I have just returned from two nights at the new HIlton Property on W 57th Street. I have been a member of the NY Hilton Club since 2005 and my husband and I decided to "trade up" to the new property on our visit to NYC in May. This was our first experience at the new place.
As others have said, the rooms, lobby and lounge look exactly like the artist's renderings. The style is quite chic and cool. We were in a "one bedroom plus" since that was all that was available at the time we booked. Apparently all the one bedrooms above the 14th floor are considered "plus." The windows are quite thick and the street sounds are almost entirely blocked. This is a good feature since 57th Street is a busy street. The flat screen TVs receive the high definition channels (although my husband had to redo the settings so we were actually seeing what the TVs were capable of showing). As with the Hilton Club, the bed was very comfortable and the linens deluxe. Our son was on the sofa bed and that was also very comfortable. The staff was eager to please and was very friendly.
The W57th lounge is bigger than the Hilton Club lounge but it is clearly not big enough! When the weather is nice, the outdoor area is open and is lovely. When the weather is bad, everyone has to be in the indoor area and it is too small. We were told that the place was only 85% booked and we had trouble finding a place to sit in the afternoon. For Sunday morning breakfast, there was no place to sit - and they didn't want us to take the dishes to our room. They offered take-out containers to leave with the food.
The only table in the room that can act like a dining table is the long rectangular table designed as the desk area. There is no coffee table. We had hoped to play cards with our kids in our room or in the lounge and there was no place to do this in either location. This was really disappointing!
We REALLY loved the old HIlton Club. We always go to NYC for one or two days at a time and the old Hilton Club was set up to accommodate that kind of vacationing. The new place is designed more like the HGVC model and you have to pay a premium to stay for shorter trips. I don't think that the resort itself is well suited for longer stays. As others have mentioned, there is no kitchen, only a small refrigerator. The lack of dining table -- or coffee table -- would make in-room eating difficult. For a couple of days in NY, it is fine to eat every meal out. For a whole week's vacation, this would get tiresome and expensive. Also... it's harder to have down time in your room that is furnished more like a hotel room than a home. I was thinking that we could use the lounge for hanging out and playing cards but the furniture there doesn't lend itself to that either.
The concierge in West 57th is located in the main lobby. I understand that they have contracted out this service so the concierge is not actually a Hilton employee. In the Hilton Club, the Hilton Club staff members act as the concierge staff and they are in the member lounge. In our four years of being Hilton Club members, these staff members have been the same people. It is so nice seeing a familiar face each time we've stayed at the club. It's also great to gather info and advice from them while having morning coffee or an afternoon snack. I've gotten great tips about getting tickets to shows or advice about what shows to see. I can't imagine using this main-lobby concierge in the same way.
I knew from TUG that there would be an in-and-out fee for my car. We were in NYC to help our daughter move to a new apartment. We drove in with the car loaded with stuff and used the West 57th valet service when we arrived. We told them that we would be taking the car out in the morning and were told about the fee. Turns out the fee is an entire day's garage fee of $48! It was going to cost us $144 to park for two nights. Instead,, when we returned from moving our daughter, we parked that evening at the old Hilton. When we checked out on Sunday, we just walked the couple of blocks and got our car. Arrangements had to be made with the manager at West 57th to get the second night charge taken off our our bill. (FYI: There is a garage on West 56th Street -- behind the resort -- where you can park your car yourself and avoid this ridiculous extra charge.)
Overall, we had a very nice stay but I was disappointed that it did not wow me enough. I felt that we were nickel- and-dimed at every opportunity (from the reservation process, the housekeeping fee, the valet fee) and it did not feel as homey and comfortable as the old HIlton Club. We plan to work with the Quality Assurance staff to un-do our purchase of the new place and return to the old plan that worked so well for us. I will report back to TUG about how that goes.
As others have said, the rooms, lobby and lounge look exactly like the artist's renderings. The style is quite chic and cool. We were in a "one bedroom plus" since that was all that was available at the time we booked. Apparently all the one bedrooms above the 14th floor are considered "plus." The windows are quite thick and the street sounds are almost entirely blocked. This is a good feature since 57th Street is a busy street. The flat screen TVs receive the high definition channels (although my husband had to redo the settings so we were actually seeing what the TVs were capable of showing). As with the Hilton Club, the bed was very comfortable and the linens deluxe. Our son was on the sofa bed and that was also very comfortable. The staff was eager to please and was very friendly.
The W57th lounge is bigger than the Hilton Club lounge but it is clearly not big enough! When the weather is nice, the outdoor area is open and is lovely. When the weather is bad, everyone has to be in the indoor area and it is too small. We were told that the place was only 85% booked and we had trouble finding a place to sit in the afternoon. For Sunday morning breakfast, there was no place to sit - and they didn't want us to take the dishes to our room. They offered take-out containers to leave with the food.
The only table in the room that can act like a dining table is the long rectangular table designed as the desk area. There is no coffee table. We had hoped to play cards with our kids in our room or in the lounge and there was no place to do this in either location. This was really disappointing!
We REALLY loved the old HIlton Club. We always go to NYC for one or two days at a time and the old Hilton Club was set up to accommodate that kind of vacationing. The new place is designed more like the HGVC model and you have to pay a premium to stay for shorter trips. I don't think that the resort itself is well suited for longer stays. As others have mentioned, there is no kitchen, only a small refrigerator. The lack of dining table -- or coffee table -- would make in-room eating difficult. For a couple of days in NY, it is fine to eat every meal out. For a whole week's vacation, this would get tiresome and expensive. Also... it's harder to have down time in your room that is furnished more like a hotel room than a home. I was thinking that we could use the lounge for hanging out and playing cards but the furniture there doesn't lend itself to that either.
The concierge in West 57th is located in the main lobby. I understand that they have contracted out this service so the concierge is not actually a Hilton employee. In the Hilton Club, the Hilton Club staff members act as the concierge staff and they are in the member lounge. In our four years of being Hilton Club members, these staff members have been the same people. It is so nice seeing a familiar face each time we've stayed at the club. It's also great to gather info and advice from them while having morning coffee or an afternoon snack. I've gotten great tips about getting tickets to shows or advice about what shows to see. I can't imagine using this main-lobby concierge in the same way.
I knew from TUG that there would be an in-and-out fee for my car. We were in NYC to help our daughter move to a new apartment. We drove in with the car loaded with stuff and used the West 57th valet service when we arrived. We told them that we would be taking the car out in the morning and were told about the fee. Turns out the fee is an entire day's garage fee of $48! It was going to cost us $144 to park for two nights. Instead,, when we returned from moving our daughter, we parked that evening at the old Hilton. When we checked out on Sunday, we just walked the couple of blocks and got our car. Arrangements had to be made with the manager at West 57th to get the second night charge taken off our our bill. (FYI: There is a garage on West 56th Street -- behind the resort -- where you can park your car yourself and avoid this ridiculous extra charge.)
Overall, we had a very nice stay but I was disappointed that it did not wow me enough. I felt that we were nickel- and-dimed at every opportunity (from the reservation process, the housekeeping fee, the valet fee) and it did not feel as homey and comfortable as the old HIlton Club. We plan to work with the Quality Assurance staff to un-do our purchase of the new place and return to the old plan that worked so well for us. I will report back to TUG about how that goes.
), especially if you are only planning on a 4-5 night maximum stay. Remember, HHonors pts never expire if your account is in good standing (and active).