I stayed at the newly reopened Millenium Hilton during Labor Day weekend. I have never been in Lower Manhattan before, and was primarily staying there now because of a conference I was attending in Brooklyn. I received a rate of $135 a night, which I considered a steal, and attributed to the fact that the hotel was eager to drum up business since their corner of downtown was so devastated by the events of 9/11.

ARRIVAL:
We took a cab from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown. I needed to provide directions to the hotel since the driver was seemingly unaware of its existence. Because I had some knowledge of the hotel's location from studying maps, I told the driver, as we traveled down Broadway to make a right onto Dey Street, then an right onto Church Street to the front of the hotel. If this happens to you, those are the directions.
This was the only time that happened all weekend. I took the cab several other times and the drivers knew just where to go.
Cab fare from Port Authority was about $12.

A very friendly doorman, Jerry, took care of us immediately and was on duty the entire weekend, so we were able to build a relationship with him. We had no problems getting cabs or assistance with bags throughout the stay.

LOBBY:
The Millenium Hilton design is based on the giant black monolith from the book and movie "2001: A Space Oddssey," so the 55 story hotel is tall, completely black, save for some gold accents on the canopy, sleek and very narrow. The lobby reflects this design. After entering through a giant automatic revolving door, we were faced by the front desk straight ahead, a lobby bar called "Liquid Assets" to the right, and a concierge desk to the left. Several seating areas surrounded by post-modern lamps with tall, slim shades were on either side. The main feature which I noticed was the shiny polished floor to ceiling wood walls...maybe they were mahogany? Doors from behind the front desk were hidden, and the look was very rich. The lobby was about 20 feet tall, I'd estimate.

Front desk service was rather swift. The hotel wasn't too busy at Check-in and there were no problems. It was about 2 PM. The hotel features two banks of elevators. One bank has several elevators servicing floors 1-31. The other bank had two or three elevators that serviced 1-5, and express from 32-55. Overall, the elevators were speedy and we never had to wait more than a few minutes for one.

HALLWAY and VIEWS:
Considering we had a member in our party who has difficulty walking very long distances, the room hallways at the Millenium Hilton were perfect. We were given a room on the 27th floor, which only had 12 rooms total: two rooms on each end of the floor, and eight facing the front of the hotel and ground zero. The distance from the elevator lobby, which featured a large window facing the bland, beige back/courtyard of the neighboring building, to our room at the end of the hallway was a very short, convenient distance. We were very pleased. A trip up the express elevators to the 54th floor provided a spectacular view from the elevator lobby window. With binoculars, one could see past Coney Island to the huge cargo ships on the Atlantic Ocean; past JFK airport out to Long Island; and City Hall, the Municipal Building, Woolworth Building and the Brooklyn Bridge smack dab in the center. Basically, you could see all of east side lower Manhattan and all points east. You can't see quite as far as Spain, but it's out there somewhere.
I was told there is a Penthouse on the 55th floor, but I couldn't find how to get access to that floor. Stairs from the 54th floor lead up to the

ROOM:
We were given Room 2701, on the southern side of the hotel with a view directly above the cross at Ground Zero, the corner of Church and Liberty Streets, the building at the tip of Manhattan, and a little glimmer of New York Harbor and a portion of tree filled island which I couldn't decipher whether it was Liberty, Ellis, or some other island. In a word, the view was spectacular and emotional as you could see people 24/7 visiting Ground Zero and studying the displays on the wall surrounding the site.
Room 2701, according to the floor plan/fire escape on the door, appears to be among the four larger rooms that are on the ends of the hallway. The eight rooms facing the front of the hotel looked more compact, if the map was done to scale that is.
The room measured 22 feet long by 15 feet wide, not including a 2 ft. wide window sill-A/C unit that allowed one to sit and gaze out at the view. Below this window seat/unit was a window that opened for fresh air, which we had to use...more on that soon.
I was impressed by the airy feeling of the room. The decor was modern, but not cold as I expected. The furniture featured warm medium woods with frosted glass tops supported by metal "legs". A 42-inch widescreen plasma TV surrounded by a wood wall frame that was part of the modular dresser below it, was the centerpiece of the room. Atop the TV was a slim uplight that never worked, despite two calls to Guest Services to replace the bulbs or fix it. Several recessed lights, lamps and two directional "nightstand" lights on the modular unit above the bed provided enough useful and atmospheric light.
Speaking of the beds, we had two double beds, featuring plush pillowtop mattresses and goose down pillows covered by a neutral colored duvet. The combination provided the best sleep experience I've had ever in a hotel.
There were two seats in the room, one a cushy leather ergonomic swivel desk chair, the other an upholstered arm chair and comfy ottoman.
Three phones were in the room, a cordless one on the desk, one at bedside, and the other in the bathroom.
The closet offered 11 wood hangars with clips, two satin lingerie hangers, a safe, luggage rack, one foam pillow and additional blankets.
Next to the closet was the black marble topped refreshment center with two wine glasses, four "regular" glasses, and a metal ice bucket with handle, and a price list for the goodies. All were monitored by a computer system for which there were appropriate warning labels not to move or pick up any items, lest your bill is charged.

BATH:
The bathroom was large with a long black marble vanity, hair dryer, and extensive amenity package: shampoo, conditioner, lotion (all standard Neutrogena), mouthwash, vanity kit, cotton swabs, shower cap, all arranged on a bright chrome tray. The mirror was the entire wall and above it was bright marquee bath lighting. The phone was next to the toilet, which was a modern kind you don't normally see in homes. The flush was to the side and was very quiet. It seemed to provide ample flush pressure.
The shower was all marble, large and had a light above it. There were no grab bars and only one shelf. While clean, I don't think the tubs were replaced during the rehab of the hotel after 9/11, because ours looked a bit old and scratched.

PROBLEMS:
It was about 75 degree in NYC, and our room very stuffy despite the A/C being on high. We told the front desk upon leaving for the evening and they said they'd take care of it. Back in the room at 11 PM...the air is not fixed. We had to open the window and a nice breeze helped the situation a little.We called Guest Services, who said they would send someone up right away. Five minutes later, a friendly maintenance man arrived. He immediately noticed that the problem was a completely corroded filter that needed replacement. When he removed the disgusting filter I wondered if they were replaced after 9/11, too. Ten minutes later, all was corrected and the air was working properly. The only other problem, besides the light above the TV not working, was a parking charge placed on the bill despite the fact that we didn't have a car on this trip. Checking our bill on LodgeNet, the room number on the $45 valet parking charge didn't even match ours! I called Guest Services, they said they'd remove the charge. It was still there at check-out. A puzzled look from the desk clerk, an explanation from me that we didn't take a car and the room wasn't even correct, and eventually the charge was removed.

DINING:
The restaurant, Church and Dey, is on the third floor, overlooking Ground Zero and St. Paul's Cemetary. It is a bright, colorful modern eatery with typical NYC prices. It features a regional American menu. We had one lunch there, I had Amish Chicken Pot Pie, which knowing Amish food very well, was not traditional, but it was still very good and filling. Lunch was about $25 per person.
Breakfast the next morning was not as enjoyable. The prices were rather steep for AM fare and the portions weren't all that large. With an $18 omlette, I would expect some toast and jelly. Thee is a buffet with two pricing levels, $14 for continential, $18 for full American.
Service was competent, not great. The restaurant was convenient, but that's about it. There is a Starbucks adjacent to the hotel on Dey Street, by the way.

OTHER:
I checked out the Business Center and Pool/Spa on the fifth floor. Both looked very nice, but I did not have the opportunity to utilize either one of them. The Pool did have a nice view overlooking St. Paul's Chapel and Cemetery, with its burst of green trees, next door.

Check out was busier than check-in, but it still only took about ten minutes to complete the process.

UPDATE:
Apologies for the weird editing problems. I did not mean to be mysterious. I noticed that when I was editing my review certain blocks of text disappeared. One of them was my report on the stairs from the 54th to 55th floors.
What I had meant for you to read was...
"the stairs from the 54th floor lead up to a maintenance room one flight up and a huge windowless 'boiler' room at the top of the second flight of stairs. I figured that I shouldn't have been up there and left immediately."
That's all!

Recommended: Yes