bentlew-
I visited the NY Hilton Club 18 months ago while staying at a hotel across the street. A telephone call to them will provide all of the info that you want and will be pretty pain-free.
I was considering (still am!) a purchase of the Hilton Club or the Manhattan Club. I ruled out the Hilton Club for the following reasons:
1. Cost
2. Not deeded. If I bought a Manhattan Club resale and sold it later on, I'd get most of what I paid, if not more. With an RTU, the value goes down every year and must be computed into the annual cost.
3. Maintenance fee - for the resale I was looking at, it was over $1,400 and that was 18 months ago.
4. Lack of even a rudimentary kitchen. That was almost a draw as they do have a "club" with complimentary continental breakfasts.
5. Most of all, I found the Hilton to be a zoo, especially coming from the "boutique-y" Rihga Royal hotel across the street. When I visited the HC, I waited almost 45 minutes for the elevator down to the lobby with a bunch of very frustrated guests. I was led to believe that this was not unusual.
Finally, let me say that I own two developer-purchased timeshares and appreciate the flexibility to trade for points - something I do every other year with my Marriott but have not done with my Starwood. I accept that it's not the most economical use of the timeshare and am actually trying to rent my Kierland Villas for next year. But at Hilton prices and with their high maintenance fee, those would be very, very expensive points!
I do go to NY often and usually stay for 5 days or so between XMas and New Years. My guess is that I'll buy at MC in the next year.
Good luck.