Hilton Garden Inn Long Island City New York

Shavon made check-in a breeze and was welcoming and helpful. The front desk and housekeeping teams were great too, and the rooms and bathrooms were clean. The hotel is close to subway stations and Manhattan. There’s a nice gym and a laundry room, plus the lobby bar has a great vibe. The restaurant menu has plenty of options.

The staff were very friendly and resourceful, and there are plenty of food and cafe choices in the hotel area. It’s a good, safe location just a few minutes’ walk from the subway, and only minutes from Manhattan. The price is good, so I’d come back and stay here. The rooms are dated and show a little wear. You’re also squeezed between other buildings, so there’s very little view.

We booked a King room but were given a smaller bed. After asking to move to the room type we’d paid for, we were told all the King rooms were taken. I understand that can happen, especially after a flight delay leads to a late check-in. The frustrating part was trying to get back the price difference. They said I’d need to speak with the manager the next day, but he wasn’t available. One front desk woman suggested it may have happened because we booked through a third-party site, which felt unacceptable and wasn’t something we’d encountered before. It should have been a simple adjustment to charge us for the room we actually received. Instead, it took several attempts to find someone at the desk who could sort it out. One woman eventually processed the refund. The front desk staff were unpleasant and unhelpful overall, and they even ran out of coffee at breakfast. A friend staying there had a similar experience, so this didn’t seem like a one-off. The service was off-putting. Two stars for the decent room size and good location.

The buffet breakfast was a highlight, and we used our card benefit for a $10 per person, per day meal credit. The hotel is close to two subway stations, so we'd consider coming back. Our first room had a slight odor, but they moved us to another one at no charge. The staff were friendly, and the room was clean with no smell. The cable TV did cut out for a few seconds every couple of minutes sometimes. We barely watched it, and mentioned the issue when we checked out so they could look for a loose connection.