# Greetings From HGVC W. 57th St., NYC



## Beaglemom3 (Mar 23, 2015)

Hello from high atop-ish (20th floor) the HGVC, w.W. 57th St. 

It's lovely, clean, friendly, quiet (I have a room that doesn't face the street),
convenient to all.  Just down from Carneige Hall and the Russian Tea Room.

My room is a larger (than most NYC hotel rooms) with a great bathroom. I'm a big carrera fan.


Have to say that I've eaten at the Morton-Williams a few doors down - it's a fresh grocer with lots of take-away or eat-in items - and have enjoyed it.

Just had dinner at the Brooklyn Diner and it was okay. Huge portions and big prices. Enjoyed my chocolate egg cream, though, even at $6.50.

My laptop crashed, so I am posting from the business center.  

I've been taking the MTA/subway and have done well except that I got on an express this evening and had to double back. Still, $32 for a week's unlimited subway rides, it's the best deal in town.

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## valadezm (Mar 23, 2015)

Terrific. If you can post details as you go or pictures that would be be great! I am staying there in a few weeks for the first time (and in NY) for the first time, so anything you can provide in regards to the 57th St unit and NY in general would be ever so helpful.


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## ricknhsv (Mar 23, 2015)

I'm going on May 29 and am very interested if you have any more suggestions on places to eat etc. I have reserved a 1 bedroom. Not sure if it will have a kitchen or not. I've never been to NYC so I'm excited.


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## brp (Mar 23, 2015)

Welcome to my home town (and one of our home locations). We had Hilton Club, but decided to sell that back to Hilton and get W. 57th resale. We've been about 3 or 4 times now and simply love it.

Simply so much to do in New York, and the subway is the perfect way to get around.  Enjoy!

Cheers.


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## Beaglemom3 (Mar 24, 2015)

Will do.

As for the photos, I'll do my best, but I only brought my old Blackberry with me (yes, I know, the Smithsonian wants it ).

I am here on business and not pleasure, so my "fun" time in "Fun City" is limited.

I am in meetings, conferences and other Legal-Beagle obligations.

The front desk folks here could not be nicer, almost "Disney-Like" if you know what I mean. Very welcoming and they've gone the extra mile, not that I've asked, but they let me select my room location when a nice one became available. 

Off to the Columbus Circle Subway and "Downtown" to the halls of justice.


Reporting Live from New York........


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## TerriJ (Mar 31, 2015)

Download the Embark app for the Metro subway, it works great!


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## Beaglemom3 (Mar 31, 2015)

I plan on writing a long-winded post on my stay with tips that may be helpful, but my laptop crashed, big-time. It's a 3 year old Toshiba and I'm quite fond of it.

Yes, I have the "blue screen of death" with the "unmountable_boot_volume" error message. I've tried the fixes and so far, no-nada-nuttin'. We're going to see the nice folks at the Geek Squad this evening.

I am not a New York City expert, but I can offer a few pointers on staying at the Hilton W. 57th and will do so when I can.

I am at work now, so have to cut this short.




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## Conan (Mar 31, 2015)

Halls of Justice are a short walk from Chinatown!
http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Restaurants&find_loc=New+Haven%2C+CT&ns=1#find_loc=new+york,+ny&start=0&sortby=review_count&cflt=chinese&attrs=RestaurantsPriceRange2.2,RestaurantsPriceRange2.3&l=p:NY:New_York:Manhattan:Chinatown


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## itradehilton (Mar 31, 2015)

We are at The Manhattan Cub and have found great Italian at Pizzarte on 55th, also we had take out from Carnegie Deli. Over by the American Museum of Natural History we ate at Calle Ocho, great Latin food.  We got a Metro pass which has made getting around the city a breeze. In a few days we switch over to W 57th.

The bellhop told us to use Google Maps and switch it to public transportation and it will give great directions on using the subways & buses.


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## itradehilton (Apr 4, 2015)

We checked into West 57th Hilton yesterday. We have a 1bdr that is huge and beautifully designed. Love the huge bathroom with a soaking tub. But what we miss that we had at the Manhattan Club is a microwave, dishes and small sink. There is plenty of room for these items. It would make the room feel more like a timeshare and less like a wonderful hotel room. It would also make a light breakfast easy to fix in the room.


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## brp (Apr 4, 2015)

itradehilton said:


> We checked into West 57th Hilton yesterday. We have a 1bdr that is huge and beautifully designed. Love the huge bathroom with a soaking tub. But what we miss that we had at the Manhattan Club is a microwave, dishes and small sink. There is plenty of room for these items. It would make the room feel more like a timeshare and less like a wonderful hotel room. It would also make a light breakfast easy to fix in the room.



My understanding is that it was a conscious decision on their (Hilton's) part to go toward a higher-end product where these sorts of amenities aren't typically offered/needed.

Cheers.


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## Beaglemom3 (Apr 4, 2015)

I believe some units have kitchenettes. Others are studios or hotel rooms.  I could be wrong on this.


Here's what I was told............
Owners and others ( who book thru Hilton at an upper rate), are entitled to the continental breakfast which is served. I did not see signs of this, but I was out bright & early each morning.


I did not qualify for breakfast, but that was fine as the Fresh Grocer/Mason William had fresh everything at 6:00 am.


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## alwysonvac (Apr 4, 2015)

itradehilton said:


> We checked into West 57th Hilton yesterday. We have a 1bdr that is huge and beautifully designed. Love the huge bathroom with a soaking tub. But what we miss that we had at the Manhattan Club is a microwave, dishes and small sink. There is plenty of room for these items. It would make the room feel more like a timeshare and less like a wonderful hotel room. It would also make a light breakfast easy to fix in the room.



Yeah I felt the same way about West 57th during my stay several years ago.
Link to my 2010 thread with photos of the one bedroom - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126159

For some reason, they thought it was best to have a hotel product. I think they missed the boat on this. All of the other major players offer very nice kitchenettes at their timeshares located in major cities.  HGVC had enough space to offer kitchenette similar to the ones Starwood offers in their studio units (the stove top burners aren't necessary) - see photo below.


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## alwysonvac (Apr 4, 2015)

Beaglemom3 said:


> I believe some units have kitchenettes. Others are studios or hotel rooms.



I don't believe any of the rooms at West 57th have kitchenettes.

http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/ne...hilton-club-NYCWEGV/accommodations/index.html


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## Beaglemom3 (Apr 4, 2015)

alwysonvac said:


> I don't believe any of the rooms at West 57th have kitchenettes.
> 
> http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/ne...hilton-club-NYCWEGV/accommodations/index.html



Okay. I was misinformed. I could have sworn I heard  guests talking about their unit's kitchen area.

Thanks !

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## CalGalTraveler (Apr 6, 2015)

We are owners at West 57th and have been there several times.  We have never seen a kitchenette in the room.  However there is a lounge on the second floor for West 57th owners where breakfast, soft drinks, coffee and evening appetizers, beer and wine are served.  The evening appetizer bar serves fare from local restaurants and sometimes this has sufficed as a light dinner.  This may help compensate for the lack of a kitchen.  The Hilton NYC Club might have a similar lounge for their owners.


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## brp (Apr 6, 2015)

CalGalTraveler said:


> The evening appetizer bar serves fare from local restaurants and sometimes this has sufficed as a light dinner.
> 
> The Hilton NYC Club might have a similar lounge for their owners.



We used to own at HCNY and now own at W. 57th. The lounge at HCNY is considerably inferior, unless it has undergone a major upgrade since we left.

The evening appetizers at both places are on the cheaper end of things, I'd be hard-pressed to call it "fare from local restaurants" though. Tasty at times, but of relatively low quality.

Cheers.


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## itradehilton (Apr 6, 2015)

Since my son has Celiac, the use of basic kitchen items is a need for our family as free or low cost items offered by hotels do not accommodate our needs. Thus West 57th as beautiful as it is only fits our needs for 2-3 days max as eating out 3 times a day doesn't match our travel habits. We found many great places to eat in NYC that matched our families needs.


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## CalGalTraveler (Apr 7, 2015)

brp said:


> We used to own at HCNY and now own at W. 57th. The lounge at HCNY is considerably inferior, unless it has undergone a major upgrade since we left.
> 
> The evening appetizers at both places are on the cheaper end of things, I'd be hard-pressed to call it "fare from local restaurants" though. Tasty at times, but of relatively low quality.
> 
> Cheers.



Hilton touts that the fare is from some of the best restaurants nearby (this statement did not come from me).  

We found the food and layout to be quite nice (e.g. salmon, asparagus spears with onion and balsamic, salads, chicken enchiladas, assorted cheese).  

Sure it is not caviar and Dom Perignon, but given the high cost of NYC restaurants this was not soda crackers and cheese whiz either. Since this is a "first world problem" (and the price is right) we see no reason to complain.


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## CalGalTraveler (Apr 7, 2015)

FYI...Here's some photos from a visit in January.

Food Bar: 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qa0aypk7ykaq3o7/HGVC W57 App 1.jpg?dl=0

Drinks:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tx8r40ezbx4j1i7/HGVC W57 App Bar 2.jpg?dl=0

Coffee Bar:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0kc0equctgsx4et/HGVC W57 Coffee Bar.jpg?dl=0

(Sorry I cannot figure out how to get the photos to display from dropbox other than clicking the links...will try later)


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## brp (Apr 8, 2015)

CalGalTraveler said:


> Hilton touts that the fare is from some of the best restaurants nearby (this statement did not come from me).
> 
> We found the food and layout to be quite nice (e.g. salmon, asparagus spears with onion and balsamic, salads, chicken enchiladas, assorted cheese).
> 
> Sure it is not caviar and Dom Perignon, but given the high cost of NYC restaurants this was not soda crackers and cheese whiz either. Since this is a "first world problem" (and the price is right) we see no reason to complain.



Oh, don't get me wrong. I quite like their offerings, and consider this a step up from HCNY. I appreciate what they have. I just find it dubious that what they offer is fare from local restaurants, which are on a different level from these appetizers. This is New York, after all 

Cheers.


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