HGU New York — Hotel in New York

I have been a local guide for many years I never rate an establishment low lightly.

I consider all aspects and weigh my thoughts carefully.

However I regret to say, that although HGUNYC has a great location and the staff being trained were trying.

Ronald was doing great! And Tia was helpful too.

Their biggest, detriment is SELENA being their trainer and supervisor I had never encountered someone so deeply unprofessional.

My friend was not greeted when she entered and Selena was immediately rude and almost antagonistic but when you are trying to check in and have some questions, mostly youre just confused?

My friend had questions about some additional fees during which I was on the phone. We had a very bad explanation for the fees but it is what it is.

Throughout her tone was very rude and unhelpful.

What can you do, eventually my friend got her money sorted and had her card out ready to pay. In hand, visibly.

My friend is standing  waiting to be helped. (I do want to note that my friend had a pleasant conversation with Ronald as well)

During this, I was actively on the phone with Ronald to confirm my own questions. I can hear this conversation in the foreground.

Anyways,

Selena continued to ignore her and when she "noticed" her she asked "can I help you with something?" With extreme condescension.

Idk maybe the card ready in her hand is an indicator that she's ready to give your establishment payment for services.

"Did you not want me to pay?" My friend was unsure about the current situation and the fee that was due.

Selena asked, "well do you have a card?"

Again the card is in her hand ready to hand over.

My friend looked at the card and at Selena few times

So my friend gently dropped the card onto the counter.

Selena then asked "are we going to have a problem?"

"No we're not going to have a problem I just don't think you're very nice."

Only to find out that because of this, Selena had cancelled our reservation and told us to find accommodations elsewhere.

I was on the phone with Ronald as he haphazardly explained our reservation was cancelled.

Ronald let me know maybe Selena would call back, I had to call again to finally speak to Selena and she seemed eager to tell us how poor our conduct was and that her staff felt unsafe.

She proceeded to tell us that we didn't get the truth or full story, insisting our friend lied.

Selena exaggerated that my friend threw the card at her and she was giving extreme attitude.

Selena was instructing me to tell booking.com that if you wanna tell them what really happened, due to misconduct you couldn't check in. We were incredibly confused more than anything.

I admittedly let Selena say what she had to and even went as far as needlessly apolozing on behalf of my friend. I didn't want her to be left to the streets of NYC as she's a single foreign black woman. But apparently given how delicate Selena's ego is our fate was in her hands. It was pointless and we had to scramble for other accommodations.

I'm appalled by this behavior and that HGU would uphold someone who has very little control on their own emotions and ego to be in a front desk training position.

Our conversations with the other staff members were pleasant. The only common negative denominator was Selena.

Selena should have answered our very normal questions, taken the payment and we would be on our way. Not antagonized, cancelled reservation, and berated for "OUR" conduct.

This abusive and immature decision that reflected Selena's poor character. Left someone from a foreign country stranded and left to find new emergency accommodations.

If someone tells you "I just don't think you're very nice" in a neutral tone, maybe reconsider your character, choices and profession. instead of punishing customers by canceling their reservations.

Please reconsider staying here, although the other workers were doing their best unfortunately if they are being "trained" by the Selenas of this world then this place is on...

We stayed at the HGU for 2 weeks for our honeymoon in NY. When we arrived at the hotel there was no one to help get our 4 suitcases up the steps or through the door which was disappointing given our long journey. When we finally managed to drag them up we made our way through the crowded hallway to find the reception. I was greeted by a man eating chicken wings behind the reception desk. This is unacceptable no matter what the rating of the hotel is, never mind a supposedly 4 star luxury boutique hotel. We were given our room key and told that there would be no daily cleaning of the room due to covid. But someone would come in every 3 nights. This is March 2022 and all other hotels had resumed daily cleaning which was very frustrating. Oh and no turn down service which they claim they offer online. No information about restaurant, bar opening times, room service or anything else was given to make us feel welcome. We had booked a deluxe king room and made our way up to the smallest definition I’ve ever heard of a king room. We could barely fit our suitcases in next to the bed and the bathroom was tiny. We were very disappointed given this was our honeymoon. A small silver lining was I had realised I had looked at the hotels rooms previously online and was sure this was smaller than I had seen online. It turns out they had downgraded us. My husband went downstairs to complain, no apology but they accepted to change rooms given the proof. We moved to a slightly larger room where our suitcases were able to open. The view from both rooms was a brick wall, so the rooms are very dark. The wardrobe fits maybe 3 things in it which was again frustrating as we were here for 2 weeks with suitcases full of shirts and dresses that needed to be hung up. The shower/bath is by far the worst thing about the room, it doesn’t empty properly so you’re left with grime every time you have a shower, and there’s no room cleaning so you’ve left feeling like you don’t want to take a shower. If you asked for anything from reception it was 50/50 if it happened. I asked for cleaning every 3 days, we only had someone come in once in the 2 weeks were there. I asked for towels, again 50/50 if they would be brought up. The cleaners that do still walk to incredibly rough looking hallways shout to each other with no professionalism. We eventually found out the rooftop bar was closed as well which was one of the draws for us to the hotel. The restaurant showed online also didn’t exist and was instead just some couches. Some food was served in the bar instead. We had an iron in the room which didn’t work, we asked for another one which arrived 20 min later, which also didn’t work. It’s also incredibly frustrating there was no water in the room.

On a positive note the hotel is in a great location, everything was 20 min away. The bed was comfy and the bar and coffee staff were nice and helpful.

All in all, their customer service is non existent, the hallways are out of a murder documentary, I think they are taking advantage of covid to give poor service and save paying their cleaners. Maybe they paid the photographer instead for the deceiving pictures on their website? No idea how they can call themselves luxury...

Aggressive Staff, Privacy Violations, and No Accountability from Management||I stayed at HGU New York (a Hilton/SLH property) from July 18–20, 2025, and this was, without exaggeration, one of the most upsetting and unprofessional hotel experiences I’ve ever had.||Despite booking two back-to-back nights, I faced repeated issues:||1. Privacy Violations|On the second day, housekeeping entered my room multiple times without knocking, even though I had declined service. They claimed I needed to check out, even though I had confirmed my second reservation with the front desk at check-in. I was never told I needed to check out and back in — this lack of communication directly led to confusion and serious breaches of privacy.||2. Confrontation and Hostility from the Housekeeping Manager|When I went to the front desk for clarification, the situation escalated into something I never expected at a Hilton-affiliated property.||I was trying to explain myself — stressed and speaking in my second language, English — when the housekeeping manager, completely uninvited, inserted herself into the conversation between me and the front desk agent. She was accompanied by another housekeeping staff member, stood too close, raised her voice, and aggressively accused me of being “verbally aggressive.”||At one point she said:||“If he hasn’t paid for the second night yet, check him out and I will get his stuff.”||And when I asked in disbelief whether she was trying to kick me out, she replied:||“I don’t want you here.”||Even the front desk staff tried to calm her down, saying “It’s okay, I got this,” but she refused to disengage.||✅ One objective truth remains:|Why did the housekeeping manager insert herself into a front desk matter, confront a guest, refuse to leave, and escalate the situation — all while accompanied by another staff member?|This was not a misunderstanding. This was a clear failure of professionalism and boundaries.||3. Management Response — Blame the Guest|The general manager, Selina, later responded but offered no apology and no denial of what happened. Instead, she echoed the same hostility with a polished version of the same message:||“Our hotel may not be the right fit for your future stays.”||This response made it clear that the staff were protecting one another, rather than taking responsibility or considering the guest’s well-being. I no longer believe this hotel is capable of resolving issues impartially or professionally.||4. Technology Failures & Frustration|This hotel is also not integrated with Hilton’s app or Digital Key, unlike every other Hilton I’ve stayed at. I had to go through manual check-in/out, the elevator was incredibly slow, and I was even asked to repay a transaction that had already gone through, leaving me feeling distrusted.||Bottom line:|HGU New York did not meet Hilton or SLH standards in any regard. I felt targeted, unsafe, and completely unsupported — as a paying guest, and especially as someone speaking a second language under stress.||I have an upcoming Hilton Grand Vacations holiday booking in Hawaii and am now seriously reconsidering that stay.||I hope Hilton and SLH take this complaint seriously. No guest should ever be...