This was royal treatment, I must say and also give my warmest recommendations to the Hilton San Francisco Financial District. I had posted on facebook previously that I had gotten a room with “twelve doors” (including all balcony doors, though) and uploaded a panorama picture in the daily photo section here.

Well, here’s the background. In fact, I did not really do much to get it other than stay with the same hotel chain a lot. I have become a “Diamond member” of the Hilton Honors membership program pretty early during my sabbatical, as I stayed in some franchised hotels of them during my travels in the Southwest to the Solar Eclipse and back and in Hawai’i. Especially there, Hilton hotels seem to be in a high category to earn points, and suddenly I found myself climbing the HHonors ladder fro msilver through gold to Diamond, their highest category, which really has a lot of benefits.

In the San Francisco Financial Hilton Hotel (formerly the Holiday Inn with its famous rooftop Swimming Pool that features in a movie whose name I can’t remember at the moment), this Diamond Membership meant that there was suddenly this upgrade to the Presidential Suite out of nowhere for the initial two days reservation, as well as the access to the Club Lounge with free breakfast and appetizers and drinks 24 hours per day and of course this priceless 27th floor view to the Bay. When I commented about this upon checkout (I did not dare making a comment earlier than that!) and that I had another booking for the last three days in San Francisco, I got an apology that “the presidential suite was taken those days, but one of the Junior Suites would be available”. Only the 25th floor 😉

Well, I have left San Francisco now (see daily photo) and it will be over with city luxury for a moment, the woods are calling!