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Another UK Hilton hotel adds a pool charge

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As we’ve covered in other articles recently, there seems to be a co-ordinated move by many Hilton hotels in the UK to add charges for their swimming pools.

We recently called out Hilton Nottingham which added a fee from 1st February. Hilton Glasgow is amongst others to have jumped in over the last 12 months. Hilton Puckrup Hall in Tewkesbury added a charge from 1st January and is even insisting on advance booking.

DoubleTree by Hilton Newbury North pool charge

The latest reader report comes from DoubleTree by Hilton Newbury North which seems to have added a fee in recent weeks.

Hotel guests now pay £5 per person or £10 per ‘2+2’ family group to use the pool, pictured above. There is an additional charge of £1 for towels.

The entry and towel fee is waived for Diamond members of Hilton Honors and, bizarrely, anyone who books via Booking.com.

The gym remains free to all hotel guests.

I am typing this article at Hilton Newcastle Gateshead – review to follow – where the pool still appears to be free …..

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How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (April 2025)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit and debit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

There are two dedicated Hilton Honors debit cards. These are especially attractive when spending abroad due to the 0% or 0.5% FX fee, depending on card.

You also receive FREE Hilton Honors status for as long as you hold the debit cards – Gold status with the Plus card and Silver status with the basic card. This is a great reason to apply even if you rarely use it.

We reviewed the Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card here and the Hilton Honors Debit Card here.

You can apply for either card here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 30th April 2025, the annual fee on the basic Hilton Honors debit card is halved from £60 to £30. The sign-up bonus is also easier to earn – you need to spend £1,000 either in the UK or abroad within three months. The usual bonus rule requires you to spend the full £1,000 outside the UK.

NEW: Hilton Honors Plus Debit

10,000 bonus points, Hilton Gold status and NO FX fees Read our full review

NEW: Hilton Honors Debit

2,500 bonus points, Hilton Silver status and 0.5% FX fees Read our full review

There is another way of getting Hilton Honors status, and earning Hilton Honors points, from a payment card.

Holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card.  It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

and for small business owners:

The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton Honors points is 1:2.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points.

Category

Hilton Honors

Comments (67)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • mkcol says:
    23 Apr23 April 10:02

    Turns out I have 3 VS vouchers none of which I knew about!

    1 expires on 12 May 2024 (I presume expiry is fly by not book by) which is a touch frustrating, the other 2 expire next year.

    As I’ve presently got a points booking in September (Premium out, Upper back) which I’ve got a status match to Silver for I also now need to figure whether to leave it alone to get the free status upgrade or forego that.

    • Blair Waldorf Salad says:
      23 Apr23 April 10:19

      Ring up and you might be surprised. I had one expiring 30 Dec 2023. Called up on 29 Dec and applied it to a ticket departing Nov 2024.

    • Blair Waldorf Salad says:
      23 Apr23 April 10:21

      I logged my November reward flight for the status match, then at short notice booked a March trip. I emailed VS and asked if the March trip could count as the status match flight instead. Yes, no problem. VS are very flexible in terms of customer service

  • Sean says:
    23 Apr23 April 10:37

    Hilton syon park charges as well.

    • Rob says:
      23 Apr23 April 11:24

      They’ve done that for years but at least it is a very smart pool and spa.

    • His Holyness says:
      23 Apr23 April 13:05

      DT Edinburgh Airport charges.
      Glasgow DT charges.

      There’s loads.

  • C says:
    23 Apr23 April 11:52

    Booking.com literally has hotels doing better deals than booking direct… kinda wild that the big chains put up with it.

    • will says:
      23 Apr23 April 12:15

      Gives them another excuse to refuse their price match guarantee “the cheaper rate is not comparable as it includes free pool access whereas it’s chargeable on the direct rate”

      • RichardM says:
        27 Apr27 April 10:36

        Very aposite. Currently engaged in a battle with Hilton over the Price Match Guarantee (PMG)this time involving hotels.com. When I asked for my cheaper 3rd party booking to be added to my Hilton account I was advised that usual perks wouldn’t apply but that I should consider the PMG offer. I did, re-booked direct, made the claim and then had 3 fob-off responses asking for more information and then eventually a final refusal on the the grounds that they (Hilton) couldn’t find the same rate on-line. No great mystery as the stay had been and gone by this time! The cynic would say this was a deliberately misleading sharp selling practise – I couldn’t possibly comment.

  • James Bond 007 says:
    23 Apr23 April 12:02

    My Virgin vouchers can’t be showing correctly. I get a voucher via card spend about every 3 or 4 months – but can only see 3 old vouchers from a couple of years ago….anyone else having the same problem?

    • Blair Waldorf Salad says:
      23 Apr23 April 12:57

      You can’t be getting credit card vouchers every 3 or 4 months. It’s one per card year.

      • James Bond 007 says:
        23 Apr23 April 13:20

        Thanks that helps. One voucher per year irrespective of spend.

  • Skywalker says:
    23 Apr23 April 16:02

    These hotels can piscine off with their pool charges.

  • BJ says:
    23 Apr23 April 20:18

    Thanks for heads up on Newbury Park. We have a paid week booked there but may now reconsider, reviews are not that good anyway.

  • Alan says:
    24 Apr24 April 11:44

    Thanks for the heads up re the new VS site – I didn’t get sent to the new site automatically however could login at the address above and voucher info looks to be correct. Agree would be great to book them online however at least saves a call to check on voucher status!

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