I was checking out the Starwood website and it looks like the points required for an award are fairly low compared to Hilton, especially for some of the more expensive properties such as in NYC. Any opinions?

It is true that the points required are much lower - and in fact they are much easier to use (Starwood has no blackout dates or capacity controls on awards). However, you can't do a direct comparison on the numbers - 1 Starpoint is worth more than 1 Hhonors point, but it is also harder to come by. Just looking at credit cards, the Starwood card earns you 1 point per dollar, whereas Hilton cards earn 2 or 3 per dollar (up to 5 if spent at a Hilton).