Hilton for Luxury is the new name of Hilton's luxury invite-only programme (previously Hilton Impresario), in which luxury travel advisors can provide Hilton for Luxury benefits – such as free breakfast, upgrades, hotel credits and discounts – to their clients when booking stays at Hilton's most luxurious brands: Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, LXR, NoMad and Signia by Hilton.
The programme is also becoming more and more interesting in light of Hilton investing heavily into luxury, and increasing its footprint massively in the years to come, with exciting openings like the gorgeous Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island that opened up its doors this year.
Booking a Hilton for Luxury rate is essentially like having status at Hilton without needing to have status – and even if you do have elite status, this is like the cherry on top. Our experience from hundreds of annual Hilton for Luxury (and previously Hilton Impresario) bookings is that Gold and Diamond members booked on Hilton for Luxury rates are given even better treatment and many extras than if they would have booked through other rates.
In this article, we'll go through everything you'll need to know about Hilton for Luxury: the fantastic benefits, the potential for great savings through free night offers, and more on how the programme works so you can determine whether it's a good fit for you.
What benefits are offered through Hilton for Luxury (previously Hilton Impresario)?
Hilton for Luxury offers unique, complimentary benefits and discounts at all Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, LXR, NoMad and Signia by Hilton hotels worldwide.
The benefits offered are the following:
- Complimentary full breakfast for two
- Room upgrade, subject to availability
- Early check-in and late check-out, subject to availability
- $100 USD hotel credit to be utilized during the stay
- Double Hilton Honors points
- VIP treatment during your entire stay
- Discounted offers, such as third/fourth/fifth night free
It's also worth pointing out that Hilton for Luxury rates are typically the most flexible rate offered by the hotel – they are normally very flexible and allow for free cancellations until shortly before the arrival date.
A good agent also works directly with the property to make sure you get the very best treatment. Here at Lyxresan Travels, we've spent many years in the industry and know many of the management teams at the Hilton for Luxury hotels worldwide, and our team works directly with the hotel to ensure they go the extra mile for you.
Is it more expensive to book Hilton for Luxury (previously Hilton Impresario) rates?
The Hilton for Luxury rates are normally equivalent to the Best Available Rate, which often is also called the 'Flexible Rate', meaning it is the rate that has the most generous cancellation policy. This also means that there may be other rates offered by the hotel with a more strict cancellation policy that might be cheaper than the Hilton for Luxury rate.
It's worth noting that many Hilton for Luxury rates however run campaign offers, as listed in the next section, which further discount the best available rate and therefore makes it cheaper than any other rate offered by the hotel. Other times, the Hilton for Luxury rate may be slightly more expensive than the cheapest rate offered by the hotel, but it's still worth booking it given the many perks that are included.
Let's concretize this with an example and look at the Conrad London St. James
For two nights in June 2024, the Hilton for Luxury rate comes to £970 GBP for a two-night stay. There is a cheaper rate that is non-refundable and includes breakfast, at £887.30 GBP – a price difference of £82.70 GBP. However, the advance purchase rate is non-refundable, whereas the Hilton for Luxury rate allows cancellation until the day before check-in. Furthermore, the $100 USD credit alone negates the price difference, and that's notwithstanding the other benefits and double Hilton Points.
As mentioned, many times there are free night offers from the hotel, and if you were to stay four nights at the Conrad St. James with the same starting date, you'd get the fourth night free and your price per night would become £362 GBP (25% discount) – making it cheaper than the same non-refundable, breakfast rate at £420 GBP per night.
Free Night Offers: Third/Fourth/Fifth Night Free
Beyond the benefits offered on every Hilton for Luxury stay, Hilton regularly also offers free night offers on Hilton for Luxury rates. Our experience shows that at least 65% of all Hilton for Luxury hotels worldwide offer some type of deal at any single point in time.
The most common offers are a third, fourth or fifth night free, but occasionally there are hotels that also offer a sixth or seventh night free. The discounts also scale – if you book a hotel that has a third night free and you book for four nights, you get the 33% discount on all four nights of the stay.
In practice, you can get up to 33% off your stay at Hilton for Luxury hotels – and on top of that get the fantastic benefits such as the credits, upgrades and VIP treatment:
- 3rd night free: 33% discount
- 4th night free: 25% discount
- 5th night free: 20% discount
How Hilton for Luxury (previously Hilton Impresario) works with your Hilton Status and Membership
The beautiful thing with Hilton for Luxury rates is that they are offered directly by Hilton through luxury travel advisors. They are treated exactly like if you booked on Hilton's own website. You not only get your regular status benefits just as normal, you actually get double the Hilton Honors points on every Hilton for Luxury booking. And of course, you're getting a range of free benefits and occasional discounts on top of it.
Our experience shows that when a guest has both Hilton Diamond status and is booked through Hilton for Luxury, they get better upgrades and generally better treatment from the hotel. A good agent also works directly with the property to get them to go the extra mile for you.
With that said, it's important to make a distinction between status benefits and Hilton for Luxury benefits, because even as a top-tier Diamond member, there are some differences:
- The $100 credit is unique to Hilton for Luxury
- You get double the Hilton Honors points for your stay
- The breakfast benefit included in Hilton for Luxury is a full breakfast; whereas the Hilton Diamond/Gold breakfast typically is a continental breakfast, or in the US would be a F&B credit. If you book a stay in the US, you get both full breakfast and can utilize your F&B credit on something else
- Free night offers are uniquely offered through Hilton for Luxury rates
- Hotels generally take much better care of guests who hold both status and book Hilton for Luxury rates
We always recommend comparing Hilton for Luxury rates with the lowest available rate offered by Hilton to find what works best for you.
The value of Hilton for Luxury Rates with Hilton Gold/Diamond Status
It's easy to think that if you already have Diamond status, you don't need Hilton for Luxury. Our experience shows the opposite: the combination of Diamond status and a Hilton for Luxury booking produces the very best result. The hotel sees you as a priority guest on multiple levels and puts extra effort into your stay.
Client Example: Hilton for Luxury stay at Waldorf Astoria Bangkok
We recently worked with one of our clients to book them a four-night stay at the gorgeous Waldorf Astoria Bangkok. This hotel happens to also be offering the third night free. Given that Hilton for Luxury free night offers apply to the full length of stay, they in practice got a 33% discount from the most flexible rate.
Their four-night stay in the base room, a King Deluxe Room, came to 38,451 THB (roughly $1,050 USD) with the 33% discount on the most flexible rate. For comparison, the cheapest other rate offered by Hilton (which was non-refundable and included breakfast) was 47,733 THB (roughly $1,300 USD).
In other words, they got a fully flexible booking, full Hilton for Luxury benefits, and paid $250 USD less than the non-refundable rate. Furthermore, their full Hilton Diamond benefits were honored and they received an additional $50 USD in combined F&B and spa credits.
The client was also upgraded to a King Deluxe Suite on account of their combined Hilton Diamond status and Hilton for Luxury booking.
Summary
Hilton for Luxury is an excellent programme to get even more value out of all your stays at Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, LXR, NoMad and Signia by Hilton hotels. You get access to fantastic complimentary benefits like free breakfast, upgrades, $100 credit, double points, and more, plus access to free night deals that trigger when you stay three, four or five nights depending on the property. The programme offers excellent value even if you're a Hilton status member, as the Hilton for Luxury benefits and status perks combined get you the very best the hotel has to offer.