Hilton Garden Inn New York/Times Square Central — Hotel in New York

First, let me say that except for my arrival the housekeeping staff were great, did an excellent job. And the restaurant was excellent also. Good food and great service.

Now for the many problems. Upon arrival the front desk clerk took guests randomly, ignoring the guests waiting patiently in line. When I questioned him about that he became verbally aggressive almost yelling "Are you mad at me? Do you have a problem with me". Note that I was NOT yelling, cursing or speaking to him like that. I just wanted to check into my room. I had asked some questions which he refused to answer. Why was he so abusive? Is this Hilton policy?

Upon arriving in my room, I found it a mess. Very dirty counters, hair on and holes in the comforter. The bathroom was filthy. The counter top had something spilled on it, the toilet had a filth ring around it, the shower reeked of mildew. I have provded pics of this.

I called the front desk and unfortunately got the same aggressive young man I had just checked in with. As it was about 7:30 pm, I asked him if there was any houskeeping staff still on duty. Again, he refused to answer my question and asked what I needed. My question was to find out if I could get this pigpen cleaned tonight or not. Fortunately there was someone still there. She showed up and did an excellent job making it right.

Plumbing issues. Every time I check into a hotel room, I run the water for a few minutes to flush out any old standing water from the pipes. I turned on the cold water faucet and only hot water came out. Not warm, but HOT water. And the hot water was slow to come out of the hot water faucet. I even checked under the sink to see if the supply lines were reversed, but they were correct. The next morning, I tried the cold water faucet again...hot water. I ran the cold water from 5:33 am until 6 am...27 minutes, never got cold. I turned on the shower to NO hot water. I let the shower run for all of 15 minutes, still no hot water. I called the front desk and they sent up the engineer. The only thing he suggested was to turn BOTH the sink and shower hot water on at the same time. This did work, sometimes. I spent the entire 7 day stay with occasional hot water where it should be and always hot water where it shouldn't be. I had to brush my teeth with HOT water. Why? I tried on 2 more occasions to get some answers about this issue. However at Hilton, they do not answer any questions and I was left in the dark. One of those attempts to gain info I was completely ignored.

Fire alarms: on the third day the fire alarm was sounding in the room. It went on for about 3 minutes. No announcements were given at all. Nothing. It finally stopped, I opened the room door and found a houskeeping person. I asked her if we should leave, or if there was a fire. She said no, you are safe, just ignore it. Then, on Jan 1st, New Years morning, at 7:58 am, they decided to test the fire alarm. Seriously? The entire hotel was doing New Years Eve and up very late and they test the fire alarm THAT early? I have included recorded videos of these fire alarm fiascos. Later, I went to the desk to ask who's idea it was to wake the entire hotel with a fire alarm test. I did not yell or curse. The desk clerk was extremely rude and stated " I just got in, I don't know what happened. I don't want to start the new year negatively so..." then she just walked away from me. What kind of an answer was that?

It was at this time I took a pic of and included the Hilton promise sign that is prominently displayed on the check in desk. This desk clerk was about 2 feet away from this sign when she said that to me. As was the aggressive young man when I checked in. The irony is just ridiculous.

Now I would like to address the vacation sales clerk, but there is no more space. She was very pushy, rude and verbally aggressive with me. That was until my wife showed up. Suddenly she had nothing more to say.

Worst hotel stay of my life, and at my age, that says a lot. Hilton used to be at the top of the game. They have...

THE ARRIVAL -tight, packed, small common areas; stressful!!! I know that having to take an elevator to reach the hotel lobby is the most common thing in New York, but Hilton Garden Inn Times Square Central’s elevator corridor must be among the narrowest I’ve encountered. Imagine 4 or 5 persons wanting to enter an elevator with a full-size baggage each plus, 2 or 3 more guests with full-size baggage also trying to get out of the elevator through a 6, maybe 8 feet wide corridor. The hotel lobby is also minuscule and barely has enough space for guests and baggage, and finally, when you’re all checked-in, guess what??? You must go back through the same narrow corridor to catch the same crowded elevator that will take you to your room. Needless to say, this was a painful and stressful arrival for someone on a wheelchair, for whom -by the way- there was not the slightest assistance nor consideration.

THE ROOM -Knowingly small but a bathroom bellow standards We were not expecting a huge room and thus were not surprised with what we were given; it had the basics and overall comfortable for a wheelchair, including a spacious bathroom. But was the bathroom what accounted for the letdowns. Mold and rust were obvious in many places, including the shower; hooks were missing, including the one used for hanging the extension shower; and the first day we had no toilet paper but rather a bunch of tissue paper boxes. Thankfully, this last detail was fixed the very next day.

On the bright side, the huge floor-to-ceiling window let a lot of light in and help fight claustrophobia away.

THE LOCATION -Be 100% sure you want to stay next to Times Sq. Hilton Garden Inn Times Square Central is conveniently located not at Times Square’s heart but 100 feet away, which turned out to be just perfect. With Times Square getting more classless every time I visit, it is a good thing not to have its crowds right at your hotel’s front door but rather at the next block, and yet, you’re only feet away from the big screens, shopping, dining, and train stations -which by the way are some of NYC’s most wheelchair accessible. Overall, a great location for kicking-off your itineraries no matter where you’re headed in Manhattan and beyond. However though, be mindful that the noise and glare coming out of Times Sq. will be constantly present throughout your stay and are quite noticeable during the whole of the night, even with the curtains shut and the windows closed.

THE STAF -Noticeably overwhelmed. The staff strives at being assistive and polite but it’s obvious they’re overwhelmed, making interactions feel unwelcoming. The clerk at the front desk, for example, had to take care of the pantry and the checking-in/out guests; can’t really blame him for looking like he wanted everyone to just disappear. Housekeeping -which must be requested, felt a bit inconsistent. I already talked about the tissue paper boxes instead of toilet paper; other day a lot of conditioner bottles were left but no shampoos, and the number of towels varied throughout our stay. I’d like to thank the guys at the hotel’s front door though, they were really helpful and friendly every time we needed a cab and directions, and though I think it is not within their duties, were very assistive with our baggage during our departure.

THE VALUE -Wouldn't pay $400USD/night for a Garden Inn...

1-Dear Sir/Minister, we are very sorry. We made reservations 3 times in the same month and stayed at your hotel for approximately 14 days. However, we had to extend the 3-4 day period of our last stay. Because although we love your hotel very much and I am a Hilton Honors member, we had a big problem with the reception staff at your hotel and especially with the security at the entrance. The reason is that when I asked your staff at the reception whether it would be delivered to me when I shop on Amazon Prime site, they said yes, they will leave it at the reception and we will deliver it according to your room number. I ordered two watches, but when I went on the delivery date and time, I was told that the watches had not arrived. Then I went to the reception and was told that the cargo was not delivered. I went to nearby hotels for 2-3 days. I went to two and many hotels on 42nd Street, and the staff at the reception changed every day, and I asked the security officer below for information about the time, and they told me that the watch was never delivered to us. They made a notification, but I went to the reception again and in my notification I wrote that it was delivered at 1:33, I said let's look at the camera at the time, they said their cameras were not working, of course I was very upset and I had to buy this last hotel accommodation and I wanted to go to the police station and get a report about it. 2- I went to the police station 3 times and as a result, I called 911 to your hotel and called the police, and in your hotel, which could not be found for four days and the camera records were not working, and in your very famous and favorite hotel, and although it was not available and my time was over, I had to go, I had to return, using the days I had to stay again and I had to leave New York without having the pleasure I wanted, but first of all, I would like to thank the American government and America's valuable police force. I would like to thank the authorities and staff of your Hilton hotel, which I love and enjoy staying at, for this care and concern, this sincerity, and especially for not being able to find a lost item of mine. I will never forgive your employees for the fact that my watch parcel, which I felt belonged to one of their own employees, was found by the police and handed over to me. Of course, I have a request on this issue. I would like to paste and write my comments to all Hilton comments. My request is that my accommodation fee for the last 3-4 days of my stay during this period be refunded to me. I respectfully express that this issue should be evaluated immediately and I should be informed. 2-Coming to America and living there, visiting New York, having fun here and having fun in Times Square, which I enjoyed going to with my children. I hope he left New York with great disappointment and unhappiness. I want the reception and security staff of your Hilton hotel, which I chose with great pleasure, to...