Hilton Garden Inn Times Square Rating: 3.0 Pearls

Times Square, Manhattan, New York City

Bamboo poles mark the entrance

Renovated in early 2008, this 369-room Hilton went with a modern Asian design -- bamboo poles mark the entrance; a wooden divan sofa is mixed with quirky side pieces like a lime-green stool; and decorative wicker baskets are placed around the lobby. It's stylish, in a very agreeable, very middle-of-the-road kind of way, much like the hotel's choice of music: grown-up pop tunes like "Love Song" by Sarah Bareilles.

Concierge desk in the lobby

The front-desk staff wear pins that say "10," a nod to the Hilton's Perfect 10 service aspirations. Based on my experience, and the other guests I interviewed, the service is professional and pleasant -- no complaints.

Attentive bellmen are stationed right by the entrance, but you can expect a short wait (about five to 10 minutes) at the front desk to check in. Express checkout, however, is available, and you can confirm your charges just by pressing a button on your room phone.

For tour arrangements and theater tickets, there's a concierge in the lobby.

In-room dining, however, is only available for dinner.

View on a Larger Map

Located on 8th Avenue between 48th and 49th Streets, the Hilton Garden Inn is one avenue away from the nucleus of Times Square. It's only a three-minute walk to the pulsating bright lights and incessant activity, but it's a three-minute remove you might just cherish (less noise, less crowds).

Eighth Avenue gets a lot of traffic during the day, but by night it quiets down. Across from the hotel, there's a Bikram yoga studio, a cleaner and tailor shop, and some nameless delis -- not exactly the flashing signage you'd find around more central hotels, like the Marriott Marquis.

There's a parking lot directly beside the hotel that offers a discount for Hilton guests. The charge is $30 for 24 hours.

New York City has three nearby airports: JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark (in New Jersey). Getting into town from JFK or LaGuardia is usually more convenient than from Newark, but travel times are heavily dependent on the time of day and traffic conditions. From JFK, a taxi to anywhere in Manhattan costs a flat rate of $45 and takes around an hour in average conditions. From LaGuardia, a metered cab ride to midtown Manhattan costs about $40 and can take 30 minutes if traffic is light, three times that if it's bad. Rides from Newark cost at least $40 plus tolls and can take more than 90 minutes. It's customary to tip your driver 15 to 25 percent.

Those looking to save some cash can use the privately run shuttle buses that are available at all three airports for about $14 per person. For more information on the shuttles, go to Super Shuttle or New York Airport Service. Public transit is also available for as little as $7 per person, but travel can take up to two hours and can involve a lot of lugging bags up and down subway stairways.

For mass-transit directions right to the hotel, check out HopStop.com.

The Evolution Room

Starting at about 300 square feet, the standard rooms -- called Evolution Rooms -- are larger than most New York City hotel rooms. Renovated in early 2008, the rooms come with a sleek new design -- dark-wood furniture and warm lighting set the tone, and an ergonomic Mirra chair by Herman Miller adds a touch of luxury. Rooms differ by bed type -- either a king, queen, or two queens -- but they all have basically the same look and features. Just be sure to request a room above the fourth floor -- the second-, third-, and fourth-floor rooms might rattle a bit from the subway traffic beneath the hotel.

The bedding is high-quality: 250-thread-count sheets (OK), a feather comforter (good), and both down and microfiber pillows (great). But the best part -- the Garden Sleep System by Natural Form mattress -- comes with a firmness-adjustor dial and a 100 percent New Zealand virgin wool mattress cover. Like the much-advertised Sleep Number bed, you can choose how soft or firm you want your side of the bed to be (there's a dial on each side). The thick wool layer takes the place of a pillow-top mattress, and it's incredibly soft. It's also hypoallergenic.

Free Wi-Fi and an Ethernet cable is available in the room. The connection's strong and clear. The 26-inch flat-screen TV has premium cable (including HBO), and movies and video games are available. There's also a clock radio with an MP3 connection cable. There's no minibar, just an empty mini-fridge and a coffeemaker. An uncommon addition to the room is a microwave, which works well with microwavable dishes you can get at the Pavilion Pantry.

The bathrooms are a good size, and they're immaculate. Neutrogena bath products are included: soap, shampoo, lotion, and mouthwash. In my room, the Waterpik showerhead had good water pressure.

Street-facing rooms get a lot of light, as the windows run the length of the room. If you're high enough (I was on the 14th floor), you can get a glimpse of the Hudson River.

Modern Fitness Center

For a mid-range hotel, the fitness center is a cut above, featuring Precor cardio machines with private TV screens. The gym is open from 6 a.m to 10 p.m. If you'd rather work out in the comfort of your room, the hotel provides a complimentary Stay Fit Kit upon request. This portable workout set includes a yoga mat, an abs ball, hand weights, a Pilates band, and a resistance rope.

Free Wi-Fi is available around the hotel. The 24-hour business center is free for guests to use, and it includes complimentary printing, copying, and faxing. Remote printing is a cool feature, where guests can securely print from their room and retrieve the documents at a later time using a password.

The Pavilion Pantry is a gift shop and convenience store. Snacks, "I Heart New York" T-shirts, and microwavable meals are for sale (for use in the in-room microwave). If you forget your toothbrush, you can also get it here (and pay extra for it).

Ice and vending machines are available on all floors.

Rooms feature Nintendo Gamecubes

The Hilton is a fine family pick -- big rooms, Nintendo Game Cube video games (available at $6.95 per hour) in the rooms, and a convenient location near Times Square, with easy access to some of New York's family attractions, including Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, M&M World, and Toys R Us, one of the world's largest toy stores.

There are no suites, but the rooms with two queen beds are enough for a small family. Rollaways are available for a charge of $20 a night. Complimentary cribs are available upon request.

For food, the hotel's French restaurant, Pigalle, doesn't have a kids menu. If your kids aren't keen for escargot, go across the street to Olympic Diner, where there are burgers and fries and other kid-friendly options. The microwaves that come with every room could also come in handy. The Pavilion Pantry in the lobby has microwavable dishes like mac-and-cheese and cheese-steak sandwiches.

This hotel has new fixtures and is kept very clean. I saw nary a spot of dust or dirt.

Salad from Pigalle

Brasserie Pigalle is perfectly quaint and charming, with its old-timey suitcases piled on counters above leather booths. The food, though, isn't that great (Read New York magazine's review here.) There are traditional French dishes like beef bourguignon and an onion soup gratinee, but they fall short in authenticity. If anything, both dishes tasted sweet and over-the-top, as if they were compensating for genuine flavor.

Breakfast is not included in the stay, but there's complimentary coffee in the lobby. For a bigger meal, Pigalle serves a full breakfast from 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Candlelit by evening, the brasserie transforms into a bright and bustling dining room in the morning. It seems that almost all the guests choose to have their breakfast here, so come early. A latte costs $4, while a tasty breakfast croissant with bacon costs $10.75.

Pigalle has a bar with specialty drinks like absinthe, but there's no bar scene. For that, there's High Bar, located at the top of the hotel but not accessible from it. Since the bar lounge is operated by different management, hotel guests have to go around the corner and through a separate entrance. Hotel guests do not get any special privilege, and thus have to line up with other partygoers.