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Habtoor’s three Marriott-managed Dubai hotels rebranded by Hilton

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We recently wrote how the St Regis, Westin and W hotels at Al Habtoor City in Dubai were to be deflagged on 31st July.

From yesterday, Hilton is now operating the hotels – although I doubt the signs have been changed yet.

The St Regis becomes ‘Habtoor Palace Hotel, part of the LXR Hotels & Resorts collection’ – the hotel site is here 

The W becomes ‘V, part of Curio Collection by Hilton’ – the hotel site is here 

The Westin becomes Hilton Dubai Al Habtoor City – the hotel site is here 

LXR is a new Hilton brand.  It is designed to be a home for independent luxury hotels who want to join the Hilton ‘system’ whilst still remaining outside Hilton control.

There are now THREE Hilton brands for independent hotels:

LXR – for five star properties

Curio – for four star properties (Ibiza reviewed here, Boston reviewed here, Hamburg reviewed here)

Tapestry – for three star properties (Washington DC reviewed here)

I am very positive about these moves because they are attracting very good hotels.  I was very keen on The Graham in Washington.  We were also back at the Reichshof in Hamburg last month which is much improved on its chaotic opening which I reviewed.

Whether this can be enough to save the Al Habtoor City hotels, which suffer from a blighted location next to Sheikh Zayeed Road – see photo above – and chronic over-development, is a different question.


How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (December 2021)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Gold and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

American Express Platinum card Amex

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Did you know that the Virgin Atlantic credit cards are a great way of earning Hilton Honors points? Two Virgin Points can be converted into three Hilton Honors points. The Virgin Atlantic cards are the only Visa or Mastercard products in the UK which can indirectly earn Hilton Honors points. You can apply here.

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with American Express Gold (20,000 bonus points), the American Express Rewards Credit Card (5,000 bonus points) and – for small business owners – American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus points) and Business Platinum (40,000 bonus points).

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Comments (169)

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

  • AndyGWP says:

    (Excited) cross-post, but Amex referrals seem to be working again for me 🙂

  • Crafty says:

    So this message that’s been circulating about SPG points from Amex cards being stuck in the system for 6 weeks… leaves a bit of a bad taste. It’s poor form frankly.

    Has anyone had a go at Amex about it yet? Or checked whether it contravenes their terms?

    I’m definitely not happy about it as I’d have been cancelling my SPG sooner otherwise.

    • Russ says:

      Have spoken to SPG and they’re very apologetic…..

      • Crafty says:

        Apologetic in a materially beneficial way?

        • Russ says:

          From SPG ‘Thanks for your patience with this matter. It seems there is a known issue impacting our UK and Amex cards with a delay in points posting. Rest assured we are actively working on getting this resolved asap.’

          And that’s it.

  • GabeS says:

    Amex related
    Rob,what is your view with regards with the referral bonus when applying for different cards then the one you referred from?
    Do you still get the referral bonus regardless the card the referee applies for?

  • VJ says:

    O/T – Any one got the WeSwap card and use that to pay the Credit Card bill

  • ArianaGrande says:

    I’m so confused, since when could you get referral points for referring from a gold amex to any other amex card? I thought it was only platinum card?

    • Mark2 says:

      Since a month or so ago it was possible to use a referral to apply for any card and the reward was determined by the card originating the referral. A few days ago this stopped, but now has reverted.

      To me this looks like a configuration management problem. It may have happened too soon or just by mistake. Either way best to do anything urgent very soon.

      • the real harry1 says:

        Anything to make my lounge visits profitable! 🙂

        • the real harry1 says:

          I think Genghis actually persuades his colleagues to take his referral because they’ll be better off! 🙂 (which they will be)

          Must be seen as a person to respect, money-wise!

        • the real harry1 says:

          Probably a bean counter lol

        • the real harry1 says:

          Nice one, Murpho! 🙂

        • Genghis says:

          🙂

  • ArianaGrande says:

    Also no Mr Porter offer over 3 cards including platinum, absolute shite offers as per usual

  • the real harry1 says:

    O/T IB 90K

    On appeal, people are getting full points posted for all sorts of new/ duplicate a/cs.

    Anybody giving up because they got an initial brush-off is a bit of a wuss/ not prepared to spend time on it, I suppose.

    Just badger them to get your rightful points.

  • Mr Dee says:

    Thankfully got my account to account transfer now

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.