Hilton Midtown NYC: Accessbility Room Nightmare

Occasionally, I find the need to stay in NYC for a photoshoot or just an early day in the city, instead of commuting the one hour it takes to get to the city from NJ. So during those days, I take a hotel in the city near the location I want to be near and check out.

This time around, my significant other found the Hilton Midtown Hotel. It was either that or the Sheraton, but what convinced him to choose the Hilton was the fact that they offered an “accessibility room,” which included accessibility for hard-of-hearing and deaf individuals, or so he thought.

I was intrigued by the concept, because up until now I have never seen an “accessible” room, and more than anything, I really wanted to know how the flashing lights work when someone rings the bell or calls.

We arrived on a rainy night at the hotel, with soping went pant legs (ah, the New York rain), and the hotel’s main foyer was huge. It’s like a mini shopping mall, and we almost got lost. Check in was easy, and quick, with the guy giving us views on one of the floors above the 4oth floor.

At first glance, the room was nice, spacious with a couch, and some views of the surrounding buildings, but I wasn’t really impressed with it, and from the moment I walked into it, I felt like something was off. What we soon discovered, was that it’s not actually all that we expected. There was no flashing lights if someone was coming to the door, nor was there anything in the room that would have made this hotel room DHH accessible whatsoever.

It was an accessibility room only because the bathroom was wheelchair accessible, so the wheelchair user can roll up to the shower, the toilet, and the sink. But we also soon discovered that none of it worked properly, either. The shower had a bench, presumably so that the wheelchair bound person could sit on it. Except, the bench was broken and part of it was coming out of the wall, so it didn’t look stable at all, and seemed like it was about to fall out of the wall. On top of all that, the drain didn’t work properly, and the water was going all over the bathroom, even with the curtain closed–so much that it went on the carpet in the hallway. I actually ended up almost slipping on the bathroom floor on my way out because it was so unexpected.

Aside from that, the bed was comfortable, and I did sleep soundly, but because of the bathroom (it was still wet the next morning!!!), this is the first hotel I couldn’t wait to get out of as soon as possible. And honestly, I’m not sure that I am willing to return to the Hilton in Midtown anytime soon. If I had my pick, I would go back to the Marriot & Residence Inn nearby over this one.