, soup, bread, pretzels, and more.
I quite enjoyed the pretzels and the “poke.” I did find it a bit strange that there were no dessert options, though (in retrospect, I’m better off for it!).
Hilton Frankfurt Airport RISE Restaurant (breakfast)
RISE is the Hilton Frankfurt Airport’s all-day dining restaurant, and I had breakfast here, which is served between the hours of 6AM and 10AM. The restaurant is quite large, though I’m not sure what exactly to make of the design.
Breakfast consisted of a buffet, though there were servers to offer drinks. I just had some filtered coffee, though I’d note that they also have barista-made espresso drinks, which is a nice touch for an airport hotel.
The breakfast selection was excellent, with a variety of hot and cold options. Cold options included fresh fruit, yogurt, muesli, cereal and granola, veggies, cheese, cold cuts, all kinds of pastries and bread, etc.
There were also half a dozen hot options, ranging from scrambled eggs, to sausage, to hash browns, to pancakes, to Kaiserschmarrn (mmmm).
On top of that, cooked-to-order eggs were available. I’d say this is a pretty solid breakfast!
Hilton Frankfurt Airport The FIFTH Lounge & Bar
The FIFTH Lounge & Bar is the Hilton Frankfurt Airport’s lobby bar, serving drinks and a more limited food selection throughout the day. This fully opens up into the lobby, and it’s a pretty nice space.
I didn’t end up having anything here, but you can find the dinner menu below.
Hilton Frankfurt Airport gym
The Hilton Frankfurt Airport has a gym on the 11th floor, which can be accessed 24/7 by guests. The gym is shared with the adjacent Hilton Garden Inn, but despite that, doesn’t seem to get too busy.
The gym had a solid selection of both cardio and weight equipment, so for an airport hotel this is probably as good as it’s going to get.
In addition to the main gym area, there’s also a locker room, as well as a sauna and steam room (with a clear warning that nudity is permitted… hah).
Bottom line
The Hilton Frankfurt Airport is a solid airport hotel. You can easily walk here directly from Terminal 1, and the hotel has friendly service, well appointed rooms, a nice club lounge, a good breakfast, and a fairly large gym.
While there are a lot of things I’ll gladly criticize Frankfurt Airport for, a lack of decent airport hotels isn’t among them. The airport has four hotels that can be accessed directly from the terminal, and I’m not sure I have a strong preference between this property and the Marriott and the Sheraton.
I wouldn’t hesitate to return here, but would ultimately make my decision based on price and elite status.
If you’ve stayed at the Hilton Frankfurt Airport, what was your experience like?
I recently stayed at the STEIGENBERGER FRA airport hotel and loved it! The Hilton and Marriott were were ridiculously expensive so I decided to look elsewhere. I stumbled upon the STEIGENBERGER and my family loved it. Emirates chauffeur brought us to the hotel and the shuttle in the am was just fine. My only complaint are the few outlets in the rooms are all European and no usb ports - I left my adapter at...
I recently stayed at the STEIGENBERGER FRA airport hotel and loved it! The Hilton and Marriott were were ridiculously expensive so I decided to look elsewhere. I stumbled upon the STEIGENBERGER and my family loved it. Emirates chauffeur brought us to the hotel and the shuttle in the am was just fine. My only complaint are the few outlets in the rooms are all European and no usb ports - I left my adapter at home so that was a bit annoying. The food, the bed, everything was wonderful.
Might be good to try this airport hotel next time for a review!
Next time try the b‘mine Hotel at the airport…
I've stayed here before to catch those early SQ flights out. Not much to say other than you can get a decent night's sleep. The real convenience is waking up and being able to walk to the terminal. This last trip I booked a stay at the Hyatt Place which is just off the airport. It was dirt cheap on points and I needed the stay for status. One stop train ride or less than...
I've stayed here before to catch those early SQ flights out. Not much to say other than you can get a decent night's sleep. The real convenience is waking up and being able to walk to the terminal. This last trip I booked a stay at the Hyatt Place which is just off the airport. It was dirt cheap on points and I needed the stay for status. One stop train ride or less than five minute cab ride. A viable alternative if the airport properties are over priced or full. Also nice if you are flying out in LH F as you can have cab drop you off at first class entrance vs lugging all your luggage there from the airport hotels.
This hotel is managed by 2 old cronies and makes it a prison feeling instead of a nice Hilton hotel atmosphere.
We used to stay there but the Director of Operation is an old woman who controls the young trainees and made it a very hostile atmosphere.
The GM is a very arrogant Dutchman who has been there forever. Very OUTDATED Hospitality.
They not only need refurbishment for the property but mainly...
This hotel is managed by 2 old cronies and makes it a prison feeling instead of a nice Hilton hotel atmosphere.
We used to stay there but the Director of Operation is an old woman who controls the young trainees and made it a very hostile atmosphere.
The GM is a very arrogant Dutchman who has been there forever. Very OUTDATED Hospitality.
They not only need refurbishment for the property but mainly a change from the Top. Meanwhile the Sheraton and Marriott are closer to the airport and value their guests better.
I have had several nice stays in this hotel. The HGI next door is nice as well, but no executive lounge. Breakfast is great in either one. I had a room with an outside window, but since its the Squaire, the view is just to another window. It's like the hotel is under a dome. Its cool, but an occluded view. There is a great little grocery store at the other end of the Squaire...
I have had several nice stays in this hotel. The HGI next door is nice as well, but no executive lounge. Breakfast is great in either one. I had a room with an outside window, but since its the Squaire, the view is just to another window. It's like the hotel is under a dome. Its cool, but an occluded view. There is a great little grocery store at the other end of the Squaire by the escalators down to the trains that has a lot of fresh salads and other take out options. I usually get a nice convenient somewhat healthy dinner there.
Nice property. Always pass by, but haven't had the chance to stay. EL is especially impressive.
I haven't stayed at the Hilton FRA since it is always by far the most expensive option of the 4 FRA hotels. For a one night stay I find it hard to justify the price difference between the Hilton, HGI, Marriott and Sheraton. Seems I am not alone in here...or what are people willing to pay as an upcharge to stay at the Hilton vs the other options?
Thanks for the detailed review as always.
Whenever flying via Europe with a layover, preferably try to look at either Frankfurt or Amsterdam.
While both have decent airport hotel options, both also have easy access to the city centres by train.
Whether deciding to stay at the airport, or in the city, it’s great to be able to have low cost and quick access to the main city centre to maximise your layover.
I have an upcoming inbound flight to Terminal 2 and outbound flight the next day from Terminal 1, and I'm debating between the Hyatt Place FRA for 5k Hyatt points (which I value at $75) and Hilton FRA for a paid rate of 205 Euro (currently about $225 USD).
If I remember correctly it's a bit of a hike to get from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1, and likely best by Uber or taxi...
I have an upcoming inbound flight to Terminal 2 and outbound flight the next day from Terminal 1, and I'm debating between the Hyatt Place FRA for 5k Hyatt points (which I value at $75) and Hilton FRA for a paid rate of 205 Euro (currently about $225 USD).
If I remember correctly it's a bit of a hike to get from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1, and likely best by Uber or taxi (I remember a bus as a shuttle option, but it wasn't that frequent).
I'm a Hilton Gold so I'd hopefully get club access, but as my flight departs early the next day I wouldn't need breakfast at the hotel.
So at the Hyatt I would take a taxi or Uber both ways and at the Hilton, I'd take a taxi or Uber one way and walk to my gate the next morning.
I've never stayed at either. Any justification to spend an extra $150 and stay at the Hilton FRA over the Hyatt Place FRA? I assume taxis and Ubers are easy enough to come by.
Or is it worth the Sheraton or Marriott (I'm also Gold, but Marriott Gold doesn't;t have lounge access) for roughly the same price as the Hilton?
The Hyatt Place is NOT attached to the airport like the Hilton, HGI, Marriott and Sheraton are. The Hyatt Place is in the Gateway Gardens area and will either require a walk, subway or taxi ride to get to. I have stayed in both areas and for me the decision really depends on a number of factors including price and what times my flights are. For an early morning flight out of FRA, you can...
The Hyatt Place is NOT attached to the airport like the Hilton, HGI, Marriott and Sheraton are. The Hyatt Place is in the Gateway Gardens area and will either require a walk, subway or taxi ride to get to. I have stayed in both areas and for me the decision really depends on a number of factors including price and what times my flights are. For an early morning flight out of FRA, you can likely get 30-45 more sleep by staying in one of the 4 options attached to the airport.
Wouldn't a taxi or Uber from the Hyatt Place to the terminal take like 5 minutes? It's 1.2 km away
Great review!
We can’t do queen beds, because I am a restless sleeper. Are the base room beds for Marriott and Sheraton also queen beds? That’s a reason for me to choose one over the other. I need a king bed.
I have a reservation for later this month and it's a king size.
Wish you had used the restroom in the lounge, biggest toilet I’ve ever seen, totally cracked me up.
This hotel is very nice and run professionally. It's so convenient. It can be a little difficult finding your way to it from the terminals. The times we've been in the lounge, it was packed!
I did think that the statement in the piece that "The executive lounge seems unnecessarily large to me, with endless seating" was rather odd at a time when a frequent complaint is that hotel and airport lounges are too crowded...
LOL. Why does an otherwise informative post (see @InternationalTraveler's appreciatory comment) have to be marred by this type of now predictable psychopathology?
It is quite clear that the host cannot help himself, having hatched a whole bunch of demonstrably bogus claims that he has recycled for years and now believes to be true. Really. Through sheer repetition,...
LOL. Why does an otherwise informative post (see @InternationalTraveler's appreciatory comment) have to be marred by this type of now predictable psychopathology?
It is quite clear that the host cannot help himself, having hatched a whole bunch of demonstrably bogus claims that he has recycled for years and now believes to be true. Really. Through sheer repetition, he's fallen for his own fabrications. It's known as the "paradox of propaganda" , which is that when someone sets out to brainwash others and they invariably end up brainwashing themselves.
This is purportedly what Marriott "promises" and hotels have no say in it:
Other than having automated room upgrades globally, this is what Hilton purportedly "does not promise":
Boom!
Don't take my word for it. See for yourself: http://bit.ly/3U88iq8
We provide the facts, you decide !
How did that work for you at the Hilton Playa del Carmen DCS? What about the WAPedregal? They have that verbiage as a mistake on one page and it's not in Hilton's official terms and conditions. I actually refer to often and never have any luck at check-in. Hilton PDC does one category, so baclony to garden view, or garden view to ocean view. YMMV with WAPedregal, and I've had some decent luck sweet talking...
How did that work for you at the Hilton Playa del Carmen DCS? What about the WAPedregal? They have that verbiage as a mistake on one page and it's not in Hilton's official terms and conditions. I actually refer to often and never have any luck at check-in. Hilton PDC does one category, so baclony to garden view, or garden view to ocean view. YMMV with WAPedregal, and I've had some decent luck sweet talking the front desk, but they've yet to upgrade me to a true one-bedroom suite.
Sure you have that statement in writing, but it's more or less useless.
@Sel, D.: You are addressing wrong questions to the wrong guy. I simply provided counter claims in the form of equivalent and succint statements from each program explaining their respective room upgrade policy. The statements are official, and their advantage over the legalese in T&C is that they are crystal clear and cannot be willfully misinterpreted and distorted like the lingo in the T&C was in the first place to fabricate the claim that "unlike...
@Sel, D.: You are addressing wrong questions to the wrong guy. I simply provided counter claims in the form of equivalent and succint statements from each program explaining their respective room upgrade policy. The statements are official, and their advantage over the legalese in T&C is that they are crystal clear and cannot be willfully misinterpreted and distorted like the lingo in the T&C was in the first place to fabricate the claim that "unlike Marriott, Hilton doesn’t promise space available suite upgrades, but rather they’re offered at the hotel’s discretion" . which has been recycled ad nauseam.
What you should do instead is to ask the forum host for his evidence supporting the quoted and challenged claim. Hint: no such evidence exists because every single type of room upgrade (a) depends on availability, which is at the sole discretion of individual properties. The only upgrade type to date that may take individual properties out of the loop is, in fact, Hilton Honors' automated global upgrades, akin the automated prioritization of airline cabin upgrades took gate agents out of the loop. However, Hilton's automated upgrades are still too new for their impact to be fully established.
I am a fan of the Hilton Frankfurt Airport. It is quite nice and the staffs are friendly.
The lounge is HUGE because they used to serve breakfast in the lounge. It could be really busy. I definitely prefer the breakfast in the restaurant though!
Thank you for the review. This Hilton looks like a great hotel for a layover with solid Hilton Diamond benefits. I will keep a mental note if I am in need for a stay near the Frankfurt airport.
Always good to get an upgrade refresher by program…Hilton clearly not as good as Marriott (not written into the T&Cs, no SNA equivalent) and of course Marriott not as good as Hyatt.
All in all, fair benefits though for your well earned top tier DIAMOND status!!!
I always find that lobby seating weird, and just outside the entrance seems to be a big make-out spot.
However, I love the bathrooms and the BK just outside and down the escalator after a few weeks of schnitzel.
Ben, I remember you complaining about the Marriott HVAC issue, and so have many other people, so I'm staying away from Marriott and staying here in a couple of weeks. Was this an issue at the Hilton? They have told me the AC might not be on mid-April but they gave me assurances that they could manually override our room's AC if it's too hot.
I found the HVAC at the Hilton lacking and guest services seemed to not be able to help.
@Ben, how was the situation with the HVAC at the Hilton? I remember you complaining about the room temperature at the Marriott (not being able to adjust) and so do many other reviewers, so I'm avoiding. I got assurances from the Hilton that they could manually override our temperature if the hotel hasn't turned on the AC by the time we go in a couple of weeks. Curious to see if that was an issue for you.