Recently I had a weekend alone with the kids while my wife was away on a girls trip. This was the perfect opportunity to test drive a few perks on my new Hilton Honors Aspire Card. So I booked a 1-night stay for my two daughters and me at the Hilton Chicago Oak Brook Hills Resort for a mini stay-cation. I wanted to test drive two specific card benefits:

• Hilton Honors Diamond status – this would be my first stay ever at a hotel having any kind of status so I was curious what that would be like
• $250 Resort Fee credit – the Aspire card gives you $250 annually to spend at Hilton resorts 

Using Benefits

Hilton Honors Diamond Status

Since I’ve never had status at a hotel before, I really didn’t know what to expect. My overall feeling was underwhelming, at least during the check-in process. I expected to receive some sort of warm greeting as a Diamond member, but check-in was like any other. I also wasn’t presented with the option to upgrade our room, so I had to ask if anything was available. They did have a suite available but it only had one bed, so we stuck with the original two queen bed room.

On the plus side, we did receive vouchers for the breakfast buffet worth $54 in total. The breakfast buffet was terrific, with everything you’d expect, including an omelet station. 

$250 Resort Fee Credit

One perk of the Hilton Honors Aspire Card is that each cardmember year (defined by the date you opened the account), you can receive up to $250 in statement credits for eligible purchases at participating Hilton resorts. I think it was meant for incidental charges like dining and activities, but it can also be used to pay for the room itself.

The difficulty in using this benefit is that it only applies at properties that Hilton classifies as “resorts”. Due to other planned vacations and our busy lives, we really had no opportunity to use this credit during this cardmember year. Most of the resorts are located in warm weather climates, however, Illinois has one resort where the credit will apply.

To get this benefit, all you need to do is pay the hotel bill with your Hilton Honors Aspire Card. Any other charges, like food, spa, etc. should be charged to the room as well so the credit can be applied against everything. The cost of my room was $236 + taxes. Just a few days after our stay, I saw the $250 credit hit my account! The speed in which they applied the credit was extremely quick and very much appreciated. 

Lodging

The hotel was built in the 1980s, so I assumed it would be a little dated. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that it had recently completed a dual-phased renovation. Hilton took control of the property in 2014 and their renovation had three main design goals:

1. Stress the “resort culture” and its most stunning feature, its views
2. Enhance the overall look and functionality of meeting rooms and guestrooms
3. Improve use and flow of the lobby, restaurants, and public spaces

The guestrooms are updated and clean and views from the upper floors are beautiful. On a nice day you can see the Chicago skyline to the east. From our room, we had great views of the golf course, outdoor pool and we even had a birds eye view of an outdoor wedding happening that afternoon.

Hotel Amenities

During our stay, we took advantage of the outdoor pool and room service. 

Pools

The outdoor pool is very nice and there were several lounge chairs available when we showed up just after lunch time. Keeping with the “resort culture” theme, the hotel has wait staff walking around the pool to take drink or food orders. There’s also a patio area right next to the pool where those relaxing pool side can pick up a quick and tasty snack or beverage.

There was no reason to use the indoor pool on such a nice day, but they have a few ping pong tables inside that we did try out.

Other Amenities

The hotel has many other amenities that we didn’t take advantage of, including a fitness center, spa, golf course and meeting/conference rooms.

The Willow Crest Golf Club looks like a nice track and is a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, which preserves wildlife habitat while protecting the property’s natural resources.

Dining

For dinner on Saturday night, my daughters thought it’d be fun to order room service. The menu had some nice options and everything we ordered was very good. I had the charcuterie pizza which is exactly what it sounds like. Cheese pizza with several different types of Italian meat toppings and it was very tasty! My kids liked their burgers and fries and really just enjoyed the whole room service experience.

For Sunday breakfast, we utilized our vouchers to eat at the buffet. It was top notch and had everything you’d want. From eggs to oatmeal, waffles to pancakes, even lox and bagels, it covered all the breakfast basics and then some. There was also a chef making omelets and waffles to order!

Other Activities

At the resort, there seemed to be activities happening all the time. It was very lively! During the day, the hotel had a kids station setup poolside. Kids could be entertained with arts and crafts while their parents enjoyed the pool. At night, they set out chairs so guests could watch a movie al fresco.

Bottom Line

My family and I enjoyed our 1-night stay at the Hilton Chicago Oak Brook Hills resort. It’s recently renovated and has many of those “resort culture” amenties that you’d expect from a Hilton resort property.