Review of New York City Hilton Garden Inn, Times Square

The Hilton Garden Inn Times Square is a solid choice for business travelers looking for a mid-town hotel in New York City that's close to Times Square, the New York Times, and convenient subway lines. The hotel is located one block off of the main section of Times Square (at 8th Avenue and 49th), but near lots of restaurants, bars, and theaters.

With nice-sized rooms, easy convenience features like a microwave and refrigerator, a 24-hour convenience store, and connected restaurant and parking, the Hilton Garden Inn Times Square is a good option for travelers who want something clean, dependable, and comfortable.

The Hilton Garden Inn Times Square is a great choice for business travelers who want a dependable, business-oriented mid-town hotel without attitude but with all the amenities they need to work efficiently.

The Hilton Garden Inn Times Square is located on 8th and 49th, just one block over from the top of the main Times Square section. That makes it close enough to action while keeping noise and traffic hassles away. The hotel itself was recently refurbished and has clean, modern rooms with style. There were large, nicely-framed black and white photos of New York City landmarks on wall, and a stylish mixture of black and silver accents around the room.

The room I stayed in was definitely larger than many other low- or mid-priced New York City hotels. The room included a good-sized flat screen TV, a small microwave, and a reasonable-sized refrigerator, as well as a coffee maker. The drapes were good—opened easily and closed completely. Sound proofing was good. Although the hotel was mostly full, I didn't hear any outside noise.

Like other Hilton Garden Inns, there were both foam and feather pillows on the bed. The bed was firm and comfortable.

For business travelers, the room had a nice desk and working area, with ergonomic chair and nice adjustable desk lamp. Can't go wrong with free high-speed wired and wireless Internet, either.

The lobby wasn't ostentatious, but it was comfortable and nice. In addition to a separate business center across the front desk, there was a separate seating area with chairs, a table, and a television for simply hanging out. In addition to computers, the business center has a color printer, as well as copy and fax capabilities. Guests can also print directly from their room to the front desk.

The exercise room on the second floor was good—not large, but certainly reasonable for a New York City hotel. The Pavilion Pantry in the lobby is open 24 hours and had a range of convenience foods, drinks, and personal items.

Next door (but connected directly to the hotel) is the Pigalle Brasserie, a 1950's Paris style café. The café serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and evening room service. Limited room service is available. There's also free Starbucks hot coffee in lobby in the morning.

Although it's run by a separate company, there is a parking garage right next to the hotel that offers a discounted parking rate of $30/24 hours for hotel guests. I parked there and was impressed with the service and convenience.

As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with complimentary services for review purposes. While it has not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our Ethics Policy.