DoubleTree by Hilton New York Times Square West

About DoubleTree by Hilton New York Times Square West

This stay suits travelers who want Times Square close by without sleeping on top of it. DoubleTree by Hilton New York Times Square West stands on West 40th Street in Hell's Kitchen, about 0.4 miles (0.7 km) in a straight line from Times Square and the same from Penn Station. Couples planning theater evenings, business travelers with Midtown meetings and families on a first Manhattan trip get a practical base, with a 24-hour front desk that helps when a flight or train lands late.

A 4-star hotel, it runs as a busy Midtown property where most guests come for the location and leave the room for the day. The booking supplier's guest score is 3.5 out of 5 from 6270 reviews. That score suggests a solid, functional stay rather than a luxurious one. Expect city-hotel routines: a desk that never closes, listed breakfast service, free wifi and a fitness center, plus subway access for everything further afield.

Rooms and listed facilities

Room types and layouts vary, so confirm bed size, floor and view with the property before booking. Among the listed facilities, couples tend to value room service, air conditioning and the terrace, while families can ask about family rooms and cots. Business travelers get free wifi, internet access and a fitness center, and late arrivals can rely on the 24-hour front desk and luggage storage. The listed amenities also include parking and valet parking, a restaurant, a bar, laundry service, safes, lifts and wheelchair access.

Several listed services are worth booking early when the calendar is busy. Breakfast is offered, including breakfast in room, and a concierge and safe are listed for guests who want help with plans and valuables. A shuttle service appears among the listed facilities, so ask the property how it runs and whether it fits your arrival. Guests with access needs should confirm room details and step-free routes with DoubleTree by Hilton New York Times Square West directly.

The setting

350 W. 40th Street places the hotel in Hell's Kitchen, on the western edge of Midtown, between the Theater District and the Hudson-side blocks. Times Square is about 0.4 miles (0.7 km) away in a straight line and Penn Station the same, with Grand Central Terminal about 0.9 miles (1.4 km) and the observation decks around 0.9 miles (1.4 km). Central Park at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street is about 1.2 miles (1.9 km), while the 9/11 Memorial is about 3.3 miles (5.3 km) south.

Location and neighborhood

Hell's Kitchen is best read on foot, block by block. The neighborhood's shape comes from the river: piers and rail yards once lined the Hudson shore, and the tenement streets behind them filled with dock workers, then with successive waves of newcomers. Walking west from the Theater District, the scale drops from office towers to four- and five-story walk-ups with fire escapes, small churches and corner storefronts. The grid makes navigation easy: numbered streets run east to west, avenues north to south, and the blocks between Ninth and Tenth Avenues hold most of the low-rise fabric. Start at DoubleTree by Hilton New York Times Square West and go west.

The cultural life here is mixed and unpolished. Broadway houses sit a few blocks east, so rehearsal studios, costume shops and small back-room theaters fill the side streets, and the neighborhood has long housed people who work in the theater. Ninth Avenue is the neighborhood's main walking spine, lined with food shops and bakeries that change with each block. Look up: the architecture is a record of building booms and recessions, from ornate 1900s apartment fronts to plain mid-century brick. A walk of an hour or two covers the whole width of the neighborhood, from the Theater District edge to the river.

Getting there and around

Hell's Kitchen is a transit crossroads. Penn Station and the Port Authority Bus Terminal sit at the neighborhood's edges, and Grand Central Terminal is a walk east across Midtown. Measured from DoubleTree by Hilton New York Times Square West, the airports are around 14 miles (22.2 km) away, the main rail stations around 0.9 miles (1.4 km) and the city center around 0.4 miles (0.7 km); road time varies with traffic, so allow slack on the way to a flight. The subway runs 24 hours. You pay by tapping a contactless card or phone at the turnstile, and the system caps weekly spending on its own. Streets are flat, the grid is simple, and most of the neighborhood is walkable.

Nearby sights and food

Most of the well-known sights sit within walking range of DoubleTree by Hilton New York Times Square West. The Intrepid Museum occupies a Hudson pier west of the neighborhood, with a retired aircraft carrier, aircraft and a submarine to walk through. East across the Theater District, the Museum of Modern Art holds a large collection of modern and contemporary work, and Grand Central Terminal is worth a slow look at its concourse and ceiling. Hudson Yards, at the southern end of Hell's Kitchen, has an observation deck with an open-air platform and a glass floor. Broadway's theaters cluster around Times Square, with evening curtains usually at 7 or 8; check the show.

Eating here means choosing between a few dozen small rooms and long-standing neighborhood places. Ninth Avenue and the blocks around Restaurant Row, the stretch of West 46th Street lined with kitchens, carry the widest spread: Thai, Japanese, Mexican, Greek, Italian, Indian, Spanish and Chinese cooking, plus a few West African and Caribbean kitchens. Expect narrow dining rooms, counter seats, tiled floors and menus that change at lunch. Bakeries, delis and groceries fill the avenues for picnic supplies, and the Hudson River parks at the western edge give you somewhere to sit with them. Book ahead on show nights.

A day from DoubleTree by Hilton New York Times Square West

Begin with a walk west to the Hudson, following the numbered streets to the water, then turn north along the river path toward the Intrepid Museum; check its hours before setting out. Walk back east for lunch on Ninth Avenue or along West 46th Street, where the restaurant row sits. Spend the afternoon at the Museum of Modern Art, or cross to Fifth Avenue for the Empire State Building's open-air deck; timed entry helps. Return through the Theater District as the lights come on, eat early, then catch a Broadway curtain, checking the show for its start time. Finish with a loop around Times Square and back to DoubleTree by Hilton New York Times Square West.

Distances

Facilities listed by the supplier

As listed by the booking supplier; a facility not listed here may still exist. Confirm anything important with the property.

• 24 Hour Front Desk
• 24-hour security
• ATM
• Air conditioning
• Alarm clock
• Banquet
• Snack bar
• Bars
• Bathroom
• Bike rental service
• Breakfast
• Breakfast in room
• Buffet
• Car rental service
• Cleaning
• Coffee
• Concierge
• Crib
• Desk
• Dry cleaning service
• Entertainment activities
• Express check in
• Family rooms
• First aid
• Fitness Center
• Free Wi-Fi
• Garage
• Hairdryer
• Housekeeping
• Internet access
• Iron and board
• Laundry Service
• Elevators
• Luggage storage
• Lunch
• Market
• Night club
• Non smoking rooms
• Parking
• Pay per view