(generated smaller photos from snapshots weeks ago but haven't much time to write and post this review - also had to decide _which_ thread to post this review to)

Why Hilton New York: 'cause of its less than stellar reviews...or, perhaps, in spite of its less than stellar reviews. To be honest, I had real trepidations in booking this stay because of the feedback on the Hilton HHonors FT Forum threads. I really did a fair amount of research - including a side trip last year to lower Manhattan to see properties down there as well as comparing properties from not only Hilton but also Marriott, Hyatt and Starwood among others and posting a number of times to the HHonors threads for this hotel and New York in general. I quite frankly was looking at NYC hotel properties over a year in advance given that a) NYC is expensive, b) our trip was going to be in the later part of August (summer) and c) I needed enough space for my family of 5.

After my visit to Newark, I did spend a bit of time thinking about the cheaper options in New Jersey. However, Mrs. DELee was clear that she didn't want to spend a good bit of her day and patience trying to get the family across (or under) the Hudson - and eventually back again - so somewhere on Manhattan Island was the objective. That being said, I found a number of the Hilton and other hotel chains' mid/low property families (Hampton Inns, Courtyards, etc.) with cheaper individual rooms than the Hilton New York but seeing how we'd probably need two rooms per night, the cost per night drove me and kept me at the Hilton New York. Also, while I could have done points, two standard rooms would have basically destroyed my point balance for paying for 3 nights x 2 rooms in any of the New York HHonors properties. Even worse was that the initial plan was to spend 6 nights in New York.

And, for what it's worth, this property has an Executive Lounge. For us, it was worth it. For others who have posted to this thread, perhaps not so much (see below).

The Reservation: I reserved a one bedroom, 2 double bed suite for $360/night for 3 nights at the AAA rate - just in case I needed to change or cancel the reservation. At the time I searched and made the reservation, some of the other upper end rooms were still available (1 King/2 Double 2 Bedroom Suite, 2 Double 1 Bedroom Deluxe Suite as well as the 5 Bedroom Duplex Penthouse) but at either double or even higher multiples from the $360 rate. (As a comparison, I just searched for August 2012 and Hilton Beta as Live shows $398.) Oh, and before I forget, the reservation on hilton.com also indicated $56.60 in taxes for each night => $360 + $56.60 = $416.60 / night. Ow. But, as I rationalized, better than 2 rooms x $250/night + those taxes.

Location, Location, Location: The front entrance to the Hilton New York is on 6th Avenue (or as their website says, Avenue of the Americas) and the property sits between W. 53rd St. and W. 54th St. Coming in from JFK, I was lucky that the subway lines were being re-routed so I was able to get off at the 57th St. stop (F line) which lets you out on 6th Avenue, 2 blocks north of the hotel. Other subway stops are over on 7th Avenue for different lines. But let us be clear, this property is in midtown Manhattan. And you're gonna be walking around - even if it is going from subway stop to subway stop. And is but 5 blocks from the southern end of Central Park. It is not the Plaza or other hotel property facing the park but it works well for a family with kids of elementary and middle school ages.



The Property/Front Lobby/Check-In: Again, we're in midtown Manhattan. The building (assuming the penthouse duplex qualifies as a floor or two) is just under 50 stories tall. And, yes, this is a major conference hotel - along with something called the Hilton Club. And, yes, the lobby is as busy as Grand Central Station and just as noisy. So don't stop - or you'll get passed on one side or the other - or both. Turn to your left (assuming you've come through the front entrance) and step up to the desk. When I got there on Sunday afternoon, I didn't have to wait and, as a Diamond, went to the HHonors signed location. Writing the review weeks later, I don't honestly remember if I received any amenities as a Diamond and, looking at my property benefits profile, it looks like I just asked for more points anyway. I do seem to remember getting those bottles of water on the wet bar (see next).

Room 4331: Here's some shots of the room. You get your sitting room area complete with sofa bed, lounge chair and wet bar (small refrigerator therein). As well as a table in front of the wet bar and adjacent to the door into the bedroom.





I wanted a suite. I got a suite. And it had two (double) beds in it.





And, yes, both TVs were flat panels that sitting on top of dressers instead of inside cabinets. Also note that I've kicked up the brightness in the photos even though many of them were taken with flash but the very little reflected light from the canyons of Manhattan didn't assist. Even then, you get a view from each room. For us, since we were near the west end of the property on the 43rd floor facing north, we knew Central Park was out there - just had to look over/past the buildings in the way.





The Bathroom: It's small. It's tight. It's what you might expect in New York. However, in this room, it didn't need to be quite this small (see after this photo...)



The Closet: Immediately behind the wall of the bathroom and in the bedroom, is this locale that might be referred to as a closet. However, this is the first time I've seen a closet in a hotel room that's bigger than the bathroom for the same hotel room.







How big is this closet? It was so big that a) I couldn't just step back and take a single picture from a single vantage point, b) it has its own fire sprinkler and c) even after we put our bags into the closet, my youngest son was able to get the cushions from the sofa bed, put a sheet over them, take a pillow and make his own bed in there. Not having a tape measure, my best estimate is that the room was almost 9' x 9'.

Executive Lounge: This was the other reason I stuck with going to this property. Yes, as a Diamond, we'd get breakfast benefits at any other Hilton property on Manhattan. However, the benefits of an Executive Lounge for a larger family is the ability to go grab drinks and snacks at off hours. And, yes, because it was summer, there were a number of families, with kids considerably younger than ours as well as those with older kids and grandparents. But the composition of the clientele was clearly cosmopolitan and worldly given the multitude of accents and languages that we heard. I can imagine that getting a large family into the US for a trip wouldn't be cheap to begin with but the lounge was a place where groups could go and congregate and talk and snack and drink.

I can see that if you were a business traveller by yourself, having to deal with the hassles of that many people would be off putting. Or, if you were looking for some peace and less noisy environs in the middle of Manhattan, this lounge would not be the first place to go. However, for the friendliness and efficiency of the staff working the lounge and the generally very good behavior of the families and their kids who used it, I think it is a good example of a truly effective lounge in a stellar location.

On to breakfast...

Here's the view from the door. You are greeted and, based on the size of your group, assigned to a location or place to sit. And, as I said, this is a stellar location - the east side of the top (44th) floor of the hotel allowing you to look down 6th Avenue.



The middle counter of the room serves as the primary location for most of the foodstuffs that get put out for breakfast as well as the location for chafing dishes for the evening hors d'oeuvres and, later, for cookies and fruit. Breakfast consists of much fresh fruit, peel your own hardboiled eggs, various pastries and yogurt. You can also see the location for the cereal dispensers under the large mirror.





There's also a banquette/credenza/sideboard adjacent to the bar where juices and water are located for breakfast. On the other side of the bar are the generate your own expresso/cappuccino/hot chocolate/steamed milk machines.



Also, WRT to breakfast, we were given coupons to be able to select items from the Starbucks. I think there was also an option for a lesser price for the buffet but we did not exercise either option.

Another comment about the Executive Lounge is the constant noise from the televisions. They are on and tuned to CNN and Fox News. YMMV but, as this was when the East Coast's favorite storm Irene was trying to decide what to do as well as the constant hullaballoo about where was Qaddafi or which son was interviewed in which hotel, much noise came through (as well as those ads for Pos-T-Vac on CNN...).

The Executive Lounge has its own bathroom to the side as well as two common use computers with printers. In the evening, you can get various refreshments of the alcoholic variety from the bar. Just be ready to pay for it - a glass of wine ran me $16 or $18. Also, I was only able to get back to the hotel for one of the evening offerings of hors d'oeuvres. And the chocolate chip cookies go fast as well afterward.

Other Comments: Large fitness facility - but no pool. We didn't eat in the hotel except at the Executive Lounge, so no feedback on the dining establishments. And for those other larger suites, they have cool names such as the Empire Suite and the Americas Suite and mostly appear to be on the 44th floor. There's also a door to a stairway and an elevator near the entrance to the penthouse - would love to see that one day. Executive levels look to be at least the 43rd and 44th floors but others who've stayed more recently can comment accordingly.

Bring your car if you must but I don't quite know the utility of a car in Manhattan. Parking appears to be $51 a night. What we did to get off the island was to pick up a rental car from the Avis office just across and down 54th Street from the hotel - after we checked out - but we still had to fight traffic to get to a tunnel.

Summary: New York/Manhattan is not cheap. Hotels are not cheap. Hotel rooms for larger families are definitely not cheap. For us, this property and the 1 bedroom/2 doubles worked very well and was probably the lesser upper end hotel which worked for us. Clearly, from other threads, other FT members have strong preferences for other Hilton properties. For me and my family, the Hilton New York made for a fun and enjoyable stay.

David