New York Times Square Hilton Best Kept NY Secret Gem!
Written: May 25 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Free breakfast for Hilton Honors, central location, fast elevators, reasonable cost with advance booking.
Cons: Bathrooms clean but not as modern as they could be.
The Bottom Line: The Times Square Hilton offers free breakfast buffet and a great location high above the city - get the highest floor you can for a great view!
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| DGodesky's Full Review: Hilton Times Square |
The Times Square Hilton gives you an oasis right in the middle of the busiest city in the world! I’ve now visited this hotel on two separate occasions, spending a full week of nights, and consider it a hidden gem.. The rooms are billed as some of the largest in the city, the entire hotel and rooms are kept spotless clean, linens are crisp and towels well laundered and fresh, and throughout the hotel the staff is friendly and supportive.
The first thing you need to know is that this hotel does not have a big city street entrance – it has a small double door entrance on West 42nd street, with the Hilton sign above, but it blends into the array of other signs. Look for the big clock at the end of the sign, and use it as a landmark to find your way there, and home. With a West 42nd street location, you are about 10 blocks away from Penn Station where you would arrive by Amtrak or bus. A taxi ride to the hotel is about $5 but you can easily walk the distance in less than 20 minutes, counting wait time for crosswalks. And every street crossing curb is luggage-friendly, and no problem rolling luggage along the way. Take the walk, get the exercise, and enjoy the sights!
The hotel is sandwiched between West 41st and 42nd streets. Entering on either side, you walk at street level to the center of a wide entranceway, where you will find elevators to the Lobby Level, on the 20th floor – the elevators are for guests only and the doorman and security guard at street level ensure your security.
Once in the lobby, the check in is swift and professional. If you are a Hilton Honors gold level member, you will receive two free buffet breakfasts daily – a value of over $50. You can opt for free internet service in lieu of the breakfast, but I strongly recommend breakfast. Internet costs $13.99 a night plus taxes.
Breakfast is served bistro style in an area just off of the lobby. You get a well prepared full buffet - two or three egg dishes, potatoes, meats, fruits, breads and bagels, coffee, juice, etc. If you are lucky enough to get a window seat, you have a great view of 42nd street. The breakfast is of high quality, but $50 would be steep for breakfast for two, so you may want to consider ordering ala carte or going somewhere else if you’re not getting the Hilton Honors free breakfast. There has never been a crowd for breakfast, which is very surprising since on every stay the hotel was fully booked.
Rooms start above the lobby level, and the higher you go, the more premium your view, and likely the higher the rate you will pay. With advance booking, in the spring of 2009, I was able to get $160 per night rates, but they are now hitting over $300 as summer unfolds and with little notice. The rooms are larger than average, and you don’t feel confined at all. The flat screen TV is about a 37 inch model and adequate for the room. There is no personal safe in the room, which is unfortunate; while we’ve never had a problem with theft, a safe would be a nice addition. The bathroom is roomy, and basic, nothing luxurious, but clean and well maintained. It is a basic tub/shower unit with a cure-out shower bar that give you an impression of a slightly larger shower/tub.
Whenever I stay at a multi-floor hotel, I dread the wait for slow elevators – but that’s not a problem at this hotel – it must have the fastest elevators in the city! Never a wait over 5 seconds once we called for an elevator, and high speed travel to the floors we wanted. Fantastic!
On the street, the NY subway is right at the end of the block - as is Times Square!
Having traveled for business for over 30 years, dozens of trips a year, I find this to be one of the friendliest, safest, and most enjoyable hotels in a city environment we’ve ever used.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
DGodesky
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Location: Maryland
Reviews written: 75
Trusted by: 5 members
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