Tag Archives: king

King Executive room at Hilton Frankfurt Airport

Posted on September 22, 2012 | 7 Comments

French Polynesia Trip Report Index
Tahiti and Bora Bora – Flights & Airfares
Hilton Frankfurt Airport
Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt Airport (Terminal 1, Departure Area B)
InterContinental Resort Tahiti
InterContinental Bora Bora Resort and Thalasso Spa
The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort (site inspection)
InterContinental Resort and Spa Moorea

Pic: Hilton Frankfurt am Main Airport – Entrance (Sep 2012)
As I had two separate tickets for my trip to French Polynesia, I decided to play safe by booking my BRU-FRA flight one day in advance. I arrived at Frankfurt am Main Airport on Thursday night Sep 6th. This turned out to be a smart move, as Lufthansa was having a strike on Friday Sep 7th and my original 1.40pm FRA-LHR had been cancelled. Instead, I was rescheduled for a Lufthansa Regional flight at 6:55am not affected by the strike. Fortunately, I had also booked my overnight stay at the new Hilton Frankfurt Airport, avoiding a really early wake-up call.

Pic: Hilton Frankfurt am Main Airport – Lobby (Sep 2012)
At €159 (advance purchase rate) it was an expensive airport hotel stay. I had been monitoring the hotel rate for a few weeks when it dropped from +€240 to €159. A few days after my booking, Hilton launched ‘The Great Getaway’ sale resulting in an even lower rate of €113. A painful experience for a ‘luxury traveller on a budget’ like me! But hey, you can’t always win!

Pic: King Hilton Executive Bedroom – Hilton Frankfurt Airport (Sep 2012)
As Hilton HHonors Gold member, I was upgraded to a King Hilton Executive room on the 9th floor and provided with complimentary internet access. Executive rooms are basically the same as standard Hilton Guestrooms on the lower floors, they just come with access to the Executive Lounge. My Executive room was facing the lobby atrium and felt a bit cramped. The interior drowned in a sea of beige and didn’t really feel inviting. At check-in, I was told the Executive lounge was serving snacks and drinks until 9pm, but arriving there just after 8.30pm the complimentary drinks and food service was over. Bummer! Unfortunately, my high expectations for this new and expensive Hilton property were not met. My stay earned me 6153 Hilton HHonors points, including the “My Way” option of 1000 extra points for skipping the complimentary breakfast due to my early check-out time. I might try next door’s Hilton Garden Inn on the next overnight stay at Frankfurt Airport. For more pictures of Hilton Frankfurt Airport, check Damian’s review at upgrd.com
Pic: King Hilton Executive room bed – Hilton Frankfurt Airport (Sep 2012)

Pic: Hilton Frankfurt am Main Airport – King Executive Bathroom (Sep 2012)

→ 7 Comments

Posted in Hotels, trip reports

Tagged Airport, bathroom, executive, frankfurt, germany, hhonors, hilton, king, pictures, review, room

Sky View room at IC New York Times Square

Posted on June 3, 2012 | 1 Comment

Pic: InterContinental New York Times Square entrance (Jun 2012)

Pic: InterContinental New York Times Square building (Jun 2012)
My two night weekend stay in Manhattan was the ideal opportunity to burn an InterContinental “Free weekend night” voucher. Every time you renew your InterContinental Ambassador status, you receive a complimentary weekend night voucher. It’s valid for weekend stays at all IC hotels worldwide and uses the BOGO (Buy One, Get One) principle: you pay for the first night, the second night is free. If you’re staying more than once a year at InterContinental hotels, I can highly recommend the Ambassador program. The initial membership fee is $200 for the first year, $150 for every renewal. It comes with some great perks:
• Guaranteed room upgrade
• Guaranteed late check-out (4 pm)
• Free movie – One complimentary Pay-TV film per stay
• Fresh fruit and mineral water – in your room upon arrival
• Guaranteed room availability with 24-hour advance reservation
• Complimentary newspaper each morning
• Complimentary use of health club facilities (fitness gym, swimming pool, jacuzzi etc most hotels)
• Welcome gift upon arrival (often something reflecting the local culture at participating Hotels)
• Complimentary weekend night voucher

Pic: King Bed Sky View room at IC New York Times Square (Jun 2012)

Pic: King Bed Sky View room at IC New York Times Square (Jun 2012)
Using the complimentary weekend night voucher, I paid $347 for two nights (vs $693 regular rate) at InterContinental New York Times Square. Yes, hotels in Manhattan are expensive! My Deluxe room booking was upgrade to a Sky View room on the 35th floor offering me amazing views of the city.
Pic: Ambassador welcome amenity at IC Times Square NYC (Jun 2012)

Pic: Bathroom amenities at InterContinental Times Square (Jun 2012)

Pic: In-Room Dining Breakfast at InterContinental Times Square NYC

Pic: Sky View at InterContinental Times Square New York (Jun 2012)

Pic: Sky View at InterContinental Times Square New York (Jun 2012)

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Hotels

Tagged ambassador, bed, breakfast, hotel, ihg, in-room dining, intercontinental, king, manhattan, new york, nyc, pictures, review, room, sky view, times square

King Executive room at Millennium Hilton Bangkok

Posted on June 2, 2012 | 2 Comments

Pic: King Executive room at Millennium Hilton Bangkok (May 2012)

Pic: King Executive room at Millennium Hilton Bangkok (May 2012)
For my first night in Bangkok (Thailand trip May 17 – May 27) I used The Great Getaway Hilton promo (valid till July 23 for stays until September 30, 2012). Unlike some of the other ‘promotions’, this one really offers steep discounts on Hilton room rates. I paid THB3469 (EUR89) for a King Hilton Deluxe room which was upgraded to a King Executive room upon arrival. I enjoyed a free upgrade + free executive lounge access (breakfast, cocktails, dinner snacks, …) + free internet because of my HHonors Gold status. How I got this status? Normally you only get this status after staying 16 times or 36 nights at Hilton hotels during one calendar year… but myself (and many of my twitter followers) got it for free. In the past months several links were posted on my twitter account which allowed you to obtain HHonors Gold status for free. You just had to sign-up using the link and got instant HHonors Gold status! Make sure to follow me on twitter so you don’t miss future deals. I post several “Great Deal Alerts” a week.

Pic: Executive Lounge Breakfast at Millennium Hilton Bangkok (May 2012)

Pic: Lounge chairs at The Beach – Millennium Hilton Bangkok (May 2012)

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Hotels

Tagged access, bangkok, breakfast, executive, free, gold, hhonors, hilton, king, lounge, millennium, pictures, review, room, thailand, upgrade

Club View King room at Grand Hyatt Seoul

Posted on March 13, 2012 | 4 Comments

Pic: River view from “Club View King” room at Grand Hyatt Seoul (Mar 2012)

Pic: King Bed Club room at Grand Hyatt Seoul (Mar 2012)

Pic: Seating area and work desk Club room Grand Hyatt Seoul (Mar 2012)
After my excellent stay at Park Hyatt Seoul last year, I had to try Grand Hyatt Seoul this time. The night before my stay I was resting my head at IP Boutique Hotel (Itaewon). Google maps indicated a 400 meter distance between IP Boutique and Grand Hyatt, so I decided to walk. Turned out to be a bad idea. GH Seoul is located on Namsan (lit. “South Mountain”) which means it’s a 400m steep uphill walk. To make things worse, the hotel’s entrance faces uphill, so you encounter the back of the hotel first. What an embarrassing hotel arrival, carrying my suitcase through the garden looking for an entrance. I finally managed to get in via the Spa/Gym floor garden entrance. Arriving from the opposite direction at the front desk, staff were surprised I wanted to check-in, not check-out. After showing my Gold Passport Diamond card, I was guided to the Club floor for check-in formalities. My standard room (booked using Gold Passport points: category 4 hotel, 30K points for 2 nights) was upgraded to a Club View King room (1558, 28-sq. m) offering panoramic views of the city and Han River. I was also informed about the free shuttle service which runs daily from 10am until 9pm as follows: Hyatt :00 -> Itaewon :05 (In front of KFC) -> Hyatt :10 -> Myeondong Subway Station Exit4 :20 -> Hyatt :35

Pic: Gold Passport Diamond Welcome Amenity Grand Hyatt Seoul (Mar 2012)

Pic: Bathroom Club room Grand Hyatt Seoul (Mar 2012)

Pic: Nighttime view Club View King room Grand Hyatt Seoul (Mar 2012)
During the winter months, the outdoor pool is converted to an ice skating rink.

Pic: In room breakfast service at Grand Hyatt Seoul (Mar 2012)
Complimentary continental breakfast, evening drinks & Hors-d’oeuvre were served in style at the Grand Club on the 15th and 17th floor. On the morning of my arrival, I had late in room breakfast charged at KRW35000 (€24).