My
spouse and I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Tribeca for one night on a
Saturday in mid-October 2017. (We stayed at the hotel one time previously in
mid-August 2012.) We reserved our room online using the Hilton website, and we
remitted Hilton HHonors points for a free night stay.
The
Hilton Garden Inn Tribeca is located just where its name suggests – the Tribeca
neighborhood bordering on the southern edge of SoHo. The hotel is positioned
just one block south of Canal Street, on an island of land bordered by York
Street, St. Johns Lane, Ericsson Place, and of course, Avenue of the Americas
(Sixth Avenue). Our Uber driver was unable to reach the hotel, even cancelling
our ride after he became frustrated by the many one-way streets surrounding the
property. Taxis often pass by on the busy street, with many more available one
block away on Canal Street. There are lots of shops (both trinkets and
higher-end), delis, bars, cafes, and restaurants nearby. The blue line subway
station is directly outside the door to the hotel (trains A, C, and E). The
hotel has a bench around the corner from the main entrance for smokers, and the
exterior corner of the building is decorated with seasonal flowerpots/planters.
(In fact, when we arrived in the morning, the pots contained ficus/fig trees,
trailing sweet potato plants, and warm-weather annuals; however, the next
morning when we departed, the overnight “gardening fairies” had replaced them
with small arborvitae surrounded by chrysanthemums and ornamental/flowering
cabbages/kale that would weather the cold temps of winter.) The hotel offers
valet parking; the attendant is stationed inside the hotel, so temporarily park
your vehicle at the curb and turn over your keys. The price for valet parking
is $65 per day, with no in/out privileges. (There are many nearby parking lots
and garages with both covered and uncovered parking for half that price.) The valet
or front desk can store luggage if you arrive early or stay late.
The
lobby is small, but well-appointed and pleasant with a few furniture seating
groupings near a gas fireplace and the many windows. The lobby offers an ATM
machine, a pantry area where you can purchase drinks and snacks to enjoy in
your room, and a small bar area that serves complimentary coffee in the morning
(until noon, actually) and cookies in the evening. The AOA (Avenue of the
Americas) Bar & Grill, adjacent/connected to the hotel, offers daily lunch
and dinner as well as hotel room service. The basement level has a business
center and fitness center.
The
hotel offers 150+ rooms in King, Double Queen, King Tribeca View, Double Queen
Tribeca View categories, plus one Penthouse Suite. Some rooms offer a Jacuzzi
bathtub or are handicap-accessible. We stayed in a King (non-view) room, which
was the “understatement of the year”! Our fifth floor room (the hotel is six
stories tall) was positioned toward the rear of the hotel and faced a taller
building across narrow St Johns Lane, which meant our window looked directly at
a very high brick wall! Our room might as well not have had a window, except
that the said window opened about twelve inches to let in air. (Conversely, on
our first stay at this hotel, we were lucky enough to have a corner room that
overlooked both York Street and Sixth Avenue, which was so much more pleasant!)
We would advise future guests to spend a little extra money for the city view,
especially if you are a first-time visitor to the city. (We visit often, so
although the view was terribly disappointing to us, we will have other
opportunities to observe the city from our room.) In addition, we made a
mistake by not checking in online, when we could have chosen a better-positioned
room, because by the time we had arrived, the hotel was fully occupied.
Our
king room was typical HGI style, with a refreshment center (that contained a
mini-refrigerator and microwave below the counter and a coffee service and ice
bucket on top), a desk and ergonomic chair, a chair (but no ottoman this time,
as we had on our past visit and saw in the hotel photo), and king-size bed with
a nightstand on each side. The room’s closet was large, with an iron, ironing
board, and movable luggage rack. The bathroom had a combination bathtub/shower,
vanity with single sink, and a toilet; an unusual-looking hairdryer was
attached to the wall, and small Neutrogena toiletries (shampoo, conditioner,
body lotion, soap) was provided (last visit it was mini Bath & Body Works
products). Five years ago, we felt that the rooms were fresh and modern, but
now could use a refresh, although they are still acceptable.
Our
stay at the Hilton Garden Inn Tribeca was satisfactory – the hotel’s positive
features are its great location and personable staff.
