Travelling to Asia? Make big hotel savings with the Hilton Dining Club

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• Jack Smith says:

  23 Jun23 June 04:33

  I got this in China before, a scam, it is not guaranteed service, when you want to book hotel, you will be told that rate is not available. Be careful with it.

• BJ says:

  23 Jun23 June 04:35

  While the food in Asian hotels can be excellent, to focus on dining at them to extract maximum value from this scheme is to miss out on the fabulous culinary experience and culture of most Asian countries. Even with a 50% discount most Hilton hotels will be more expensive and inferior to many local independent restaurants. Most of us here will be at least Hilton gold or diamond, reducing the benefits still further. Also, taking Thailand as the example you quote, Hilton is a mediocre choice at best. Millenium Hilton is in the wrong place, Cobrad Bangkok is worn, I don’t think Conrad Eesidence Bangkok participates, Doubletree Sukhumvit is dark and depressing, Arcadia will not be near the top of anybodies list in Phuket, who goes to Hua Hin this century and only misguided people go to Samui. Moving south to Malaysia, most hotels are simply too cheap both for points or cash to bother much with this. Having said all that, if you can cover the fee or most of it with a free night certificate then why not? There does seem to be a subset of readers too who are happy to fly 12+ hours and simply park themselves in a hotel/resort for a week or two; it works very well for them.

  • John says:

    23 Jun23 June 06:54

    Great comment. Isn’t the Conrad being renovated?

    • BJ says:

      23 Jun23 June 08:18

      Heard that, I think you or another posted here some time ago. I find that a major problem with these and other chain hotels are that many of them are high rise and often without opening windows or balconies. These are very unsuited to hot wet tropical countries as the poor ventilation soon leads to damp rooms, even in new hotels. The problem is worse where the hotels choose a more western style decor
      with excessive carpets and soft furnishings. Over the years I have come to learn that in such countries a new or good quality independent hotel or serviced apartment designed to reflect their tropical environment and local tastes provide much more comfortable accommodations at much lower prices. Not only that, but in the immediate environs of such hotels and apartments it is usually much easier to find good restaurants and street food, excellent laundry services
      , and taxi drivers that do not rip us off. Unless I am earning or burning points I now tend to favour such places.

      • Olly says:

        23 Jun23 June 09:36

        I agree with BJ, especially those of us with status, though I know gold no longer get lounge access in the Conrad Bangkok, and unless they have done it up recently it will still be looking tired and suffering from mustiness. The most important point for foodies though is the fact that eating out is excellent in these places and great value.

        • Shoestring says:

          23 Jun23 June 10:00

          That’s a perfectly sound principle in Thailand: the better your hotel (4* or 5*), the more you should be motivated to find a restaurant somewhere else. It’s not so much the quality – they can be perfectly good/ top quality – but the cost: 4x or more vs going walkabout and finding an equivalent quality food offering in an independent restaurant.

      • Cat says:

        23 Jun23 June 10:02

        Agreed. I’d never go for this in Thailand, Malaysia or Indonesia for exactly the same reasons. In those countries I might go for one night in a chain hotel in the city of the airport, before I travel onwards, but then it’s family run boutique hotels and independent restaurants all the way.
        I might be tempted if I went back to China, but would use it for free nights, room discounts and cheap drinks when I get back to the hotel, having gone out for a meal.

  • Harry T says:

    23 Jun23 June 10:20

    I couldn’t agree more. I travelled through North Malaysia and Thailand last month and one of the best parts of the experience was sampling street food and dining in tiny restaurants and bars where my friend and I were the only westerners. The food was delicious and cheap. More importantly, it gave us a greater appreciation of the local culture and lifestyle, which is one of the main reasons I travelled to SE Asia.

    • BJ says:

      23 Jun23 June 12:59

      Yes, and they just love when western people visit and appreciate and enjoy their food. I’ve ended up getting quite a few cooking tips and lessons from Thai grandmothers which is great. In major tourist areas though I have found the standard of street food in Thailand declining a bit. I’m told this is because much of it is being prepared and sold by immigrants who just learn one or two dishes and lack the basic skills needed to truly understand the cooking so more care needs to be taken in choosing where to eat these days. Not so much a problem once you get away from the main tourist haunts. Good to see from comments above many readers are obviously willing to immerse themselves in local cultures and enjoy real travel experiences.

      • marcw says:

        23 Jun23 June 13:01

        I believe that’s the point of doing tourism: visti places and experience their culture and gastronomy. Otherwise, just book yourseld a plate in Dubai 🙂

        • Gorg says:

          23 Jun23 June 18:09

          Loads of people on here love plonking themselves in a tedious Dubai hotel. Never understood it myself.

  • Jonah says:

    23 Jun23 June 10:44

    Apart from that Mrs Lincoln what did you think of the play?

  • G Flyer says:

    23 Jun23 June 14:13

    BJ – agree with what you say. You say the places to avoid… but I’d be more interested to hear places where you rate, and love to go to? I’ve been to the more familiar places in Asia, but would be love to hear some suggestions for nice places!

    • BJ says:

      23 Jun23 June 15:48

      My absolute favourites are Songkhla and Patthalung in Thailand. Apart from that I’m happiest much closer to home, the UK is brilliant 🙂 Actually every place has its merits and like most I do like to see the major cities and sites but prefer to get off the tourist trail. I’ve mentioned it here before, I think people really need to consider taking advantage of the last remaining 10k Hampton in UK at Newport and explore the surrounding area, it was great. In England my favourite county is Northumberland, and in Scotland it is difficult to say but probably Torridon and Lochinver areas. In Europe, I like Prague, Valencia and Basilicata region of Italy. In North America, many great places but Northern California around Shasta, Lassen and Burney Falls is my favourite.

• Sapiens says:

  23 Jun23 June 07:12

  Thank you Rob. Hivemind – would be fascinated to hear feedback/experiences with this, as I’m now 1 hr flight from most of these places.

  • John says:

    23 Jun23 June 07:35

    Well, I wouldn’t fly an hour just to get a free meal at a Hilton.

• Claire says:

  23 Jun23 June 09:27

  Presumably these discounts are instead of anything you get with hilton honors status?

• krys_k says:

  23 Jun23 June 10:06

  OT but Hilton and Asia related. Is Hilton likely to run any promotions for Asia in the coming 4 weeks as I’m in Singapore and Indonesia most of July and August and wouldn’t mind snagging a deal. Much thanks.

• The Original Nick says:

  23 Jun23 June 11:11

  I’ve stayed at the Conrad Bangkok many times since it opened and have to say that the pool is the best part of it. I’ve not been there for just over 2 years though.

• James says:

  23 Jun23 June 11:57

  Seems great value.
  Gunna be confusing though !!

• Diydegsy says:

  23 Jun23 June 12:17

  Hi Rhys, Marriott do a similar thing and we always purchase it before going to Thailand, the benefits more than cover the cost, it’s a no brainier and we don’t eat all our meals in the hotel but we normally do have lunch by the pool most days.

  • BJ says:

    23 Jun23 June 13:07

    I don’t know the details but with more recent Marriott openings and the SPG merger it is not difficult to believe the Marriott version will be a better option than this Hilton one.

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