Hilton Garden Inn Tribeca - Good Location, Friendly Staff

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.