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Christmas in New York is a bucket list experience! We will never forget walking through the twinkling decorated streets of Manhattan to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. While we explored the festive city streets we stayed at the New York Hilton Midtown, a hotel near the Rockefeller Center, 5th Ave, and Times Square. We stayed for three nights in mid-December in a city-view king room and paid $1,805.37. We chose the hotel for its central location for most of the Christmas activities we wanted to do in the city!
How To Get To The New York Hilton Midtown Hotel:
There are a few options to get to the New York Hilton Midtown from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) or LaGuardia Airport (LGA). Ride-share apps like Uber and Lyft, taxis, and the subway are the three most common ways to get to the hotel. Renting a car is a possibility for those who feel like braving driving in the city, but it does not make a lot of sense to drive there! Parking is expensive and limited, traffic is crazy, and it is often faster to walk!
We opted to take an Uber from the JFK airport to the hotel. We did not want to deal with taking luggage on the subway, and we were more comfortable with ride-share than taxi services. An Uber from JFK to the hotel costs us about $100, the pricing does change depending on the time of day. A ride during peak commute hours will be more expensive than one outside of those hours. For anyone flying into LGA, a ride will cost a little less at about $65.
A taxi ride from the JFK airport to Manhattan is a set rate of $70 for all companies. The only exception to this is during peak hours (4-8 p.m. weekdays) there is a $5 additional charge making the maximum price for a taxi ride from the JFK Airport to Manhattan $75. A taxi ride from LGA to Manhattan varies in price from about $25-$45 depending on drop off location; a $1 peak charge is added from 4:00pm to 8:00pm on weekdays.
Taking the subway is also a popular option to get into the city from either airport. From the hotel to JFK airport, it will cost about $12 in total, with fares for the AirTrain, subway, and a new metro card. The closest subway station to the hotel is 7 Av. The JFK airport has a great page on how to access the subway from the airport, click here to check it out!
It is also possible to take public transit from LGA to the hotel via bus and subway. Some buses run that will take you from LGA to a subway station where you can get on to go to Manhattan. The price is about $2.90-$5.80 depending on the route. A one-way subway/bus trip costs $2.90, and the fare allows one free transfer between the subway and bus! To read more about planning a trip from LGA on public transit check out the LGA airports website here!
Check-in:
The normal check-in time for the New York Hilton Midtown is 3:00 PM. From the second we stepped out of our Uber outside the hotel we were greeted by amazing holiday displays from the hotel! In front of the hotel's revolving doors was an old-school taxi cab decorated festively in ribbons and lights. Once we walked through the doors of the hotel we were greeted by multiple twinkling Christmas trees in the lobby.
We got to the hotel around 4:00 PM, and a good-sized line was formed at the check-in counter. There were two lines, one for Hilton Diamond members, and a regular line, and both were backed up. It took about 15-20 minutes for us to get to the counter. The check-in process was a little long, but the woman helping us was friendly. She explained the hotel, lounge, elevators, and how our food credit worked (more about the food credit later).
Room Details:
We booked a city-view king room for three nights in mid-December and paid $1,805.37. The room was on the smaller side, but had the hotel basics inside. A small sofa near the window, a TV stand/workstation combo, bedside tables, a king bed, and a small bathroom with a shower/tub combo.
The room was not in the best shape and had some signs of wear and tear. Some of the wallpaper was peeling off, and there were a lot of scuffs and scrapes on the walls. This makes sense since it is such a busy location in the heart of the city. However, what was inexcusable was the condition of the bathroom.
Our sink was covered in black mold! The entire sink bowl had mold growing under the lip where it met the counter. And upon further inspection, we also found more black mold in the shower. Not only was there mold in the bathroom, but it was also dusty and grimy. The metal soap stand in the shower was covered in rust and shower grime. Not something you want right by your face while you shower! The shower itself was also dirty, and the grout was more yellow than white.
The silver tray the soaps came on was coated in a thick layer of dust, and so was the towel rack. The towel rack along with being dusty was in a spot I had never seen before; it was hanging inside the shower.
Not only was the bathroom dirty and covered in mold, it was tiny and lacked functionality! We had very little water pressure in our room, and it took a long time for the water to heat up.
The rest of the room was not nearly as bad as the bathroom, but after seeing all the mold we did not feel like any of it was clean! We vowed to not sit on the couch and kept shoes or socks on any time we needed to walk on the floors.
We checked the mattress for bugs before sleeping and it was clean. Most of the cleanliness issues were in the bathroom. The sheets, and bed were clean, and we slept pretty well on it. Another positive aspect of the room was a large surge protector with multiple outlet plugs. We were able to charge multiple devices and batteries at the same time.
Along with the issues in the bathroom, we also had connectivity issues with the wifi, and we were kicked off repeatedly. We struggled to keep a connection throughout our stay even on our phones. This made getting any work done impossible!
Extra Benefits:
The New York Hilton Midtown has an extra perk for Hilton Diamond members, they have access to an executive lounge on-site that has food, drinks and workspaces. Inside the executive lounge are quick grab-and-go items like coffee and water bottles along with light bites in the morning and evening. For non-Hilton Diamond members, you can gain access to the lounge by booking select room types. The hotel also charges a $35 resort fee which includes, premium guest internet access (3 devices); daily $35 food and beverage credit for use in hotel restaurant, bar, and lounge; daily $25 laundry service credit.
Property Perks:
The biggest highlight of the hotel property is its central location to some of the city's biggest attractions (especially during the holiday season). It is less than a ten-minute walk to get to the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, Radio City Music Hall, and 5th Ave. Making it a prime location for those who want to get out and see all the twinkling holiday lights and decorations.
There are also two bars and a small bistro-style restaurant on site. The bistro has grab-and-go options along with a few made-to-order items, and even sit down for breakfast in the mornings. One bar serves light bites, and the
other is drinks only. The lobby bar did
occasionally have live music during our stay
which was enjoyable.
The property also had a nice-sized gym. The gym was loaded with a few dozen cardio machines, including treadmills, ellipticals, and different variations of workout bikes. There were two nice-sized free-weight sections with dumbbells up to 70lb. One thing about this gym that surprised us compared to others was the squat rack; we spend lots of time in hotel gyms and those are not very common. The hotel also had a nice-sized pool which had a few lanes zoned out for fitness training. This is one of our favorite hotel gyms we have visited!
Check out:
The check-out time for the New York Hilton Midtown is 12:00 PM. We did not do a formal checkout, but instead left our keys in the room. A few hours later we received an emailed copy of our final receipt and had no issues. There is also a key drop in the lobby of the hotel for express check-out.
Summary:
We stayed three nights at the New York Hilton Midtown and paid $1,805.37 for a city-view king room. We enjoyed the holiday decorations throughout the hotel but had some problems with our room. Our sink and shower had black mold, and there were other cleanliness issues as well like dust and rust. The location is one of the only redeeming factors of the hotel as it is nearby some of the biggest tourist attractions in the city. For the price we would not stay here again, the quality of the rooms did not live up to the $500 plus price per night for us!
If you have stayed at the New York Hilton Midtown what was your experience like? If you have not stayed here before would you? Let us know below!
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