DoubleTree by Hilton Manhattan

When we originally booked this hotel last summer for our daughter’s wedding it was a Four Points Sheraton. When we met the sales manager at the hotel to tour the facilities before signing the contract, we noticed there was a lot of construction. We were assured that it would all be finished before the wedding in January. As part of the agreement, they opened up a $99 wedding block room rate. The only way to book this rate was to call the hotel directly and ask for it. We included the hotel’s phone number on the wedding invitations. We had several of our guests reach out to us to tell us that they were either told that the room rate was sold out or they could not find it. We determined that they hotel was forwarding people to the Marriott reservations line instead of taking the reservation themselves. This was an ongoing issue for several months leading up to the wedding. A few months later, we learned that the hotel was going to switch brands to the Doubletree by Hilton. That change happened in mid December. This led to issues with numerous reservations being lost. This wasn’t a major deal other than another hassle for me to deal with. The hotel was big enough and you will see in a bit that it ended up being a good thing for many of the guests. Mother Nature decided to wreak havoc and sent winter storm Blair for the wedding weekend. We originally had over 200 people RSVP. Due to the weather, we ended up with only about 85 people for the reception. When the guests who weren’t able to make it called to cancel their rooms, they got a variety of different answers. Some were told they would be charged for the night, some were told their credit card wasn’t on file (due to branding switch I assume) and many were told their reservation wasn’t in the system. At the same time, we had many people who decided to stay the night at the hotel instead of going home that night. The hotel decided to keep the $99 rate available even though it was past the cutoff date. I ended up booking and paying for a total of 5 rooms under my name and Hilton account. (I only got points for 3 rooms and assume that is just a Hilton limit). When I settled up with the hotel the following week, I realized that I wasn’t offered bonus points or a food/beverage credit for any of the rooms when I checked in. Due to that mixup, I was offered a whopping 1000 bonus points as compensation which still haven’t posted 2 weeks later. It was still unsafe for people to leave on Sunday and the hotel extended the $99 rate for all of us there. (Some couldn’t get out until Wednesday and the rate was still made available. The wedding reception went great. The Fiesta buffet was delicious. The service was great. Everybody who was there had a great time. I had ordered 3 kegs of beer and food for 200 people. Since we were all stuck there on Sunday, I asked if they could bring out the unfinished kegs to which they agreed. (We also brought the kegs back out on Monday as

The hotel has apparently been renovated and I found it to be comfortable and clean. I was there on a Monday night in the summer when there wasn't much going on in the city or at the university. There seemed to be only a handful of people staying in the hotel. The warm cookies were great. The wine selection in the hotel bar was not so great...not a specialty, as to be expected, I suppose. I come to Manhattan often, got a great rate here (and like adding to my Hilton points. If rates remain competitive, I will stay here again.

I stayed while renovations were wrapping up. The updates breath new life into this old tired property! It is a short drive from the airport. The rooms are huge and very nice! I stayed for two nights and had really good sleep in the comfortable bed. The staff is very friendly and breakfast was great. Overall, I highly recommend this hotel for its comfortable accommodations, friendly staff, and convenient location. It will be my preferred choice for future business trips.

Asked for room away from pool, got right by it. Very very loud kids. No TV remote. No cups in bathroom. Very little water pressure. No hairdryer. No hangers in closet. Kids running the hallways well past midnight. The lighting was negligible. Could hardly see the stuff in my suitcase. Best thing-only one night!