This week I stayed at the Doubletree Milton Keynes. Not all my travel is the glamour of a British Airways First Class trip to New York. This week saw me in the midlands, at a conference in Milton Keynes. Located about 30 minutes outside London, the city is new and very much a planned city.

The Doubletree by Hilton is located on the outside of the MK Dons football (soccer) stadium. And I mean the whole outside. The four floors of the hotel wrap around the stadium. Internal rooms have views of the pitch. The hotel is in the middle of a large shopping area with a number of restaurants nearby.

I had some time on the day of my check-in and at about 1pm I asked whether there were rooms to check-in. The staff were emphatic that they were not going to be rooms until 3pm. I returned later in the afternoon and heard the glorious words – ‘We’ve upgrade you to a suite, Mr MilesFromBlighty’. I don’t ever recall securing a suite upgrade at a Hilton for free!

The gave me the usual drinks voucher and confirmed that breakfast was included.

I popped in the lift and went to the 4th Floor. Room 4001.

The Suite was large, and I assume that on match days the furniture is removed and it is used for the MKDons’ Chairman for hospitality. How nice is that!

There were two easy chairs, a large sofa and a HD Flatscreen TV in the living room. Kettle, tea and coffee were also supplied along with a mini-fridge and two bottles of water.

The WiFi was quick and a code provided on the desk, located in the bedroom.

The double bed was comfortable and there were a couple of chairs in the bedroom too. The view was of the centre line of the pitch.

The marble bathroom had a rub, two wash basins and the shower was in the bath. There were plenty of towels with extras in the wardrobe located in the living room, together with two bathrobes.

I ordered room service and they confirmed that they waive the tray charge for Honors Diamond members – how nice is that?

Whilst I was waiting, a member of the team popped round with three small appetisers that they were giving to their Diamond members in residence!

The room service order came whilst I was waiting and was excellent.

The next morning I went down to the second floor for breakfast. The bar, which clearly would be busy on match days was empty and walking through to the restaurant I was warmly greeted by the waitress. A familiar self-service arrangement of hot dishes and cold items was out already although I was the first person to come down that morning. The food was tasty and I resisted the temptation to over eat!

All round a good stay at a property that really makes an effort for its Diamond Honors members.