My spouse and I
stayed at the Hampton Inn Financial District/Downtown for one night on a
Tuesday evening in late January 2018. We made our reservation using the Hilton
website. We checked in online the day prior to our stay, and we received keys
to the same room that we selected during the process. Unfortunately, there were
no upgrades available despite our Diamond HHonors membership.
The Hampton Inn
Manhattan/Downtown-Financial District is located in Lower Manhattan near Wall
Street, the Staten Island Ferry, Governor’s Island Ferry, and Battery Park, so
it would be an ideal location from which to visit touristy sites (like the
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island) or a good base from which to do business. A
large 24-hour Essen food emporium is located opposite the hotel’s main
entrance; it offers grocery items, breakfast food, deli sandwiches, baked goods,
and several self-serve bars (with cold salads, Chinese food, various soups,
many other hot foods); it has a lower level where you can dine in, or
alternatively, you can take out food, beverages (including alcohol like wine
and beer), and supplies. Restaurants and bars located within a block or two include
the Dead Rabbit, Ulysses, Stone Street Tavern, The Growler, and Luke’s Lobster,
as well as a Duane Reade pharmacy. Sister hotel the Doubletree Financial
District is also nearby.
Hotel amenities include a complimentary breakfast buffet (standard Hampton
Inn fare like coffee, juices, fruit, bagels and pastries, cold cereals,
oatmeal, scrambled eggs, breakfast meat, and make-your-own waffles).
Alternatively on weekdays, you can pick up a grab-and-go brown bag breakfast,
which includes a bottle of water, apple, muffin/pastry, and breakfast bar. A
24-hour pantry offers food and drink items for purchase, including
single-serving bottles of wine. A complimentary tea and coffee bar is offered
opposite the pantry. A fitness center and business center are onsite, and Wi-Fi
is free throughout the hotel. Valet parking is available for $55 plus tax per
night for a standard-size vehicle. Public spaces at this hotel include the
lobby breakfast area (which offers a long communal high-top table, some
free-standing tables, and other tables that share one side of a padded banquette),
and a tiny seating area that offers two club chairs and a small cocktail table
in a sort of makeshift lounge area. A television is available in the breakfast
area.
The hotel offers
king or queen bed rooms, in addition to a few king studio suites (which have
either a king or two queen beds, a sleeper sofa, and a refreshment center with bar
sink, refrigerator, and microwave). Some queen rooms offer an outdoor
terrace/deck. Our room was on the top/eighth floor, which necessitated using
one of the two main hotel elevators to travel to the seventh floor, then
disembarking and riding a separate single elevator to the eighth floor. Our
queen room was a bit cozy for two people, with room for only one nightstand on
the far side of the bed because of the narrow width of the room. Our room
contained a small hanging closet (with luggage rack, safe, iron, and ironing
board), a small low chest of drawers that held the flat-screen TV, and a small
table (which was too small to be used as a working desk, although it contained
a rolling chair) that held the coffee maker and the ice bucket. Our room did
not have a refrigerator.
We enjoyed our
stay at the Hampton Inn Manhattan/Downtown-Financial District, but we would probably
choose a larger room with a king-size bed next time, even though that would
mean sacrificing the outdoor terrace.
