Hilton Adelaide is a 5 star luxury hotel under the Hilton Worldwide group. Travellers should be familiar with the Hilton brand and even if that is not the case, other internationally renowned hotel chains by the Hilton Worldwide group such as Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts, Curio Hotels and Conrad Hotels and Resorts should ring a familiar tone. This gives us a sneak peek into what to expect from Hilton Adelaide as it should be of comparable standards to its sibling hospitality chains. Being situated above Victoria Square in the capital city of South Australia, Adelaide, Hilton Adelaide promises its guests a myriad of activities and happenings. While I am sure that the Hilton brand is synonymous with luxury and excellent service, let’s see if this particular Hilton hotel lives up to the reputation of the Hilton Worldwide group.
Date of stay: July 2013
233 Victoria Square
Adelaide SA 5000, Australia
Hilton Adelaide is located just a stone’s throw away from the international airport and getting to and fro is an easy task. Transfers can be done by bus service with the guidance of the hotel’s staff and private transportation as well. My advice would be to take the simplest method of transportation and just hail a taxi. After all, the hotel is a mere 4 miles from the airport and under normal traffic conditions, the whole journey by taxi should take no longer than 20 mins and cost you no more than AUD$20.
Hilton Adelaide is located at Victoria Square, the city centre the happening area around town. There is a plethora of food and beverage options around the hotel and some corporate offices are located nearby too. Tourists can be assured that their stay at the Hilton Adelaide will not be a boring one.
For starters, Hilton Adelaide makes for a pretty good accommodation choice for businessmen who have work commitments in the vicinity. The hotel is in the CBD area and is proximate to several business hubs and offices. The list includes numerous government departments, SGIC office, Telstra offices and the Supreme Courts, which are all one block away, and several bank offices, such as HSBC Bank Australia, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac bank branch, which are all within walking distance from the hotel. Business travellers with dealings in these offices can decisively call Hilton Adelaide home for the duration of their stay due to the proximity and ease of travelling to work during their business trip.
The area surrounding Victoria Square is also home to many universities that many foreign students call home. Examples include Carnegie Mellon University Australia, UCL Australia, Flinders University, and Eynesbury College. All these universities are within a 10 minute walk from the hotel, making it extremely convenient for parents headed to the area to attend their child’s graduation ceremony or school events. It is indeed not an often occurrence for a luxury hotel to be located in such close proximity to such an abundance of schools.
Leisure tourists will also not be bored due to the abundance of entertainment and dining options available. For shopaholics, head over to Rundle mall which is less than one kilometre away from Hilton Adelaide – a very walk-able distance. Over at Rundle Mall, which also happens to be Australia’s largest mall, tourists will realize that it is indeed a shopping treasure trove in Adelaide, spanning over a length of 520 metres and housing four leading department stores, more than 700 retail outlets and over 300 non-retail services and offices. At Rundle Mall, tourists can easily spend an entire day navigating the labyrinth of fashion, electronics and beauty shops while replenishing their energy at the colossal food court that houses thousands of seats. The mall definitely has more than enough to keep an entire family entertained for at least an entire day, and the endless selection of dining options makes it just so impossible to have a taste of all the mall and its arcades have to offer on a single trip.
Foodies on a hunt for a vibrant palate of flavours should head over to Gouger Street, which is a mere 5 minutes walk from Hilton Adelaide. Gouger Street is an extremely popular place that foodies love to visit, as it offers a plethora of food and beverage options, ranging from casual budget meals to full course restaurants and cuisines range from Chinese to Western, Indian to Argentinian. Surely, first time travellers visiting Gouger Street will have an extremely hard time making up their minds on what to taste. However, fret not as there are numerous travel guides that you can pick up either from the airport or hotel, and a quick search on the internet will bring up some of the most highly recommended restaurants and eateries along the street. Guests familiar with Gouger Street can also try visiting Grote Street, which borders the hotel and also houses and interesting albeit less vibrant selection of dining options.
There are several other hotels of similar quality and calibre located around Victoria Square, such as Hotel Metropolitan and Adina Apartment Hotel. These other options also offer similar proximity and convenience to these malls and eateries as well. However, when it comes to location and accessibility, Hilton Adelaide still stands out as the pack leader as it is literally a stone’s throw away from the Southern Hemisphere’s largest under cover market – Adelaide Central Market. Being such a popular tourist location that welcomes over 8.5 million visitors annually, Adelaide Central Market has been touted to be the food Mecca of the world for multicultural cuisine and fresh produce and the best thing is that Hilton Adelaide is the closest neighbour to the bustling market. Adelaide Central Market is truly a food and produce hub, offering guests an endless choice and supply of fresh groceries and dining options. Head to the market to experience Australian food culture by trying out the traders’ fresh products or head for a tasting session at the numerous cafes and restaurants that serve all types of food under all types of cuisines. In short, all your basic necessities can be met here and guests who wish to do some basic grocery shopping can do so at Adelaide Central Market with total ease and convenience due to its proximity to the hotel. There are also non-produce and non-food shops around the market, peddling goods such as books and flowers. I must say there is something for everyone there and Hilton Adelaide’s close proximity to the market makes it a gem among its competitors.
Leisure tourists will also find it relatively easy to travel to popular places of attraction in Adelaide as the hotel is situated at a prime location close to the popular destinations. Adelaide Botanical Gardens, Adelaide Zoo and Adelaide Oval are all with two kilometres of the hotel and can be reached easily by foot. There is a bus stop right outside the hotel grounds and the staff will be pleased to provide guidance should you wish to travel to those places by public transport. Nature lovers can hail a taxi or rent a car and take a short drive to take in the beautiful scenery that Adelaide has to offer. A 20 minutes drive takes you to Adelaide Hills and a 10 minute drive in the opposite direction takes you to West Beach, where you can observe or even travel along Adelaide’s stunning coastline which stretches for 32 kilometres and houses numerous beautiful beaches.
Hilton Adelaide is definitely one of the hotels that is clearly superior in terms of location. Transportation to and fro the hotel is also a hassle free activity, as it is easy to hail a taxi either by yourself or with the help of hotel staff. Guests can also head to the tram or bus stop, where a short ride can take you to most of the popular attractions in town. Shopping, dining, sight seeing are all activities that are within close reach of the hotel and its proximity to gargantuan markets only adds to the convenience of guests and although it is not the only hotel the area, it does have an edge in terms of brand name and proximity to the city centre’s most popular destination, Adelaide Central Market.
This photo of Hilton Adelaide is courtesy of TripAdvisor
The entrance to the hotel is a somewhat unimpressive and uninteresting façade, and it looks a little like a run down apartment block. Even so, the main entrance is prominent enough and guests should have no troubles locating the hotel entrance along Victoria Square. Though it doesn’t look like much from the outside, you can still see hints of the glory the hotel’s exterior once had such as its well chiselled angles and I am sure that if you turn back time by a decade or so, Hilton Adelaide would have had one of the most impressive outer shells around town.
Upon entering the hotel, you will immediately notice how grand the lobby area looks. Wide and massive looking staircases lead you to the main and welcoming lounge area of the hotel lobby, where large and bright chandeliers hang. At first sight, I thought Hilton Adelaide surely has the substance and class to host guests looking for an extravagant holiday. At the lobby lounge, there are various types of seating configurations that guests can choose from and they can easily accommodate all groups of guests ranging from couples to large families. There is also a grand piano at the lounge area, allowing guests to enjoy a sip of alcohol concoctions from the bartender while enjoying some soothing classical pieces if the pianist is around. All these makes the wait for checking in a painless wait. However, upon spending some time at the lobby area, you will likely come to notice the signs of age of the hotel. The sofa chairs seem to have faded in colour and some of the chairs even spot some mean looking stains. Some of the décor such as the golden handrails around the lobby seem to have lost their shimmer, and the carpets look a little dull and worn. Also, the lighting at the lobby is rather dim as the hotel uses lots of warm orange lighting and minimal white lighting. Some guests might find this a little dark and dingy while others might find it warm and cosy. With that being said, these points do not have much negative impacts on guests and I am sure that most people will still find it comfortable to rest at the lobby lounge.
Prior to checking in, I arrived early in the morning when the rooms were not yet area. However, the professional staff were willing and helpful in allowing me to leave my luggage in a secure room while I went around to explore the vicinity before checking in later on. The check in process was simple and quick for me, and I was able to get my keys within a short span of 10 minutes. The staff are all polite and never fail to serve guests with a welcoming smile on their faces and this speaks a lot about the quality of training Hilton Worldwide offers to its employees. I must say in terms of service, Hilton Adelaide does indeed live up to the group’s reputation as a leading 5 star hotel that provides extremely hospitable service. Guests with requests regarding various areas such as transport, booking of tours or activities and even requesting for a wake up call can let the friendly and helpful staff know and they will be sure to put in effort in ensuring that your requests are met. Do take note that guests who have booked an executive room are eligible for express check in at the Executive Lounge. It does provide for a more exclusive start to your stay and also offers a more personalised experience where the staff can spare more time to explain and introduce Adelaide’s numerous attractions.
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