Hilton Garden Inn New York Times Square North — Hotel in New York

We are Hilton Diamond Members as well as owners with HGVC so we stay pretty much exclusively with the Hilton Brand. But overall, it's frustrating because it doesn't really afford much by way of advantages or perks I am coming to realize. More on that below.

This hotel is just okay. First, the location is great! Close to Rockefeller Center and Times Square. Good for walking without overdoing it. It also has a parking garage right next door where you cna get validated parking ($10 per day discount) as well as the option for valet which are definite pluses in a city where parking is a premium and trying to unload and check-in can be a hassle.

Be warned that the lobby is SMALL and there are not a lot of places to sit or stand if your room is not ready. And there are no bathrooms in the lobby. You have to go downstairs into the lower level/basement if you need to use the restroom.

First, the Pros: The woman who checked us in was great. Super nice and helpful and accommodating and I am sorry I did not get her name. We had reserved two rooms and when we arrived a few hours before check-in, only one was available but she gave us the keys right away so we were up in our one room with minimal hassle in no-time. Overall the rooms were decent size for NYC and clean. No major complaints about the rooms. Also, during checkout, valet getting our car and bell services getting out bags for us (which we had left with them while we explored more) were quick and efficient.

Now, the cons: It was after 4:00pm (check-in time) and our second room STILL was not ready. We had done online check-in the night before and specifically selected our two rooms with doors across from one another so we could see our kids door from ours and it would make it easy for them to find us if they needed us. We waited and waited and finally called. We were told that room was "no longer available" and was now occupied so they were cleaning the room next door to it and it would be available soon. When I asked what happened and why they gave my selected room away, and why, after 4:00pm we were STILL waiting as a room when, as a Diamond member, I feel this should not be happening, she sarcastically told me they had a room 9 floors up and we could have that if we felt the need to have our second room that instant. It was rude and unnecessary. We had waited patiently for over 3 hours and now, not only were we not getting the room we had selected during online check-in because they gave it away to someone else, but we had to keep waiting.

Second issue was the breakfast. As Diamond members we get a credit on dining. Usually it covers or almost covers the cost. When we went down to breakfast we were surprised that the restaurant was EMPTY. After eating and getting out bill, we understood why. They charge $25 PER PERSON for a very inadequate, basic, and lacking breakfast buffet. Even with out $20 credit per room, we still ended up spending over $100 on a bad breakfast for 5 people. We would have been better off hitting a local deli for some good food. Makes sense now why it was empty. Everyone else was smarter than us on that point That is definitely an overpriced mistake we won't make again.

We probably won't stay here again. There are other options we will try first. If we do, we have definitely learned to lower our expectations and what mistakes to not make a...

I had a two-night stay booked arriving November 30th but was two independent reservations as I was using a valuable free night certificate for the first night which needed to be booked separately. While on a brief flight layover at Chicago Midway, I went ahead and checked in and requested a digital key. Due to extremely bad weather affecting New York and LaGuardia airport, the FAA was not allowing planes to land. Our flight was first delayed, then outright cancelled. When I learned of the flight cancellation at about 3:30pm and that we could not arrive until the next day, I immediately called the hotel and informed them of the situation. I spoke with a representative at the hotel, explained my situation and asked if they could cancel my reservation. With the activities going on in Times Square, I figured they'd have no problem finding someone to take that room (which when I checked later, all standard rooms were taken). The representative advised me that they were speaking with the hotel manager and that she would cancel the reservation and I would be credited back the certificate or points. The next morning, I received an email folio receipt showed that I was checked out of the hotel at 10:00am and my certificate night was used for the night of 11/30 and is no longer available in my account. When we arrived to NYC on 12/1, we went to the hotel first to check in for the second night. I inquired about the receipt and asked why that reservation was not cancelled and my certificate used when I was told over the phone otherwise. The front desk staff seemed unconcerned, but did say they overheard the manager talking about the situation. When I asked to get information about how this would be corrected, they advised they would mention something to the manager. After not hearing back with an explanation or resolution, I contacted Diamond Member Customer Support, who generated a case and would be in contact with hotel management. That night I picked up a bottle of wine from the hotel lobby store and then was billed for it by folio the next morning without my diamond food/beverage credit applied. I stopped by the front desk before going to breakfast and they corrected the error without issue. I asked at that time as well if the manager was available to speak with regarding the cancellation of the previous night stay issue. I was advised she wasn't in yet. When I returned from breakfast, she was in a meeting. No issue there and I'm sure that was the case. But when I ask a front desk supervisor that I would like the manager to at least call me to discuss the matter that day, I would expect that I would get a call back with information and resolution, Diamond Member or not. I have not heard anything and upon filing a case with guest assistance (which the response from filing the case indicates follow up from management would occur within 3 days), it is more than four days later with no response and my account doesn't show it was corrected. It displeases me greatly the additional time I've had to spend to address this when all it takes is a quick and simple phone call and explanation. For my level of brand loyalty, I would have expected better than this and a decent level of service, not simply...

UNETHICAL PRACTICES, DO NOT BOOK HERE

We booked a 6 night stay from 6 April to 12 April, through Booking.com. This was our first family holiday post Covid with our 1 year old baby and 10 year old. Our flight from London was delayed by 2 hours. We arrived at the hotel at midnight looking forward to having a rest and putting the kids to bed. To our horror the man at reception, called Tyreid (he wouldn’t provide his surname!) informed us that the booking had been cancelled because of our late arrival and that the hotel is fully booked.

The receptionist - Tyreid - was highly flippant about the cancellation, he said we should have contacted them to advise them of our delay (how is this possible when you are in the air, and the delay was only 2 hours post our expected arrival time). When challenged he said there is never a guarantee for a hotel booking when made via Booking.com or Expedia. We have never encountered this before. It was clear that this was common practice at this particular hotel. To support this shortly after us a couple arrived to find the same issue with their booking.

We spent the next 2 hours with our young children sitting in the lobby trying to figure out what to do next as we were offered no support or alternatives. We had to force him to call Booking.com. When making phone calls to organise an alternative the receptionist was UNHELPFUL to the point of not even letting us use the receptions phone. We were just left to deal with it all by ourselves.

We contacted Booking.com who said they will come back to us asap to help us find an alternative. We had no call back and were left to find our own hotel.

We thankfully found a lovely alternative BY OURSELVES and would now NEVER look to book with the Hilton brand again. The man at reception was so unhelpful to the point that he couldn’t even organise a taxi to get us to our alternative place to stay. He said the wait would be at least 30mins and it would be a private, expensive company.

Booking.com came back to us in the morning at 9am - this is highly unprofessional and unacceptable when we made it very clear that we have a 1 year old baby and a 10 year old with us.

We can not comment on the stay however, judging from the Lobby area, the online pictures of just this area are highly deceiving.

Clearly our booking was given to a higher paying guest who arrived before us on the same day. DISGRACEFUL, especially when...