My family and I recently stayed at the Hilton Tokyo for a family trip, and I was denied access to the executive lounge at check-in. To be fair, I wasn’t expecting access to the lounge in the first place, but to be selectively denied didn’t feel quite right to me, either. Basically, we had two reservations: I booked one room and my brother covered the second. We are both Hilton Honors Gold members.
Rules on Executive Room Access
The rules are clear. According to Hilton Honors benefits section, for Gold members:
“You and up to one additional registered guest in the same room will be granted complimentary access to the Executive Floor Lounge only if you receive a room upgrade to the Executive Floor or an upgrade to a room type that confers Executive Floor Lounge access benefits.”
In other words, if we want access to the lounge, it will largely depend on whether our standard rooms get upgraded.
Experience at Check-In
Although we had two separate reservations, we decided to check-in together to see if we could get a connecting room. It turned out that the hotel was fully booked, so we were not able to get a connecting room. We also did not end up getting an upgraded room, either. Based on the rules, we don’t qualify for executive lounge access. It’s not a big deal.
The staff handed the key cards to my brother and thanked him for being a Hilton member. He explained that he could not upgrade him to the next highest available room due to availability, but he granted his room with access to the executive lounge. He turned to me, also thanked me for being a Hilton member, but then he apologetically added that he can’t grant me the same access because I have 3 guests in my room. (Wait, what…?)
Obviously, I didn’t want to look at a gift horse in the mouth, but couldn’t he grant the same access for my room and limit it to two guests? Why the difference? Aren’t all gold members created the same?
Visiting the Executive Lounge
All was not lost. My brother graciously invited me as his “guest” to check out the lounge. He only ended up using the lounge twice for the week, and I went up with him once. Interestingly, the lounge was full so I visited a room they opened up down the hall “for Hilton Gold and Diamond members”. I dubbed the tastefully decorated room as the “overflow lounge”. There was a small selection of food and drinks on one side, seating areas on the other, and great views overlooking the city. The ambiance was relaxing, and there was a friendly and attentive staff who regularly checked on guests and refilled food. She really did a wonderful job at taking care of guests and making them feel welcomed.
At the end of the day
We didn’t end up using much of the lounge anyway. I guess what bothered me wasn’t so much whether we got access, but rather in the way the selective access was handled. It left something to be desired, as the interaction did not make me feel like a valued guest when checking in with someone else with the exact same room type. That said, it was a minor blimp against a backdrop of an overall great stay. Hilton Tokyo is a perfectly great hotel in Shinjuku with a lot of amenities, and I would stay at this hotel again.
Have you ever run into upgrade or lounge access issues?
Hilton Gold is simliar to SPG Gold but with free breakfast. Your room upgrade will often be to just an “enhanced” room. My experience at Hilton is that if you’re “merely” a Gold member, don’t expect an upgrade to a Club level room, period and if you get it, you’re lucky. They’ve made it clear in the T&C’s but may people don’t read it and expect that their parking lot view room will be magically upgraded to Club just by being Gold. “Obviously, I didn’t want to look at a gift horse in the mouth, but couldn’t he grant the… Read more »
Thanks for the great insight! I actually did not know that club access is limited to two per room. I always thought those staying on the executive floor can have access up to the room’s maximum occupancy (usually 2-3), so it seemed to me that most hotels have some flexibility around the numbers. We are a party of 5, so we had one room for 2 and one room for 3. I suppose if the staff had explained it even in half the way you did, I wouldn’t have been as miffed. Something like, “Thanks for staying with us. We… Read more »
Wow. What happened would have left a sour taste in my mouth had it happened to me. That was definitely not good customer service. I know a rule is a rule and Japanese people are usually always rigidly by the book but they did choose to bend the rule for your brother, so they should have done the same for you. What’s an extra person accessing the lounge anyway compared to making a guest feel valued and welcome. I definitely see where you’re coming from and I even would have escalated the matter further.
What bunch of bologna! Abuse the access? Because of one extra person ?? The rules allow 4 and there were 5 guests….