DoubleTree Hilton Gurgaon - two stays, two upgrades (including a suite!)

I travel to DEL reasonably often, and after I got a complimentary upgrade to HHonors Gold, I've been keen to use the benefits (and why wouldn't I) as often as I possibly can. So the last two times I've had the opportunity of choosing my hotel when in Gurgaon, I've picked the DoubleTree Hilton Gurgaon. This is a new property, and a nice one. What follows here isn't exactly a hotel review, but just my experiences here over my last 2 stays at this property.

The first stay

My first stay was in April. I booked this through my office (the office-negotiated rates were on par with what some of the promo rates allowed), using my HHonors number while booking. I was able to access my booking online, and got a free upgraded to the Executive Floor. To note, that because I was there for only one night, and preferred a full breakfast the next morning, I never got around to using, or even seeing, the Executive Lounge on the 11th floor. It never struck me to take pictures of my room, but I did, however, manage to get a few at the lobby.

At check-in, I was welcomed with Doubletree's signature warm chocolate chip cookie! A nice touch, in my opinion.

I don't think they are used to seeing too many "elite" customers, so once the check-in agent saw that I was HH Gold, he called the duty manager over, who was overly nice in welcoming me again!

After settling into my room, I went down and had drinks at the Spiritual Bar, with a colleague. Prices were consistent with other 5-star hotels in the NCR area, so no complaint there. They had a live band performing, but I felt they were way too loud, considering how empty the bar was. There's a smoking area (open air) attached to the bar, where you can take your drinks. Dinner was at Casablanca, their signature Moroccan cuisine restaurant. Sadly, not the best tagine I've had.

(You must excuse the lighting in the picture).

The following morning, breakfast at Asia Alive, the full-fledged "coffee shop" was wonderful. Quite a vast and varied spread, with eggs, pancakes and waffles to order.

Overall, a good experience on this occasion.

The second stay

My second stay, in May, was a bit different - not unpleasant (at all), just different. As on the first occasion, I booked a room via my office, but this time, I couldn't access my reservation online. To make matters worse, there were no Executive floor rooms available for sale on the website, so I prepared to make do with a standard room (Gold members aren't confirmed upgrades if rooms are not available, and suites are not easily parted with!).

At check-in, I got the usual cookie. As I had decided to skip lunch, I was quite hungry, and so the cookie was instantly devoured! Seeing this, the check-in agent immediately brought over a second one! Then, on seeing that I was an elite member AND a return guest, he called over the duty manager. The same guy who met me on the previous occasion came out, and recalled my previous stay. When I asked for a room upgrade (seemingly, in the usual course of things), the check-in agent informed me that all smoking rooms on the Executive floor were all sold out. Why not upgrade me to a smoking suite, I asked. He was confused, but the duty manager nodded, and told me that he would be pleased to upgrade me to a suite, as I was a "regular" customer. Nice score!

This time, I did remember to take some pictures. The door to the suite is at an angle, and so the vestibule leads straight to the dining area in the living room.

The living room itself is fairly nice - a large couch and a single seater sofa, with a large TV and a centre table with some books.

The vestibule leading up to the living room has the bedroom door on the left,

and a small powder room on the right (no pics). The bedroom itself seemed a bit smaller than the Executive floor room I had on my first visit, but was decently furnished with a TV and a work desk.

The bathroom was small, but the same size as the one in the Executive floor room. To be honest, I was expecting more.

This visit was actually for a meeting followed by a dinner banquet at the hotel itself, which made my choice of hotel easier. I didn't use any of the restaurants or the bar for dinner, though breakfast was again at Asia Alive. I could get used to this!

[Update - March 2014]

• What's good: friendly (if sometimes inefficient) staff, good value if you can get upgraded to the suite, really tasty cookie (and if you ask for it, then cookies), very good F&B quality
• What could be better: location of the hotel (nothing close by, really), size of the standard rooms

Conclusion

So what's my overall opinion? The Doubletree Hilton Gurgaon is a nice, clean and functional hotel, with good facilities, and very friendly staff. Overall, two very nice experiences. Would I go there again? Most certainly, and even if I wasn't offered a suite upgrade (though I'm not going to say no to that!).