My Prize Weekend at the Hilton Manhattan East in NYC

A few months ago, I received an email from Hilton Manhattan East’s social media representative:

Congratulations – You’ve been chosen as the winner of our “A Weekend Of Discovering” Facebook giveaway from your May 8, 2015 entry. This means you’ll receive a complimentary 2-night weekend stay at Hilton Manhattan East (for you and a guest) with a dining credit to one of the local gems of the neighborhood.

This is the contest I won:

I claimed my prize last weekend. The hotel is on 42nd Street and Second Avenue, and is part of an area of Manhattan known as Tudor City. (I am writing a separate post on Tudor City). The hotel is one block west of the United Nations and 2 blocks east of Grand Central. I was on a staycation barely 2 miles from my home! I love being a tourist in my own city – New York always brings new surprises and discoveries. And no need to stress over transportation!

I checked in, and was given my keys and a bag with two bottles of water and an envelope with a $50 Visa Gift card for use towards dinner.

Here is the lobby area.

My room, located on the 4th floor, was considered an upgrade (I was hoping for a suite with my newly minted Diamond Hilton Honors status, but I was informed that the hotel was fully booked). As an older room that had been recently renovated it had a certain old world European charm to it.

There was not much of a view, but if I leaned out the window to my right, I was able to get a very cool photo of this church.

The next night I changed rooms. The new room was on a much higher floor, so there was a lot more light and a very nice view of the United Nations and the East River.

It was considered a Junior Suite, and it was a little larger than the prior room and had the addition of a couch.  Sometimes just a little extra room makes all the difference. This felt much more comfortable than the first room.

The bathroom was very similar to the prior bathroom.  The bath/shower had lots of contraptions and even an instruction sheet.

There was also some aromatherapy product in the room available for free trial, but I did not try it out.  The fine print said it was free only for the first half hour, then $14 per hour.

Breakfast was included in the stay.  The breakfast room also had a European feel to it. It was clean and the servers were attentive and friendly. There was a large traditional breakfast buffet, which we enjoyed. However, there were no omelets or eggs to order, only scrambled eggs.  The bagels were mini-bagels that weren’t New York Bagels.  There was no choice of fish items, as one might see at a better hotel, such as a Hilton.

$69.37?? Even with tip and gratuity, this seemed like way too much. For this price, I think that this breakfast is fine only if included in a stay (as it was for me) or business expense – otherwise I’d probably opt for the hotel cafe or the Starbucks down the street.

Overall, the hotel is fine.  It is away from Times Square, which, in my opinion, is a positive factor. The staff is attentive, the rooms are clean and I felt comfortable and safe at the hotel. It’s not a hotel that made me go WOW, but it is nice for a visit to New York.