Where? Free Hotel -- a blessing and a curse
 

Hi y'all!

Here's the story, my boyfriend and I are starting to plan a trip to Europe in early May 2007.

Through work, I'm managed to accumulate enough Hilton points for 7 nights at a Hilton in Europe. I wouldn't normally choose a Hilton anywhere in Europe, but for free, I'll take it. So, automatically, we're limited to where there are Hiltons.

This will be my BF's first trip to Europe, save Ireland when he was 13 years old. I've been several times to Amsterdam, Zurich, Brugge, Paris, Prague, London, Scotland.

We're 33 and 36, from Phoenix, love dives, hanging with the locals, museums, architecture, etc. Not high maintenance at all, love to drink wine!!

Of course, his first picks are places I've been, such as Prague and Amsterdam. I'd love to go back, but wonder what we're missing.

The deal is this, the 7 nights hotel have to be in ONE hotel. So that will be our base.

Here's what I've thought of so far:
Amsterdam with an overnight trip to Brugge
Paris with an overnight to Beaune for wine and several other day trips
Prague with an overnight to Dresden

But, where else could we go that we could spend a week? I want to get to know the area, but not be bored by day 3.

He's not so interested in Italy for some reason.

Places we've thought of that you might have feedback on:
Munich
Budapest
Slovenia
Madrid
Lyon -- there's a Hilton there
Dubrovnic with an overnight to Venice
Tallinn Estonia -- too small
Warsaw

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you have. We don't want to spend a fortune and all our time going to other places. He really wants to experience the OLD, historic parts of Europe.

Have a great day!

Good Grief! This budgeteer never thought she'd be advising people about 5-star hotel choices!

How about Greece!?!?! It's certainly Old and Historic, and Greece invented Wine! And Architecture! and Art! Etcetera! And MAY is the perfect Month to go to Greece... temp 65-80... and in southern Isles, warm enough to swim (yes).

There are 2 hiltons-- in Athens & in Rhodes. Howsabout you fly to Athens, and walk right down the hall and take a Bargain Aegean Air flight to Rhodes (35E +taxes etc eachway = about 45E, or 90E RT, but you have to reserve SOON). Enjoy 3-4 nights in Rhodes (Crusader Castles! Medieval walls; ancient columns of Lindos! etc). Last May 18 I swam in the bay of Lindos, and it was divine.

Then fly backone AM and enjoy 3 nights in Athens -- Acropolis, Forum, Plaka district, FAB museums, architecture, all that good stuff. PLUS late-night dancing/bouzouki etc. If you want to hang out with the locals, just talk to your Hilton "co-workers" your age, at the 2 hotels... they'll steer you to places THEY like, where they know you'll enjoy yourselves.

You wonder what you've been missing?? I just told you... and I want you to come back & say Wow, how come I never thought of Greece before!

Oh yeah, and I forgot to say that -- aside from the cost of coffee (which somehow is 2.5-3Euros), the prices in Greece are about HALF that of Italy in May.
(Don't tell anybody on this Fodor board or they may desert Italy and crowd up Greece).

For a week doing side trips and in early May I'm going to say Madrid. Spring is the best time to visit and there are lots to see both in the city and in the towns nearby (avila, segovia, toledo, salamanca, la granja, aranjuez, el escorial...). In fact, you don't have enough with a week :))

Arhh! Greece! Yes. That could be a possibility. Thanks Jan. Here's the catch. The hotel stay has to be at one hotel for the entire seven nights. I've been told that Athens isn't really optimal for a week. What are your thoughts on that?

Thanks so much.

Oh golly, I just saw the line that says it has to be in ONE hotel.... hummmm. Well, choose one or other, and you've still got a winner.

If you go to Rhodes & rent a car part of the time, you can explore the whole Island... in addition to just enjoying the beach & the facilities at the Fab Rhodes Hilton in Ixia, a suburb of Rhodes town.

Also, do a day trip to Symi, the next island, which has a Port that is Magical, they tell me!

If you chose the Athens hotel, just seeing the city (Acropolis, museums, ancient forum, the fab new Olympic site etc )can easily take 3+ days... and you can also take good Day trips...

One destination is only 1 hr by ferry (so you get a little of the GReek ferry experience) -- to the Island of Aegina. Rent a little scooter and zoom around all over, especially to the best-preserved Greek Temple in All of Greece, the temple of Aphaia, with a stunning 360° hilltop view overlooking the whole Saronic Gulf.

Another trip, by bus, to the Temple of Sounion... take a picnic, go to the beach for the afternoon, a taverna dinner, then see the sunset at the Temple on a high cliff, then bus back at 9 pm for more of that night-life.

A third idea if you're REALLY into Ruins -- 6:30 a.m. bus to Delphi (2.5 hrs) to beat the crowds -- unforgettable views in the mountains (don't take a "tour" to this, it's a ripoff, not enough time on site).

THat enough to convince you??

I think you should go to Vienna. Vienna should be nice in May (I just looked it up, and there's a Hilton there), and you didn't mention that you've already been there. It sounds right up your alley---lots of museums, architecture, fun low-key places, but also lots of high culture. Vienna itself should take a few days to see properly, and then there are day trips to Eisenstadt, to Melk, Krems, Durnstein, etc. And day cruises on the Danube.

I went there for five days all by myself once in early January and wasn't bored at all---just cold, which you won't be.

Otherwise, I think you should definitely spend the seven nights in Munich. There are so many day trip options (all the castles, Salzburg, Berchtesgaden...the list goes on). Also, there's nothing better than sitting out in Augustiner Keller with a liter of beer, a pretzel and some mustard. Hopefully it should be warm enough then.

I would agree that after two-three days you will have seen the best that Athens has to offer and trips elsewhere would probably need more than just a day or even one overnight.

You could get to a lot of places from Munich via car or train; the Hilton Munich City (one of two Hiltons there) is situated directly over an S-Bahn stop (Rosenheimer Platz) so getting elsewhere coule be easily done.

One overnight to Venice (from Dubrov.)would be too short in my opinion.

Hi G,
I don't think that you would get bored with a week in Paris.

You could visit Versailles, Chartres, Auxerre, Dijon/Beaune as daytrips or overnights.

((I))

Friends of mine just stayed at the Hilton in Paris and enjoyed their view of the ETower every morning and night from their room. I,too, would choose Paris. Why can't you tack some other days at the beginning or end of your trip and do some touring then?

We spent 2 weeks in May in Greece this past year and have already begun planning a return trip in 2007 for 3 weeks at the same time of year. We've traveled in the UK, Germany , Italy extensively, and dabbled in France and Spain... Greece totally blew us away however. I think a week in Athens actually makes a lot of sense. Seeing the Acropolis, both ancient Agoras, and the accompanying museums will take an entire day. Then the National Archaeology Museum is worth at least another day. There are also other great archaeological sites such as the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian's Arch, Kerameikos cemetary with the ancient funerary monuments, etc... You could easily take a daytrip to one of the nearby islands (Nikki's trip report about Carnival in Greece tells you how to do this). You can also visit Delphi as a daytrip. Other good daytrips are Ancient Corinth and Acrocorinth, and Ancient Mycenae. You could hire a driver to take you around or rent a car and drive yourself. Driving in Greece is incredibly easy... we found it much better than even Germany! There are also plenty of companies running daytrip tours if the above two options don't appeal to you.

oops, correction. Our return trip will be in 2008. 2007 is Germany/Austria/Italy with the family.

Isn't there a Hilton in Cannes? Then you could do your 7 nights there and not be bored at all. Many day trips from there all over Provence and you could do easy day trips to Italy.

From that list, I'd choose Paris or Madrid or London.

Hilton's aren't five-star hotels, to the person who thinks they are. Maybe some are, but a lot of them are pretty average, even 3*. I'd say the Paris Hilton is a 4*.

I just spent 5 days in Dubrovnik and would think with day trips (we did one day to Montenegro) you would have no trouble filling up 7 days.

You could also do day trips to some of the islands (Korcula comes to mind first, but there are several) and there is also Mostar in Bosnia.

Plus Dubrovnik is one (if not THE one) of the most beautiful places I have ever been too. I didn't go into the Hilton there, just saw the outside, but the location is very central...in my humble opinion you wouldn't go wrong with 7 days in Dubrovnik.

Whatever you decide....ENJOY! :)

I agree with LowCountryIslander - give Croatia a try! I haven't been there yet but my husband and I are going in May 2007 as well and Croatia seems beautiful, laid-back, and uncrowded...

I think what you need to figure out first is not "where is there a Hilton?" but "where is there a Hilton that has availability for Hilton points stays around the time you want to go". If you visit the Hilton Honors discussion thread on flyertalk.com, you will a) discover that a lot of people often have difficulty using their points where and when they want to use them and b) gain access to some helpful advice from frequent travellers who know the ins and outs of the hotels you want to stay at and suggest tips for finding reward stay availability.

The Hilton in Basel Switzerland is really nice and Basel is an excellent base to explore Switzerland, Germany, France. Many desitinations as day trips with return to Basel to sleep. Basel is not a huge tourist destination so it is "really" Europe. Great munster (cathedral), old City, excellent museums (historical, Greek/Roman, modern art, etc.), KaiserAust (sp??), is a short bus/boatride away with excellent Roman ruins, go to the Alps, Alsace wine routes, German forests...all as daytrips, plus Zurich, etc.

As above, I'd find out availability before you stew too much over this one.

Is Geneva a possibility? That would work well as a base for a week.

I don't see any problem going back to a city you have been before. If anything it might be less stressful than somewhere brand new.

geg5150,
Why do all 7 nights have to be the same hotel? Hilton does not limit their awards as such. Different Hiltons are also in different categories which require differing amounts of points per nights. Their top category requires a whopping 40,000 points/night.
You could pick a Hilton in different cities and see what the total award points you need would be.

If you are looking at their special 7-night awards, these are limited to their Silver and higher VIPs.
The hotels (Cat 4-6) in the large cities are often their more popular ones. May can be quite busy. It would best to see if their is availability first before setting your heart on something.

Also since you don't mind staying in smaller, less fancy hotels, Hilton has several intl hotels that require less points. So you could mix and match, e.g., Cat 5 for 4 nights and 3 nights in a cat 3 hotel, and still end up using a similar amount of points.

Research which Hiltons you may be interested in. The amounts of points you may actually need may surprise you. Flyertalk.com has loads of info on how best to use your points.

Why have we not heard anything in reply from this poster?

As much as I lovedlovedloved Greece this summer, I would not choose Athens for 7 nights. And although I also really loved Rhodes, I wouldn't base there, either.

So I guess my vote goes to either Paris or Cannes, both of which offer a fantastic base for exploring, daytrips, and lots of wine, since you said you loved to drink it!

And now, like Dukey, I'm wondering why the OP hasn't posted again?

Hi y'all,

I've been super busy the past two days and tonight has been my first chance to check back in.

Thanks for all of your advice so far.

Here's the deal with the Hilton points. I'm actually a Diamond member and have more points that you can shake a stick at. AND, because I'm Diamond, there aren't any blackout dates. I checked several of the hotels and they're all available anyway.

Niblette, in order to use the promo for 7 nights in a Cat 6 hotel, it has to be one hotel, not split. So, that's the scoop on that.

Dukey, I'm very much interested in Munich and that city will probably be shortlisted. I'd love any recommendations you may have and I'll continue my research.

Elainee, I'm not so comfortable with Switzerland. I spent 2 days in Zurich 2 years ago and it was extraordinarily expensive. I'm getting the hotel for free, but don't want to mortgage the farm for the rest of the trip. Any comparison on Geneva to elsewhere in Europe? Is my impression misguided?

The BF has had some feedback and is now leaning towards Prague, Amsterdam or France. Of course, I've been to all of those places. Ultimately, he gets to choose, but I want to arm him with unbiased feedback on which to make his choice.

I don't want to spend a week in Amsterdam, but we could possibly fly into Amsterdam, spend two days there with the hotel on us, and then take the train to Paris. Spend the 7 nights in Paris while doing a day trip or two and definitely spending a night in Beaune. There is so much in Paris that I either haven't done or want to do again.

As for Prague, definitely would spend a week there. I spent 10 days in 2005 and it was perfect. I'd like to do an overnight trip to Dresden, Vienna or Budapest with a day trip to Kutna Hora and Cesky Krumlov.

Any feedback or suggestions on above?

Thanks again and I apologize for being absent to your replies for a day or two!

Thanks again!
G

I stayed at the Hilton in Cannes on points and really enjoyed it. You could enjoy the coast via train for a couple of days and then rent a car and travel further afield. Or, just relax on the beach for a week! :-) The decor is a bit funky, but we truly enjoyed the stay.

geg5150,
A 7-day Cat 6 award is 205,000 points (BTW 205,000 points are not considered a whole lot of points by most Diamonds). If you truly have "more points than you can shake a stick at", you should be able to use points for your entire trip, whether you are staying 2 nights, 5 nights, or 7 nights per hotel, as long as you don't mind staying in a Hilton the whole time.

Prague is a Cat 5 hotel (a really nice hotel, highly recommend it). A VIP award for 7 nights would only cost you 175,000 points.
Paris is a Cat 6 (205,000 points). If you truly have a lot of points (much more than the minumum of 205K), you can use them to cover the 2 nights here and there as well.

Why pay for any of your hotel stays if you have THAT many points? The best use of the points is when the hotel prices are usually high (Paris, Prague). And with a lot of points, a free room is better than paying.
So even if you don't use a VIP award, but use points to pay for 3-4 nights in different hotels, you would come out ahead.
You can reserve the rooms even without enough points in your account as long as you will accumulate the proper # points before you leave. You will have a reservation # but no award certificate which will only be issued after the required points are deducted from your account. However, obviously, the award reservation will be cancelled if you do not have the needed points before you arrive.

BTW, there are no blackout dates for Diamonds but you can still be shut out if there is no award availability at the hotel. Has happened to me when the entire number of nights I wanted were not avaialable.

I've confirmed the availability in Prague, Paris, etc for the dates that we're looking to travel. If we book soon, which I'd like to do, we should be safe..

Not really wanting to get into a status debate about points. I don't want to deplete all I have, and I'd like to use them wisely. Ideally, I'd like to use as few as possible and keep the rest for other trips.

Additionally, I don't want to stay in Hiltons for the entire trip. I want to stay in a smaller, more European-style place for a couple nights.

I just want to use the points for the biggest chunk of the trip in the most expensive city.

I'm more interested in suggestions for where to go that my first time traveler BF might really enjoy.

Thanks again for all of your suggestions.

Based in Paris (where I live), you certainly would be able to keep busy in the city, plus be able to organise some (long) day trips via train or rental car. I would highly recommend a trip to the champagne region (either Reims or Epernay), which is doable in a long day. What's not to love about champagne-tasting? Plus Reims has some great architecture (there is an Art Deco tour; there was lots of post WWI reconstruction; plus there are stained glass windows created by Chagall for the Cathedral) and an interesting museum (the actual war room where the Germans surrendered in WWII). In Paris, head for the Oberkampf neighbourhood for its bar and restaurant scene.

Depending on the precise timing of your visit to France, though, you might have to contend with the minor disruptions caused by the fact that there are three statutory holidays in May in France (1, 8 and 17 May), so there will lots of French travellers clogging up train stations and airports, and some shops, restaurants and museums will be closed. French holidays would also a popular time for labour disruptions.

Prague could certainly keep you busy for at least 4-5 days, and the architecture is great. Better beer than wine, though. I'm not sure what would be accessible in terms of interesting side trips.

Another possibility in France might be the Hilton in Cannes. I am not a fan of Cannes or its neighbour Nice (too glitzy, too full of tourists), but they would serve as good bases from where you could explore the region.

You mentioned Munich as a contender, but have you considered Berlin, which is supposed to have a nice Hilton and is a significantly hipper city than Munich? We spent a long weekend in Berlin a few years ago, and loved the fact that, on a Monday night, the dance scene was diverse, rich and lively as on a weekend in most other cities. On our last night, we went out for dinner, back to our hotel for a nap (hey, we were 40) and then got up again at 1:30 am to go dancing.

Tied for first place (with Copenhagen) as my favourite city is Barcelona. I like it much better than Paris (and as I mentioned earlier, I live in Paris). The architecture is extraordinary (Gaudi's work is almost hallucinogenic), the cafe and bar life is great, there are a number of interesting museums, and there would be some interesting areas to explore on side trips (the mountain of Montserrat, the walled city of Girona, the beaches, etc.) Plus, dog owners stoop and scoop. And prices are probably a little lower than Paris. The shopping is good, too: Spain is Zara's home base (and the prices are lower here and the selection is broader); also Camper (funky shoes) and Massimo Dutti (like a Spanish Banana Republic).

If it were my choice, Barcelona or Berlin would be my first choice, Paris would be my second choice, then Prague, then Munich, then Cannes.

Oops, I forgot to mention that, if you stayed in Cannes, you could rent a car and drive into Italy - thereby indulging your interest in Italy without having to devote the whole vacation to it (since your boyfriend seems less interested in going there).

Hi G,

>There is so much in Paris that I either haven't done or want to do again.>

GO TO PARIS.

Stop dithering.

:) :) :)

((I))

Kate, thank you SO very much for your suggestions.

Barcelona or Berlin, huh? I'll pass that along to the BF for consideration.

It looks liks Paris is in first place at this point with 3 days in Amsterdam at the beginning or end. But, the BF is showing some hesitation about Paris for some reason. I think it would be great, but he gets to make the decision. Ira, I'm hoping for it.

Thanks so much! Have a great week.