Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers, New York City

Author's product rating:   

Advantages:	Great mid - town location .  Newly renovated
Disadvantages:	Large .  Service is spotty .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

If you're looking for a business class hotel in mid-town Manhattan, you can't go wrong with the Hilton New York. It's between 53rd and 54th Street and 6th Ave (Ave of the Americas) and is therefore located within walking distances to Broadway theatres (one block over on 7th Ave), Rockefeller Center (down 6th Ave @ 50th Street) and offices in Mid-Town Manhattan.

Access to the hotel is easy via subway and parking is available for $40/night. It's main competition is the Sheraton a block away on 7th Ave. The Hilton is a huge hotel (over 1000 rooms with 44 floors) and is a busy during convention season.

We visited New York in October and stayed at the Hilton for 2 nights with our children and what follows below is a recap of our experience.

Rates: We used Hotwire and managed to get a great $135/night rate. The standard weekday rates range from $250-$350. (Hint: Hotwire has it as a 4 star hotel in Midtown Central). They also have executive-level rooms and suites with upgraded amenities (bathrobes, etc) but the majority of rooms are the standard sized king and 2 doubles (smoking and non-smoking rooms are available).

Location: As I mentioned in the introduction, the hotel has a great location in mid-town Manhattan. We took the subway and walked about 3 short blocks. If you're driving in; the hotel charges $40/night for parking but there are lots of parking within a block that charge about $30 for 24 hours if you don't need in/out privileges. Please note that there seemed to always be a line for picking up cabs in front of the hotel so expect a little wait if you need a cab. Also, 6th Avenue is one-way going north, 53rd Street is one-way going west and 54th Street is one-way going east.

Checkin: The hotel has over 1000 rooms but only has about 5 or 6 stations at the front desk. So if you check-in at a busy time, be prepared to wait. There are two lines -- a regular line and a Hilton HHonors line so it's worthwhile getting a free Hhonors membership to wait in the shorter line.

The front-desk was efficient and awful at the same time. No smiles at all but I chalked it up to the standard New York culture. I had requested a non-smoking room with 2 doubles but I was given a Smoking Room with a King. When I went down to get my room switch, they had to check with a "manager" before making the switch. But I did eventually end up with a non-smoking room. The clerk asked for the spelling of my name when she had my credit card in front of me (hmmmm) but she did ask for a picture ID when I asked for a replacement key.

Room Quality and Amenities: The room has the standard Hilton amenities (Nutragena shampoo, conditioner and soap); marble bathrooms; voicemail with personal greeting; USA Today delivered to the room; etc. It also has a TV with the standard in-room movies but also computer games and Web Access available for $9.95.

The desk had a convenient high-speed internet connection and power outlets built into the base of the lamp for laptops. Because the rooms were newly renovated -- the furnishings were comfortable. However, it looked like it had the original bathtub and shower-heads from 20 years ago so not everything was refurbished. But it's nice if you're tall because the shower-heads were placed high. All in all, it was better than what I expected from a huge convention hotel.

The room had individual climate control but the choices were slim. Unlike the Hyatts where you could specify the temperature in a digital thermostat, you're only given an analog control. But that's better than nothing. The windows do open so you can get fresh air and street noise in your room if you want it.

Outside the room, there is a new spa and fitness center that's small, but comfortable. Use of the fitness center costs an extra $12.50 a day but is free if you're a Hhonors Silver/Gold/Platinum member. There were the standard cycles and treadmills as well as free weights available. I enjoyed the clean steam room and the lemonade and tea available in the spa.

Our room was on the 28th floor (out of 44) and we had a view of the skyscraper across the street. So the views are not as comparable as the Central Park hotels or even the Sheraton by Times Square. The rooms looking down 6th Avenue have the better views of neon lights so you'll have to ask for it.

Breakfast is available in the hotel at the New York Marketplace restaurant ($14 for the continental buffet; $17 for the full American buffet with eggs and omelets cooked to order and $19 for the Japanese buffet). There's also the standard hotel lounge which was very loud and filled with smoke; and a high-end Italian restaurant ($40 entrees). I enjoyed the buffet for breakfast, but enjoyed walking down the block to a regular New York deli even better.

Checkout: Hilton has a zipout checkout so it was a breeze. I was able to checkout via video from the room after confirming all the room charges.

Conclusion: All in all, it was a very comfortable experience. It's definitely a nice place to be in New York. You won't get really attentive service (It's not the Palace or the Four Seasons) but if you need a nice place in mid-town for business or pleasure, it hits the spot.