I'm halfway through my stay, and I guess I didn't lower my expectations quite far enough.

The good, bad, and ugly below...

^ There were separate checkin lines for standard members, executive floor, HH, and Diamond. No rooms were available when we checked in (thanks to an accounting convention). They got us into a refurbished room on the 13th floor within about an hour. I asked if we could get into a nicer room later in the trip when the convention left. They told me that the room was the nicest I could get into without having to pay more. I think they might be right, with only 46 suites (is that right, or are some of them the Hilton Club?) out of 1980 rooms. They wouldn't put me on the Executive Floor (and based on the traffic to and from the Executive Lounge, I'm not so sure that was a bad thing). Our Requests on Arrival never arrived.

^ The room was large for New York (which means it was pretty average for anywhere else in the US). The bathroom is small and cramped with almost no counter space. ^ The desk has a pullout table/desk under it that is pretty handy.

^ Housekeeping did a good job, except that they never stocked four towels or washcloths, although we had four in our room. I'm not sure where they would have put them anyway.

They offered two bottles of water as a Diamond amenity.

The Executive Lounge was ^ decent, but very crowded. Breakfast was very basic (strictly a continental breakfast), yet there were often a dozen or more families lined up down the hall waiting to be seated. They did offer vouchers for downstairs, but we weren't sure how that compared so we stuck with what we knew. The evening hors d'oeuvres from 5pm - 7pm were decent ^, with a good selection of hot items. The food wasn't spectacular, but at least there was a good variety and it was hot. You could get free soft drinks in annoyingly small (4-6 oz.?) cups at the bar. They really need a bigger serving area. The best stuff was typically gone within a few minutes of being brought out.

They really should do more for their Diamond (and Gold) guests. I felt like a nobody there, especially after the phenomenal treatment (phone call, upgrade, extra cookies, mixed nuts, email from GM) I received at the Doubletree Princeton last week (my first stay as a Diamond). If this is the worst stay I ever have as a Diamond, though, I will be very happy. (If every stay were this average, though, I wouldn't stay Diamond -- or with HH -- for long.)

Bottom line: I won't be back if I can help it. The only reason I stayed here this time was because I'm at a convention here the next few days.