Tweet this!
I had a bit of time on my hands, and found that there is a ton of new Hilton Family Hotels opening in Europe this year and next. Here is a little list I made for you Hilton Fans out there..
Germany:
Hilton Frankfurt Airport - 4th qt 2010 or 1st 2011
Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport - 4th qt 2010 or 1st 2011
Hampton by Hilton Frankfurt Airport - Late 2011
Hampton by Hilton Berlin - Late 2010
Waldorf Astoria Berlin - Mid 2011
Hampton by Hilton Düsseldorf City - 2011
Greece:
Doubletree by Hilton Resort Kos-Helona - April 2010
Hungary:
Hilton Visegrad - ?? Was to open in late 2009
Italy:
Hilton Giardini Naxos - 2nd qt 2010
Hilton Garden Inn Lecce - April 2010
Doubletree by Hilton Olbia - Sardinia hotel - March 2010
Netherlands:
Hilton The Hague - June 2010
Norway:
DoubleTree by Hilton Oslo City Center - 2010
Poland:
Hilton Gdansk - June 2010
Hilton Garden Inn Kraków - June 2010
Romania:
Doubletree by Hilton hotel Oradea - Sept 2010
Russia:
Doubletree by Hilton Novosibirsk - April 2010
Turkey:
Doubletree by Hilton Istanbul-Moda - June 2010
Hilton Garden Inn Kutahya - March 2010
UK:
Hampton by Hilton Birmingham- March 2010
Hampton by Hilton Braintree - March 2010
Hampton by Hilton Liverpool City Centre - May 2010
Doubletree by Hilton Milton Keynes hotel - March 2010
Hampton by Hilton Shrewsbury - March 2010
In the last year there have been many new openings in Europe, many in the UK, Turkey, and hotels in Romania, Slovak Republic and others..
Looks like Hilton is pushing the Hampton and DoubleTree brands in Europe.. Check out some really bad UK TV spots for the Hampton Brand here
AS group and also a member of the Star Alliance. When booking this reward ticket I had a hard time getting multiple United agents to book a reward on Blue1 as a part of a Star reward, they kept telling me that Blue1 was a partner but not part of the Star Alliance. After 4 or 5 calls got an agent to look Blue1 up.. and she said, “our system is wrong, it is listed just as a partner.. but they are in star” after some time on hold and supervisors on the line I booked Frankfurt – Helsinki on LH with a 23 hour 55 min stop (within Europe reward stop over are not allowed but connections under 24 hours are). Then Blue1 (KF) up to Kittilä Finland. (Airport KTT). Returning the same route all in one day. My LH flight was like any other, got the *Gold seat block next to me, and enjoyed a cold breakfast, two rolls some ham, salami, and cheese. Arrived right on time at Helsinki my bags were the first to come out with my priority tags on them, then enjoyed a day in Helsinki. The next day walked over to T2 at HEL airport from the Hilton Helsinki Airport, checked in at the Blue1/SAS gold line. When checking in the SAS agent was very nice, I
asked if the flight was full, she told me there were a few open seats.. I asked if one of them could be next to me, like Lufthansa.. She told me, that the LH system has that service built in but the SAS/Blue1 system will not block.. The equipment was an MD90 2 – 3 configuration she put me and my buddy in a window and aisle on the 3 side, telling me she would call the Bangkok flight management desk to block the seat between us. We went to the SAS lounge; it was like many other SAS lounges, with a cold bar of food, rolls and drinks. It was an ok lounge but knocks the socks off any Red Carpet Club. A few minutes before the posted boarding time I was approached by the lounge staff, informing me that I could pre-board now and the middle seat was blocked. I walked to the gate with the lounge agent, was greeted by the gate agent by name, and was number 1 to board. I was impressed with the interior of the MD90 it was in good shape, and the headrest covers had an SAS logo on them. The crew was good on board, it was a buy on board service I paid 7 Euro for a large Ham sandwich and red wine. The water was free. The flight was quick and on time.
Landing at KTT was cool as the runway was snow covered, and we could walk out the back tail door of the MD90. The Blue1 service was just like any SAS flight I have been on. I think SAS Norway has the best crews and I think Blue1 was right behind.. the CPH and ARN based crews are so so in my book. When checking in at KTT for the return flights, the agent did not have a computer; she was hand writing boarding passes and bag tags. 
She was working off the master flight list. I asked if the computers were down, I was told we do not use computers here. My bag was checked to FRA, but she could not give me a hand written boarding pass for my LH flight. Flight back was about the same. Got the HEL went to the transfer desk to pick up my LH boarding pass, and got home. The HEL to FRA flight was at dinner time and was provided a really good hot meal, it was curry chicken with mashed potatoes. My bags also made it with the hand written tags. Here are some photos from the Kittilä and Levi area.
Lufthansa owned BMI is now set to take over more of its parent’s UK routes. Starting on March 28th, BMI will be responsible for Lufthansa’s three times a day service from London Heathrow to Cologne.
ust like Lufthansa Italia is doing out of Milan Malpensa? I think so, even if there is not a name change..
A few weeks back I traveled to Belgrade , Serbia and when looking for a hotel I noticed there was not many 4 or 5 star international chains in the city. There is a Holiday Inn, but the reviews were not too favorable and the location was not the best. I did find some small hotels with good reviews in good locations, but the Hyatt Regency Belgrade was getting the best reviews but also the highest rates. So I joined Hyatt Gold Passport and emailed them for a status match from my Hilton Diamond status. My plan was if I get matched I would go for the Hyatt.
Next week should be a mess in Germany and all over Europe for many Star Alliance travelers who are flying the dominant European Star carrier Lufthansa, as the Pilots of LH strike for 4 back-to-back days. Many travelers might not think this will effect them but check your bookings as many UNITED, USAirways and Continental flights within Europe are operated by Lufthansa. LH could be totally shut down for 4 days. Pilots at Lufthansa voted on Wednesday to go on a four-day strike Feb. 22 until Feb. 25 to protest wage deals and potential plans to move jobs to lower-paying su
bsidiaries, the union said.