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Free night with Hilton
I recently wrote about a great deal for a free night at Hilton’s luxury brands such as LXR, Waldorf Astoria and Conrad. Most offer the third night free but some require a longer stay. The offer is exclusively available through Hilton Impressario agents such as our partners GTC and you also get a range of benefits:
You can find more detail on the participating hotels here.
If you wanted a standard Hilton stay, Hilton are also doing a promotion for a fourth night free on standard and some luxury Hilton brands in America, Latin America and the Caribbean and French Polynesia. Again there are a few hotels that require a longer stay.
- a minimum stay of six (6) consecutive nights at the following resort properties Hilton Garden Inn Waikiki Beach, HI, The Grand Islander by Hilton Grand Vacations, Hilton Waikiki Beach, HI, Hilton Playa del Carmen, an All Inclusive Adult Only Resort,
- a minimum stay of seven (7) consecutive nights at the following resort properties Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino, Hilton Barbados Resort, a minimum stay of five (5) consecutive nights at the following resort properties DoubleTree by Hilton San Juan, Harbor Club St. Lucia, Curio Collection by Hilton Mahogany Bay Resort & Beach Club, Curio Collection by Hilton, Zemi Beach House, LXR Hotels & Resorts, Grand Waikikian by Hilton Grand Vacations, Hilton Grand Vacations at Hilton Hawaiian Village, Kings’ Land by Hilton Grand Vacations, Ocean Tower by Hilton Grand Vacations, Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort,
- a minimum stay of four (4) consecutive nights at participating hotels in Latin America and the Caribbean, Hawaii, and French Polynesia, and
- a minimum stay of three (3) consecutive nights at Hilton Cartagena, Hilton Tahiti Resort, Canopy by Hilton Cancun La Isla.
You can find the offer page here.
IHG One Upgrade successes
IHG recently improved their loyalty scheme with the new IHG One. Previously I found being a Platinum member pretty useless. I rarely got an upgrade and usually, if you got an upgrade to a Club room, most hotels would not let you use the lounge. I recently heard from a reader that had got a good upgrade as a Platinum member on his recent stay by using the IHG free Platinum status I wrote about here.
I have just had my first stay with IHG One at an Intercontinental and received an upgrade to a Club room. I was allowed to use the Club lounge which is a big benefit with free breakfast, afternoon tea and evening drinks. It may have helped that I booked through our luxury travel partners GTC although that does not entitle you to an upgrade for Intercontinental hotels. You do get $100 hotel credit, guaranteed late check-out and free breakfast.
Have you noticed a difference in upgrades recently with IHG or have you used the status challenge to get Platinum and got a decent upgrade? Let us know in the comments below.
Shangri-La Circle members’ days – free drinks and 6x points
From 6th June for 48 hours only, earn 6X Points on the first Members Day Flash Sale. With the relaunch of the Shangri-la Circle loyalty program they added a new feature with members days every month on the 6th for 48 hours.
The 6x points applies to certain packages only but there’s a good choice including London, Bangkok, Paris and Abu Dhabi.
The most interesting part for those that live in London is the free cocktail every month.
The Shangri-La Circle website says
As a valued member, please enjoy a bespoke “The Good Life” cocktail on us on our Members Day, which happens on the 6th of every month.
Looking at the terms and conditions you do not have to be staying there to claim the cocktail but I’d make sure you have your membership to show on your phone. It’s free to join Shangri-La Circle here and you receive 300 Bonus Points with your first Shangri-La experience. Continue to spend before 31 July 2022 to earn up to 1,500 more Bonus Points. The good news is that you can redeem points for food and drink so you can always spend it at the Shard if you don’t have any stays planned for a while.
Participating restaurants and bars:
Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore – Origin*
Shangri-La At The Fort, Manila – High Street Lounge
Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta – B.A.T.S
Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney – Blu Bar on 36
Shangri-La Qiantan, Shanghai – GardenLab*
Shangri-La Shougang Park, Beijing – Power Station*
Shangri-La Guangzhou – S.E.Asia Kitchen & Bar*
Shangri-La Far Eastern, Taipei – Li Bai Lounge
Shangri-La Hotel The Shard, London – Ting Lounge
Shangri-La Hotel, Paris – Les Lounges
Shangri-La Hotel Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi – Al Hanah Bar
Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong – The Lobster Bar
*Will begin participation from July 6th onwards
10 comments
I had the complete opposite at the IC Doha Beach Resort. Ignored my preference to be away from lifts, had to fight for my $20 and I got an upgrade based on my IHG Luxe Life booking – it was as if they had never heard of the Ambassador programme. I am also IHG Diamond which I got a measly 600 points for the privilege of! They recovered this at check out but being top tier and Ambassador you shouldn’t have to fight and show web pages to get what is owed to you.
Hmm sounds worrying. How was the hotel experience otherwise?
I have Ambassador status.
In the last month I have stayed at the Hotel Indigo in Stratford upon Avon and was given a room upgrade without asking.
Previously I stayed at the IC in Budapest which I paid for on points but was upgraded and given the normal Ambassador benefits.
We just stayed in the IC in Sofia and got a good upgrade to lovely room with amazing view and a discount to enjoy the club room. We are due to stay in IC Barcelona in 2 weeks time and have already been assured we will get complementary club access and thermal suite access and we hope a good room upgrade too. We are Platinum Ambassador status. We will update about the room upgrade once we arrive
I’ve been Platinum Ambassador since 2017 and never received a Club upgrade.
I’ve heard reports on FlyerTalk recently of some Diamond Amb getting comped club access. I’ve signed up for the 15 nights to Diamond challenge to see if being Diamond makes a difference.
I recently booked IC WAW and I got exactly the one category upgrade the program specifies.
If people post which ICs they get upgraded to Club at that would be interesting. I think IC WAW is one of those that plays it by the letter of the T&Cs.
It may be that they haven’t caught up as I can’t find the phrase that suggested you don’t get Club access anymore.
Just checked in to the Crowne Plaza in Manila. Great reception and upgraded to Junior Suite ( with platinum status).
Also got advanced notice of upgrade too which I appreciated.
That’s great!
Haven’t used IHG since the new system has been in place. Tend to book IC club rooms, & get room upgrade due to Platinum Ambassador status. I wonder how this will work now with One Rewards? Hoping to find out in a month or two!
Last week I stayed at the Intercontinental Dublin. I have ambassador status. Without asking I received my free drink at the bar. I always go for the Champagne cocktail (27 Euro usually).
Without asking my standard single room was upgraded to a suite. It has a living room, a huge bedroom, walk-in wardrobe and roomy bathroom and shower. I love my Ambassador status.
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