New York Hilton Midtown — Hotel in New York

I posted this review back in March. Hilton said they would resolve my issue by giving me 90,000 points for a future stay. This never happened. They ghosted me once I took my bad review down, so now I am putting it back until they do what they promised.||Check-In Issues||My frustration began before I even arrived. About twenty-four hours before check-in, I received a notification on the Hilton Honors app prompting me to select my room. Excitedly, I carefully chose my preferred room and floor, only to receive an error message stating:||“We’re sorry, online check-in is currently unavailable. Your reservation is confirmed, and a room will be ready for you when you arrive. You may try online check-in again later or stop by the front desk when you arrive.”||Assuming it was a temporary glitch, I tried again—multiple times—even the following morning while on the train to Manhattan. One of the main reasons I choose Hilton properties is the convenience of online check-in, allowing me to select my room and access it seamlessly with a digital key. However, since the app never worked, I was forced to check in at the front desk.||When I arrived, I explained the issue to the front desk agent, who asked for my last name and confirmation number. After providing the details, she asked, “Where is _?” I explained that he was upstate and that I was in the city for the New York City Half Marathon. Despite showing my confirmation, the app, and my ID, she insisted that I could not check in because I was not my husband.||She provided a phone number for my husband to call to authorize my check-in. He attempted to call multiple times, but no one answered. When I relayed this to the agent, she insisted no calls had come through. My husband, still on the phone with me, assured me he was trying. She then wrote down another number, which he also attempted to call multiple times, only to receive a busy or out-of-service message.||At this point, I was losing patience. Canceling wasn’t an option, as I would have been charged, and there was no assistance available at the front desk. Frantically, I continued trying to check in through the app while my husband kept calling the nonfunctional numbers. Finally, the app allowed me to select a room—but only one at a higher rate than my original booking. Desperate to resolve the situation, I accepted it just to get into a room.||The agent then told me to “take a deep breath.” This was particularly frustrating because this issue had happened at Hilton Midtown before. In 2023, the hotel assured my husband over the phone that my name had been added to the app to prevent future issues, yet here I was again. The front desk staff told me that my name would need to be added to the reservation every time.||This was not my only frustrating check-in experience at Hilton Midtown. One year, my digital key didn’t work due to system updates, forcing me to wait at the front desk for physical keys. Another year, the entire check-in system crashed, leaving all guests stranded for hours. These issues have never happened to me at any other Hilton property. At this point, I feel foolish for continuing to return.||Overnight Disruptions||The problems didn’t end there. Because I had to wake up at 3:30 AM for the NYC Half Marathon, I went to bed early, hoping to be well-rested. My family opted not to stay with me so that I could have a quiet night. However, at 10:00 PM, I was abruptly woken up by shouting, slamming doors, and general chaos.||To be clear—I have three children, nine nieces and nephews, and I work in a preschool environment for ten hours a day. I have a very high tolerance for noise. This was not typical hotel noise. It sounded like a group of young adults partying without supervision. From 10:00 PM to 3:00 AM, my floor resembled a fraternity house.||A woman in the room next to mine even opened her door and yelled at them to be quiet, but they ignored her. I called the front desk and security twice. While they were apologetic, I have no idea if anyone ever addressed the situation because the noise continued all night.||Running the NYC Half Marathon is a major event that requires either a qualifying time or a lottery entry. This was my first time qualifying, and I had hoped to secure eligibility for future races with a strong performance. Instead, I was forced to run on less than two hours of sleep, feeling terrible the entire time. In hindsight, I would have been better off sleeping at home and commuting to the start in Brooklyn in the middle of the night.||Early Check-Out Confusion||After the race, I rushed back to the hotel for a quick shower and to pack up. Every official Hilton source stated that checkout was at 12:00 PM. However, at 10:30 AM, housekeeping entered my room despite the Do Not Disturb sign. After my shower, I double-checked with the staff, and they told me that check-out was 11:00 AM for upstairs rooms but 12:00 PM for downstairs rooms, instructing me to leave immediately. I was confused and frustrated by yet another inconsistency.||Concerns for Future Stays||I left the hotel exhausted, stressed, and vowing never to return. However, I have two upcoming reservations at Hilton Midtown.|1. August – I booked two rooms for myself and a group of close friends, all pediatric speech-language pathologists, for our annual get-together. As the trip organizer, I am now worried about potential check-in issues and whether I will regret my hotel choice. I am planning this trip and it will be so embarrassing if I have these same issues.|2. NYC Marathon Weekend – I have a reservation for two nights. Given my experience during the half marathon, I am concerned that my stay will be chaotic, negatively affecting my performance in one of the most important races of my life.||At this point, I feel I would be foolish to stay here again. The Hilton Midtown is an iconic hotel in a fantastic location, which is why I’ve continued giving it chances despite repeated problems. Unfortunately, I may need to reconsider.||Final Thoughts||I am not someone who complains about minor inconveniences, but this experience was unacceptable. However, I do not want any individual employees penalized over this. I recognize that hospitality is a challenging industry, and I appreciate the efforts of hardworking staff. My hope is that my experience can be used for training and...

The worst Hilton hotel I've stayed at. Probably due to being a Hilton Grand Vacations sales tour stay. If you've received their emails or sales calls, you may be familiar with the "deal" I am talking about, i.e. 3 days / 2 nights across various locations including New York, Las Vegas, etc. The Grand Vacations deal is a separate thing, however, which I will comment briefly on later. (Spoiler: It was a very unpleasant experience... You guys should be ashamed of yourselves.)

Back to the hotel: Overrated, overrpriced. I was explicitly told they freely change rates to surge with various events. At the time of writing, it appears to be $169/night. During my stay, rates surged to $449/night. There was nothing particularly notable about the dates of my stay, either. Pretty suspicious.

Service: I have found the staff (concierge/front desk, sales club representatives) at this hotel to either exhibit an indifferent customer service attitude or to actively display a certain condescension (telling me without words that I don't deserve more than a second of their time). I can't tell if it is because I was staying in Midtown New York at a supposedly "high class" hotel, or if it is because if I do not check at least 2 of the following boxes: old white male attractive female 5'9" or taller

For it being 2024 and the heart of New York City, that was a frankly a bit of a shock and let down.

Room: I stayed on the 13th floor. I get there expecting a clean room and basic amenities that I had gotten at similar rooms in the same class across different hospitality brands including Hilton. Things like a mini fridge, snacks/water (paid or free), room slippers, a welcome brochure / breakdown of hotel amenities.

Instead, I walk into a room that felt like it was barely just cleaned and might even be in the middle of "refreshing," by which I mean there was a notable lack of mini fridge with only a stray cord where something might have been plugged in earlier. The headboard above the bed was ratty and tattered. There was nothing to welcome me. No bottled water, no coffee, no kettle, nothing. Forget the little above-and-beyond touches I've gotten at other places like little chocolates or a welcome card. The shower tiles felt grimey and the toilet was hard to flush. The thermostat seemed broken as well. On the second day, a distinct sewage smell pervaded the entire room, althought it was most intense in the bathroom. I felt like I was staying at 2 or 3 star motel intstead of a 4-star hotel. The only positive of the room is that the bed was comfortable. Still, I ended up going to a different hotel, one that is technically considered a 3-star hotel but achieves the same Google Review 4.1 rating as NY Hilton Midtown, that I had a much better experience at and would pick over this hotel any day.

Location: The main reason to stay here. It is conveniently located. Expect location-premium prices, however.

Grand Vacations Sales Tour Experience: The only person that I felt genuinely treated me sincerely and kindly in the entire experience was the Sales Club check-in receptionist. She probably doesn't even get the commissions... which is a pity, because she did her job the best. On the spectrum of salespeople, this definitely skewed towards used car salesman vibes.

As time went on, their efforts to belittle and harass me into giving them money became more and more transparent. Some things I heard: "You got to stay in this hotel at a great deal, when do you think Hilton would want a return on that investment? Like yesterday!" "You can finance this with monthly payments." "We don't negotiate. Prices are locked in to today."

The disrespect towards my principles and way I was treated during this experience left me with such a bad taste in my mouth that didn't just reflect poorly on my impression of the Hilton brand and the NY Hilton Midtown hotel, but also ensured I would not be buying anything from them, now or in...

The location is fantastic, and there were no bedbugs in the room. Based on that alone, it does its job as a hotel room. Biggest problem was NO HEAT (read on for more).

This was my first time at a Hilton, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I usually stay at Marriott Bonvoy, The Ace, or upscale hotels like The Mandarin Oriental. This is my honest review of my experience there. In my opinion, the bad kind of outweighed the good for how expensive it is.

Cons:

Minor:

There was only one working USB outlet in the entire bedroom and about 12 regular outlets. In 2025, that’s pretty crazy.

Majors:

This hotel is NOT for light sleepers. The walls and windows are paper thin. Every noise from outside can be heard and I was on the 17th floor. Every siren, every person talking in every room next to you, every baby crying. And that was with a white-noise machine ON.

A major drawback is they have NO HEAT in the hotel and it’s the middle of September. It’s very chilly at night, and I have a medical condition called Raynaud’s, so I was extremely uncomfortable all night and it took me forever to fall asleep. When I called down to the front desk about the heat not working in the room, a very snappy woman told me to just turn the AC unit off and that I shouldn’t need heat because of the time of year. She then proceeded to tell me the whole building has no heat and is set to the same temperature. They didn’t even offer an extra blanket to be sent up to the room or anything, even after disclosing that I have a medical condition. Literally zero empathy and all attitude. I’ve honestly never had a hotel employee be so rude to me on the phone. Like how dare I ask for heat at a $400 - $600 per night hotel in Manhattan? It was honestly laughably bad service on the empathy end. I understand that the employee could not turn the heat of the entire building on, but a little kindness goes a very long way in the service industry.

I was also woken up at 7 AM by a group of people partying in the next room over and it continued on until nearly 11:30 AM. My whole morning was ruined. Based on the service I had received the night before, I didn’t want to ruin my day by calling down and having yet another person gaslight me that I shouldn’t be bothered by it because I’m in New York City and how dare I want peace and to actually sleep in my hotel room.

If management would like to offer something besides points that are not useful (Eg: offer a significant discount on another try at a Hilton hotel), I would be open to hearing from them, but I doubt it based on the size of the city and the volume of clientele these people get.

RE the Service: The check-in clerk was very kind, the bartender was not; he made my drink wrong then complained and rolled his eyes when he had to remake it because I’m allergic to lemon. Please be aware that they also auto-gratuity in the lobby bar/restaurant which is not totally unheard of in the area, but should be disclosed when the check is dropped.

When I checked my luggage in at the day-hold location, the man was super accommodating and kind - so I think it just depends on who you get on whatever day in any given section of the hotel.

Bottom line is, very inconsistent service, if that’s important to you.

Wrap up: I hate to say it, but there are definitely several better name-brand hotels in the area. Based on the lack of soundproofing, unempathetic customer service staff, and the inability to adjust the room temperature or get support in getting comfortable, I don’t think it would be on my list of Midtown hotels for live music and Broadway shows...