Hilton Garden Inn, New York

...LOCATION:

The Hilton Garden Inn is located at 63 West 35th Street. We wanted something pretty central so we could pay for as little transport as possible. We couldn’t really have done much better. We were a two minute walk from Macys (very important for the girls!) and a 10 minute walk to Times Square. There was also a subway stop literally 10 metres from the entrance to the hotel.

PRICES:

We stayed in ...
...Evelyn – the difference between Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn – I’ll take the cheap smellies for $100 a night price difference!). The best bit was the shower. It was an absolutely massive walk in. It wasn’t great if you prefer baths as there was only the shower but it was brilliant for us. The style of it was really luxurious. Usually hotel bathrooms are so standard with the shower over a shallow bath with an old shower curtain, so this made a real ... more

On my recent trip to the USA I left Mr Tart to book the hotel for New York. Normally I wouldn’t leave it to him as I’d end up in the cheapest hostel but my influence is obviously rubbing off as he came up trumps with the Hilton!

LOCATION:

The Hilton Garden Inn is located at 63 West 35th Street. We wanted something pretty central so we could pay for as little transport as possible. We couldn’t really have done much better. We were a two minute walk from Macys (very important for the girls!) and a 10 minute walk to Times Square. There was also a subway stop literally 10 metres from the entrance to the hotel.

PRICES:

We stayed in the hotel for two nights. Mr Tart booked through Priceline so we didn’t know exactly what we were going to get but he’d stipulated area and minimum star rating. We paid $293.03 which came through as just over £200. The prices on the website (which I scanned briefly) are higher and range from around $180 during the week to around $210 (those are the lowest prices I found). The prices get higher or lower depending how far in advance you book. There are king size, two double bed and suites available.

THE EXPERIENCE:

Checking in to the hotel was quick and painless. The reception area was small but very clean and nicely decorated. There was a left luggage area in reception which we used on our last after checking out. There are some sofas in reception as well as a tiny bar which had a few seats.

Our room was on the 20th floor. It was very small but really, really nice. It was decorated in a very modern style with dark wooden furniture. There was a large shelf unit with the TV on it. The TV was a large flat-screen which was really great. There was a desk with a modern office chair. The bed was a large double and was extremely comfortable. We both slept really well. The room being so small did make it a bit difficult to move around. There was nowhere to fit my suitcase (no, I don’t get the concept of travelling light but it wasn’t THAT big!) so I had to put it on top of the small stool by the window. There was a small hanging space by the door with an iron and ironing board. There was a luggage rack in there but there really wasn’t anywhere to put it up.

The bathroom was amazing. The usual sink with free goodies (although made by Neutrogena not Crabtree and Evelyn – the difference between Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn – I’ll take the cheap smellies for $100 a night price difference!). The best bit was the shower. It was an absolutely massive walk in. It wasn’t great if you prefer baths as there was only the shower but it was brilliant for us. The style of it was really luxurious. Usually hotel bathrooms are so standard with the shower over a shallow bath with an old shower curtain, so this made a real difference. There was a hairdryer in the bathroom but it was a proper plug in one and not one that was attached to the wall which I liked because the other ones never seem to work effectively.

The room had tea and coffee facilities, although there was a distinct lack of biscuits! There was also a microwave but I can’t believe that it gets used very much. There was free wi-fi in the hotel which I think is important when you’re paying that much for a room (it really gets me when hostels and coffee shops have free wi-fi but in posher hotels you have to pay for it!). There was also an Internet cable in the room if you wanted to plug the computer in.

Our room was very clean when we arrived. On our return from sightseeing on our first full day (after we’d spent one night) we were shocked to find the maid about to clean our room (it was about 4.30pm). We asked her to come back but she said she would have gone home by then. Although it wasn’t a huge problem for us as we’d only been there one night, I was quite disappointed by the lateness of the room cleaning. I didn’t think 4.30 was an unreasonable time to return to a freshly made bed.

OTHER FACILITIES:

We didn’t use any of the other facilities as we were too intent on sightseeing! However, the hotel has a business centre (with a fax and photocopier), and a fitness suite. Breakfast is available in the hotel but we didn’t fancy paying for this so I can’t tell you how good it was, although Hilton breakfasts are usually pretty good.

CONCLUSION:

I’m giving this Hilton Garden Inn four stars. I thought that the hotel was extremely well located , very comfortable and very stylish. I’m knocking off one star only because the room was a little small and because of the timing of the cleaning. The size of the room wasn’t a huge (no pun intended, hehe) problem. For the location and price I was very happy with what we ended up with. I wouldn’t have paid some of the higher advertised prices but I think there are very few hotels worth paying those prices for. NYC is expensive in general so we were prepared and willing to pay this for such a nice hotel.
 

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