DoubleTree Suites by Hilton New York City - Times Square {US-NY} (no longer Honors)
 

Planning a Memorial Day weekend getaway to Manhatten and am considering the Doubletree Guest Suites in NYC. Anybody have any experiences, good or bad, with this property?

Pretty decent hotel, in a good tourist location and an excellent value overall, IMHO! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Doubletree Guest Suites Times Square-New York City
 

My brother and his family of 3 kids are thinking of staying there. What are the chances of upgrades, how suitable for large families, etc?

I have never stayed there but have two stays coming up, one for this Thursday and the other for next Monday. I'll try posting back to this thread in a week or so.

Thanks Larry!

I have a reservation there over Memorial Day weekend, so I'm also interested in hearing about any experiences at this property.

My husband and I stayed there a couple weeks ago. It was on a bargain $85 Priceline bid. It was pretty nice. I didn't ask about an upgrade; they gave us a corner room w/a good view - I don't know if that counts as one or not. The room wasn't quite as large as I expected; I don't know if they vary in size or not. It was large by New York standards, though. There was a living room with a completly separate bedroom. The room had 2 tv's, a sofa-bed, a refrigerator (in addition to the mini-bar fridge), a microwave, a sink (in addition to the bathroom sink), and a reasonably sized round table (for eating) that pulled out from under the desk. How big are the kids? I don't see a problem fitting a family in there unless you have 3 big teenagers.

The hotel has an incredible location; it is right smack in the center of Times Square. It is directly across the street from the 1/2 price Broadway ticket stand. It is convenient to several train stations.

We don't have kids, but from what I understand, the hotel is very kid-friendly. They have a special floor with a kid's club on it. The lobby kind of has a Disney feel to it.

After much hassle, we were able to obtain free breakfast for both of the days that we stayed. They don't give out coupons...you need to have them put your name on "the list". Of course, our names didn't make it to the list, but the guy at the restaurant looked at our gold hhonors card and told us it would be free. The key is to make sure they stamp your check. If there is no stamp, your meal will show up on the hotel bill. We didn't get a stamp the first morning, and had to ask the front desk to take it off (they did). The free breakfast included a pretty decent buffet. They had a guy making omlettes, waffles, and french toast. It also included all the standard buffet items, as well as the fancy little individual jars of jams, honey, syrup, and ketchup. The buffet normally costs $13.95 each. If you don't want breakfast at the hotel, there is a Howard Johnsons across the street that is reasonably priced.

If you have kids, I can't imagine staying anywhere else in Times Square; unless you get 2 rooms. There is also an Embassy Suites in downtown that would also be good for families.

Let me know if you have any questions and I will be glad to answer!

Kelly

Wow...great review thanks Kelly!

Doubletree Guest Suites Times Square-New York City Trip Reports and Reviews
 

Stayed at the Doubletree Suites at Times Square over Memorial Day weekend - booked best available rate through the DT website which was $279/night for AAA members. A separate $3/night energy charge was assessed which was not disclosed until after we were in our room.

The property is located on the corner of 47th Street & 7th Avenue, right in the heart of Times Square and the theatre district. Within a few blocks is Rockefeller Center, the Diamond District, Restaurant Row, and Fifth Avenue shopping. Crosstown and uptown/downtown buses are located a couple of blocks away and there is a subway stop on the corner.

The hotel's nondescript entry lobby is next door to the theatre where Aida is currently playing and across the street from the TKTS center; two doors down is the Times Square Visitor Center which was very useful for info, maps, plus there is a post office & free Internet terminals there too. Needless to say there are plenty of restaurants and stores in the area.

The main lobby is on the third floor of the building. There wasn't a separate check-in line for HHonors members, but there wasn't anybody else checking in so it didn't matter. The receptionist said that they didn't offer Gold upgrades (it's an all-suite hotel) or a concierge floor or even a lounge, but he could give us a suite with a view on the top floor (43rd) of the hotel. And we did get complimentary buffet breakfasts for the three of us for the duration of the stay.

Of course we got the famous Doubletree warm chocolate chip cookies when checking in!

The suite itself consisted of a living room with foldout sofa, coffee table, guest chair, workdesk w/Internet connectivity, wetbar, small refrigerator, microwave, overpriced Servibar, & TV. A separate bedroom had two double beds (King rooms were available at the same price), TV, and amoire. The bathroom had double sinks with plenty of counter space. Standard bathroom amenities; nothing special. The combo tub/shower was kind of dark when the curtain was closed. Incidentally the showerhead was malfunctioning but was quickly fixed after I reported it the next day. The morning paper was the NY Post, a nice change from the generic and ubiquitous USA Today.

Breakfast was served in the hotel's dining room on the fifth floor. I believe the cost is around $15 per person, but as I mentioned above we got Gold breakfast comps. The buffet was decent: besides the usual fruit, juice, cereal, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, breads and pastries, you could get made-to-order omlettes, eggs, and hotcakes.

The hotel advertises a special dinner & show packages for around $100-$120 per person. This includes a ticket to a hard-to-get show (Lion King was the one that was advertised in the elevator) and a dinner in the hotel dining room. We checked with the concierge but nothing was available over that weekend. Bottom line: If you want to see a show, you need to plan ahead. Or take your chances waiting in the l-o-n-g TKTS line across the street for same day, discounted show tickets.

Overall I was pleased with the room and hotel's location. A concierge lounge would have been nice though.

doubletree times sq nyc parking
 

any other parking choice than using hotel's garage?
(2 day stay)

thanks

Doubletree Suites New York
 

Has anyone stayed at this property? I have booked 3 stays there in the next week and I want to know if it is a nice prperty worth the $250 a night I will be spending. Normally I stay at the Regent downtown or the JW Marriot(Rihga) but I need to build up my Hilton stays to keep Gold(heaven forbid!) next year.
How are the rooms, staff and amenities? I am also a room service kind of guy for late snacks is the menu good?

The hotel is fine. It's not on the level of the way the Rihga used to be (pre-Marriott). However, it's a pretty upscale place. The decor is pretty recent and I didn't notice that anything was worse for the wear. Service was about all that you can expect for a mainly tourist hotel. It's a bit slow and sometimes not all that friendly.

The rooms are standard suites with a bar area in the living room. I can't remember if there was a microwave or not. On each floor there are one or two "corner" suites that have a rounded living room and a view of Times Square.

The one thing I disliked about this property was the elevators. You have to take one set of elevators up to the lobby and then change. The elevators servicing the room floors seem to run slow (although there are at least 8 of them). Also, beware that there is a theater next door. Whenever theater is starting/ending, it will be very crowded in front of the hotel.

I just stayed there a couple of weeks ago. Let's see what I can remember... About 40 floors, rooms start on #6. There are 12 suites/floor in an L, with most of the rooms facing north. Construction being done on the building so there's scaffolding over the front door. The doorman must see your key to let you in to the elevator to the 3rd floor lobby. W/o a key, he checks your name off of a list to see if you're checking in. Not terribly secure, but mostly keeps the riff-raff out of the lobby.

Small for a "suite" but still way bigger than an average room, the single bathroom was accessed via either of two doors (one from br, one from lr). Internet access wasn't working. TV is the standard On Command 22-channel deal (why do most Hamptons have better TV selections!!).

Everybody (not just Gold/Diamond) gets free breakfast in the restaurant. It's not a buffet, it's waiter service with a reasonable menu for being free. Because I was only there overnight, I didn't get a chance to check out the exercise room, but I suspect it's very small.

Is it worth $250/night + tax? Not quite. I paid $179+tax and I think that was a good deal - I'd go up to about $195+tax. At $250, I would have used Priceline instead or at least checked out the other Hiltons.

I agree - $250 is kind of steep just to build up stays on this property - I have seen more complaints on it on other boards...

I miss the Millenium Hilton....

I was going to pay $260 to stay 1 night early at the Times Square Hilton - just recently found that the Waldorf was $216 for that particular night.