I’ve spent the week in DFW, and am here an extra night unexpectedly.  I spent the first 4 nights here in town at the Embassy Suites DFW North, then found out after I’d checked out that I’d need to be here another night.  I’m glad that happened because I’ve now discovered the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center.  Not that there’s anything wrong with the Embassy DFW North, it’s a standard Embassy Suites.  But this Hilton, I love if for nothing else than the lounge!  I don’t remember the last domestic Hilton lounge I’ve visited that included comp wine and beer, but this one does.  I’ll have a full review of the hotel up during the weekend.  Sorry for being slow to post this week.  Lots going on with work.  I’m sure my first class seat to DCA tomorrow night will help me destress!

I know it’s only April, but time flies, and I think it’s very wise to take stock of where you stand on obtaining elite status for the next year every so often.  Today, I want to focus on hotel elite status for next year.  I hold status with 2 chains, Starwood, where I am Platinum, and Hilton, where I hold Diamond status.  As of today, I’m at 6 stays and 15 nights with Starwood, and 1 stay and 2 nights with Hilton.  It’s not unusual for the first quarter of each year to be light on travel for me, and this year is no different.  Things are about to pick up and I will fall into my more typical travel patterns again.

As of now, it is not likely that I will be able to attain top tier status in both SPG and HHonors in 2012.  However, it is a virtual certainty that I can attain top tier in one program if I concentrate my stays with a single loyalty program going forward.  Time to take stock of things.  Both programs provide complimentary high speed internet to their top tiers (and HHonors does for Gold members as well).  That’s a big deal for me.  Each program will also provide room upgrades.  But Starwood really comes out on top here, because they will upgrade Platinum members to a suite at check in if available.  HHonors, on the other hand, specifically excludes suites.  I’ve had some great suite upgrades at W and Westin hotels….I mean rockin’ suites.  :)  Heck, I’ve even lucked out a few times with Hilton, but Starwood wins on suite upgrades.

On the topic of elite bonuses, HHonors “sounds” better with 10 points per dollar spent, and a 50 percent bonus on base points for Diamonds.  Platinum Starwood members earn 3 points per dollar spent, but most of us know that Starwood points are FAR more valuable than HHonors points.  On the topic of service, I’d say that Starwood’s Platinum Concierge is great, but I’ve had good service from the Hilton Diamond desk too.

There are other things to consider as well.  For example, I love the transferability of Starwood points: 1 for 1 to many airline programs (notably American and Delta, but not United who will only give you 1 mile for every 2 points) with a 5,000 point bonus for 20,000 points transferred.  Couple this with the excellent Starwood credit card from American Express, and you’ve got a real value proposition there.  Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from using the Starwood credit card for all your spend, but using a different hotel brand.  Hilton has a couple of attractive card options if you decide to concentrate your stays and card points earning with them as well.

Other than credit cards, there’s the not so small issue that there are something north of 3,600 HHonors properties around the world compared to over 1,000 for Starwood.  Not a huge issue when I’m visiting a major city, but it’s not unheard of for business to take me to places like Fayetteville, NC or Huntington, WV.  Try finding a W Hotel in either of those spots.  Of course, if I’m in a spot like that, I’m more than likely to be bunking at a Hampton Inn where the internet is free, and there’s not much in the way of elite benefit to be had anyway.

That’s a lot of pontificating about a decision I am going to need to make in the very near future.  Will I go for top tier with Starwood or Hilton?  Or do I chunk them both and roll with Marriott?  Do you take stock of your elite qualification progress throughout the year?  What would you do?  Stay tuned for my decision, and another post about airline elite status too.

I don’t travel last-minute all that often, but tomorrow is an exception.  I walked into the office this morning, much like any other Monday morning expecting to spend a full week in town.  By 9:30am, I was searching for flights and hotels in Atlanta.  Flights were easy, Delta it is.  Hotels on the other hand, not so much.  I spent most of the day thinking I would spend tomorrow night at an Atlanta airport hotel, and then move downtown for Wednesday night (this is a 3 day, 2 night trip).  Don’t get me wrong, there are hotels available in downtown and Midtown Atlanta tomorrow, just none at a rate my employer will pay.  So I had to suck it up and think outside the box….maybe even part with my brand loyalty.

Tomorrow, I will be spending the night at the Marriott Atlanta Buckhead Hotel and Conference Center.  Then I will move to my favorite Atlanta area hotel, the W Atlanta – Midtown for the last night of my stay.  The W Midtown has some availability on the first night of my stay, only problem is that it costs about 3 times what my employer will reimburse!  Ugh.  So….for the first time in recent memory, I will split my 2-night stay amongst 2 different hotels.  I suppose an honest to goodness status ho would do this all the time, but I just haven’t felt the need so far.  In any event, tomorrow, Atlanta…….and a new hotel to review.  I really like the Marriott brand, it’s just that circumstances now require me to favor Hilton when I’m not in a Starwood property.  It’ll be like going home.  More to say when I get to the ATL.

Want an extra 2,500 HHonors points?  Hilton has been upgrading its computer systems, and to make up for long wait times on the phone, they’re offering 2,500 HHonors bonus points.  Register here.

Hat tip to Lucky.

Between January 3 and March 31, you can earn up to 2,000 Delta SkyMiles per qualifying
stay with Hilton, depending on length of stay.

• Stay 1 Night = Earn up to 1,000 miles (earn 200 miles for stays at Hampton and
  Homewood)
• Stay 2 Nights = Earn up to 1,500 miles (earn 300 miles for stays at Hampton and Homewood)
• Stay 3 Nights = Earn up to 2,000 miles (earn 600 miles for stays at Hampton and Homewood)

You must register first at http://www.hiltonhhonors.com/moreskymiles.

I’m not a fan of these unless they include elite qualifying miles. The Hilton HHonors Q1
promotion is a much better deal if you ask me, an HHonors “Points and Points” guy. But if you always take the points and miles option, you may as well register and collect a few extra
miles. And according to LoyaltyTraveler, these offers can be combined….worth
checking out.

Hilton has rolled out it’s Q1 bonus points promotion.  You can read the details, and register for the offer here.  In summary, if you stay 2 nights, you get double points, 3 nights = triple points, and 4 nights will net you quadruple points.  You must register first, and then stay between January 3, 2011 and March 31, 2011.

Tips of the hat to Grace and Ric.  Also, be sure to check out Ric’s analysis of the Q1 promos from the major hotel loyalty programs.

Register now for travel through December 31, 2010.

The deal:

• Double base points for all stays.
• Quadruple base points if your stay includes a Sunday night.  (Handy if you’re flying out Sunday evening for Monday meetings.)
• Registration required prior to stay.

Hat tip to Grace.

I’m completing a short 2-night stay at the Hilton Atlanta Downtown this week. This is my first stay at this 1,200+ room property, and I’ve found a lot of things to like about the hotel.

Getting There

The hotel is connected via covered Sky Bridge to the MARTA Peachtree rail station. That said, it’s not close. There are a couple of alternative Sky Bridge routes with the most direct being straight through Peachtree Mall to a parking garage next to the hotel. There is some signage in the MARTA station directing you towards the hotel, but beyond that, it’s not the most intuitive of routes. Unless you are familiar with downtown Atlanta and the Sky Bridge “system,” you might need to ask directions.

Checking In

Arriving on Tuesday afternoon, I was struck by how busy the hotel seemed. Check in was mobbed, but thankfully, the Hilton HHonors check in desk was fully staffed, and a very polite gentleman by the name of James had me processed in a few minutes. If you are a Diamond VIP member, I would skip the desk and just take the elevator straight to the 27th floor Executive Lounge which is staffed until 11PM, and will process your check in. I didn’t have my thinking cap on when I arrived, or I would’ve done that.

The Room

Room 2705, is an Executive Floor King room with standard Hilton amenities. Executive Level rooms also feature a 42″ LCD television, bathrobes, and nightly turndown service. The room is quite comfortable, with a nice work area that is well lit and functional. I especially appreciate the nightstand lamps which are equipped with an electrical outlet. Very handy for those of us that use our cell phones as alarm clocks and like to charge our phones overnight by the bed. The nightstands are equipped with soft floor lighting that sense movement as well, a neat feature that I appreciated. Overall, the room seems larger than average, and I like it a lot. Not over the top fancy by any means, but certainly a great room for a busy business traveler. Internet is $12.95 per 24 hour period. Thankfully I will no longer have to pay that kind of price as of September 1 as an HHonors Diamond VIP member.

Here’s a video of the room. I hope you find it useful.

The Hilton Atlanta Downtown has a large Executive Lounge. Per usual in the US, there’s a charge for alcohol, but free fountain sodas are available. The hotel provided several coupons for complimentary bottled water at check in as well. The morning and evening food spreads are pretty standard for US hotels. Floors 27 and 28 are considered the Executive Level, but the lounge is located on 27. The concierge and bartender were both quite polite and appeared helpful to those that had requests.

Around the Hotel

The selection of restaurants immediately surrounding the hotel is pretty disappointing. In fact, there really aren’t any. Not that I consider a 4 block walk anything major, but that’s about how far you have to go to find any eateries outside the hotel. I wandered around until I got bored and decided to drop into Morton’s Steakhouse for a quick cocktail. The bone-in ribeye was tempting, but I persevered! The hotel itself is home to Trader Vic’s on the lower level. I didn’t partake, but did wander through, and found the restaurant to be quite busy. Now I wish I’d stuck around. The Bistro Salad I enjoyed in the lobby bar was fine, but as I write this, I find myself craving something a little more inspired.

The Bottom Line

I like the hotel. All staff I encountered were polite and helpful. The hotel recently underwent a multi-million dollar renovation, and the rooms show it. The lack of restaurants in the immediate vicinity of the hotel seems problematic, but in truth, dining is a reasonable walk away. There are other good (and newer) HHonors properties downtown, notably the Hilton Garden Inn, and the Embassy Suites. But if standard Hilton service and access to amenities like an Executive Lounge and room upgrades are your thing, then the Hilton Atlanta Downtown is the place for HHonors loyalists to go.

Hello from the BA Terraces Lounge in Glasgow. MrsMJonTravel and I are waiting for our flight to London. Our plan is to drop our bag at the Hilton Heathrow, and then hit the city for a little sightseeing. Tomorrow, we fly home on AA via Miami. Hopefully, the trip back will be smoother than the trip over!

I’ll have thoughts on the BA Concorde Room at Heathrow, a review of our Glasgow hotel (Marks Hotel), and much more for the blog soon.

Hilton HHonors finally caved.  Beginning September 1, HHonors Gold and Diamond VIP’s will receive complimentary high speed internet in addition to their other benefits.  I’m happy to see this finally happen.  Waiting to see if anything gets taken away from our other VIP benefits.