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Hotel Review: Hilton New York

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Hotel Review Hilton New York

Double Beds Deluxe Room

Hotel Review: Hilton New York

This is the third post in the series titled BlogHer’12 and Back

  1. Hampton Inn La Guardia Airport
  2. Flushing, NY: Joe’s Shanghai and Fay Da Bakery
  3. Hilton New York
  4. La Fonda Del Sol
  5. American Airlines La Guardia to Chicago First Class
  6. American Airlines Chicago to San Diego First Class

Hilton New York was the host hotel for BlogHer ’12, and having attended many conferences in the past (in my previous line of work), I’ve learned it’s easier to stay at the host hotel. When you factor in the benefits from being a Hilton HHonors Gold Member and not having to walk in the muggy heat that is New York in August, it was a no brainer.

At $229 a night plus tax (BlogHer’12 conference rate), about double the nightly rate I like to spend on a hotel, I opted to have a roommate.  (More on the roommate and sleeping with a stranger in a future post on my personal blog.)

Location:

Hotel Review Hilton New York Lobby

Hilton New York Lobby
Photo Credit: Hilton Hotels

 

With the thousands of women attending BlogHer’12 and mostly male attendees of the FFANY convention, I couldn’t get a decent shot of the lobby without scores of people. The only time there was less than 30 people in the lobby was at 4am Sunday morning.  At 4am Sunday morning, making sure I got my lobby photo was the last thing on my mind.

In case you didn’t know, the FFANY is the Fashion Footware Association of New York, not to be confused with the Fire Firefighters Association of New York, like someone might have, not naming any names or anything.

Okay, you got me.  It was me. I can’t help it, when I see FF I automatically assume firefighter. (You can take a girl out of the fire service, but you can’t take the fire service out of a girl.)

Airport Shuttle:

The New York Hilton Midtown does not offer a shuttle service, complimentary or otherwise, from the airport to the hotel. You can take a bus, cab, private car, shuttle, or take the train into the city.

With two suitcases, the train was not an option.  I opted to go with the shuttle.  It was cheaper to take the free shuttle from the Hampton Inn, LaGuardia Airport to LaGuardia and then get a shuttle from there as opposed to arranging pickup from the Hampton Inn.

Picking up from the Hampton Inn would have been considered a private car hire vs a shuttle. It is true what they say about location: location, location, location.

At LaGuardia you have two options to get a shuttle:

1) Arrange for a shuttle outside of baggage claim and wait on the curb.
2) Ask the attendants at the desk across from baggage claim to call for a shuttle.

Guess which option I chose.  Yep, door number 2.

Not only was it drier (it was raining), it was also cheaper by a few dollars. Say what? Yeah, I’m not really sure why but I wasn’t going to argue about it.

I was the last pickup and it also turned out, the last drop off.  Either New Yorkers and other tourists don’t tip shuttle drivers or I tip too much/often.

Accommodations:

Hilton New York Floor 31 View

View from the 31st floor

The Hilton New York is in the center of Manhattan, hence surrounded by buildings. It’s definitely a concrete jungle.  The view from one of my windows.

Hilton New York Double Room

Double Beds Deluxe Room alternate view

Despite two double beds, a sofa chair and ottman, the room didn’t feel cramped, even with four medium sized suitcases and lots of swag.

The Serenity bed was amazing.  When you crawl in you’ll enveloped by soft but firm plush mattress.  Any lack of sleep can’t be attributed to this bed.

Hilton New York Double Bed bathroom

Bathroom

Although small without a lot of storage space, it was clean and functional.  I didn’t like counter extended above the toilet. A bit risky to store anything there. A simple brush of your hip or bump and your toothbrush or other items head down the drain.

Amenities:

Hilton New York Gym

Gym with plenty of equipment

Hilton New York Women's Lounge and Business Center

Women’s Lounge and locker room. Business Center.

The gym is quite large with more than enough equipment.  Admission to the gym is $15 for 24 hours.

The Business Center is a bit on the small side for a hotel the size of the Hilton New York.  The charge to use the Business Center depends on services used: printing is $2 per page; computer use is $10 for the first 10 minutes with a $1 charge for each additional minute.

Food:

My stay was part the BlogHer’12 conference which included breakfast and lunch. The food provided by the catering department was good.

The food as part of the morning breakfast buffet in the dining room, not so good.  Especially for $19 a person. Good thing I’m a Hilton Gold so breakfast was complimentary.

Summary:

For those who want to be in the center of Manhattan, the location can’t be beat.  Transportation options were plentiful from nearby subways stops and cabs at hotel entrance.  I’d consider staying here again if the price were right.

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