Review: Conrad New York Downtown | Hilton Honors

Conrad New York Downtown – Booking

The cost for our two-night stay at the Conrad New York Downtown was $808 USD ($1,060 CAD) with tax or 90,000 Hilton Honors points per night.

Fortunately, we had two Hilton Free Night Awards to use earned on the US-based Hilton American Express cards. So we were able to stay for free without having to use any cash or points. Due to our Diamond status, we would earn 100% bonus points on any incidental spending.

Conrad New York Downtown – Location

The Conrad New York Downtown is very well located on the southwestern edge of Manhattan. Its enviable location gives it a bit more breathing room than a hotel right in the middle of the city center. Rockefeller Park is right next door, along with the Liberty Landing Ferry.  The subway and One World Observatory / World Trade Center are only a few minutes walk away. There is also great shopping and restaurants all around.

So you have the best of both worlds – close to all the downtown action you would like and public transport while having more space than in the center of downtown. I would note, though, that it is a decent subway ride to get up to the Midtown/Broadway area. So if you are visiting for tourism and most of the attractions you will be seeing are in that area, you may want to consider a hotel near Times Square instead.

Conrad New York Downtown – Arrival & Check-In

The hotel has its main entrance on North End Avenue. It doesn’t have its own entrance off the main street, however it is a quieter area of the city being next to the water and near the park, so the traffic is lighter.

The hotel lobby area is beautiful and almost a work of art in itself. It has an open interior space all the way up to the top floor and has the one amenity prized in New York above all others: space.  The amount of free space here is just unparalleled for downtown Manhattan.

Check-in was smooth, but no welcome drink/cold towel service or anything else as you’d expect at a Conrad outside of the United States. Likewise, no upgrade was available for my Diamond status. The staff were all very friendly, though. I chose a welcome benefit of $25/adult for food credit, which we would use to offset our breakfast. With that, we took our keys and proceeded up the elevator to our room. The corridors are open to the main lobby space so you can see all the way down and around the hotel.

Conrad New York Downtown – Deluxe Suite

This property was an Embassy Suites until 2011. That is Hilton’s all-suite, mid-range brand. So by default this is an all-suite hotel with the living areas separate from the main bedroom, but with higher quality amenities and furnishings than you’d find in an Embassy Suites. This layout makes it great for families or anyone who needs extra space like this. Our room was a Deluxe Suite with 2 Doubles and Sofabed, plenty of room for our family of four. The room was spacious, quiet, and very comfortable.

There was a nice minibar area with a sink, mirror, coffee/tea amenities, a fully stocked minifridge, a filtered water dispensing machine, and some nice glassware.

Two closets featured extra bedding, slippers, an ironing board, and an umbrella.

The bathroom featured separate toilet/sink and showers areas. The fixtures were all solid quality and there were plenty of Mojave Ghost toiletry products. Here I’ll give a standing ovation to the hotel to have the soap products in large, refillable containers instead of single-use disposable plastic bottles. Finally North America is moving away from this wasteful trend.

The shower itself was fantastic – all marble interior, terrific water pressure, and featured two different heads including a waterfall. Two very comfy adult bathrobes were provided.

The high floor gave a view over downtown New York.

Conrad New York Downtown – Dining

The hotel has two outlets for dining. The first is ATRIO, the wine bar & restaurant featuring American cuisine. This serves breakfast, lunch, and supper, and has a bar area for drinks in the evening. This is where we had our breakfast each morning which was a hit with the whole family. While not complementary, our Diamond status gave us a $50 credit each morning for it.

Weather permitting, there is also a fun rooftop bar called the Loopy Doopy which serves up cocktails while people can see the evening sights of the Hudson River area and New Jersey across it.

Conrad New York Downtown – Facilities & Service

There is a small gym on site which has some free weights and cardio equipment.

The hotel also has a deal with the Asphalt Green which is a sports and fitness center located just across the street. Their facilities include a pool, fitness center, basketball court, and turf field.

While we didn’t spend a great deal of time at the hotel, we did interact with several members of the staff who were all very friendly and helpful. There was a minor problem with my bill which the front desk was happy to fix efficiently, the lobby concierge was quite forthcoming with suggestions for touring around downtown and going to view the statue of liberty, and the food & beverage staff in the restaurant were all great.

In addition to this, when we arrived I asked for housekeeping to make up the sofa bed where our two daughters would sleep. The fellow who arrived was extremely nice, and we ended up with a fully prepared bed, two child’s bathrobes, and two little Conrad stuffed animals for them. Definitively a hit with the kids!

Conrad New York Downtown – Hotel Fact Sheet

Conclusion

The Conrad New York Downtown is a stylish, comfortable hotel in a great location. If travelling to Manhattan for business or coming as a tourist, it will provide a relaxing refuge to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and provide a sense of space which is hard to find.

If you’re looking to hit a lot of attractions near Central Park or Midtown, then a hotel closer to that area would be ideal. But failing that, this would be a great place for a home base while in New York City.

Keep reading for more reviews of New York City hotels:

Go further with Hilton Honors

To maximize your stays and points earning, check our complete Hilton Honors program guide and our best Hilton Honors credit cards ranking. And if a points purchase promotion is running, take advantage via our Hilton Honors points purchase guide.