In March, after I made a hotel reservation the phone agent asked if I wanted to hear a promotion from HGVC and received 500 HH points.
It was a lengthy call with a sales agent who was scheduling previews. We were in the car on the way to a store, not expecting to mentally deal with a reservation. Normally, when making hotel reservations I like to do a bit of review research ahead of time and I didn't have that convenience. We have an upcoming NYC. I told the rep it was for 3 days, August 9, 10, 11. The rep had to ask his manager if he could schedule those dates at West 57th St. property and came back with an affirmative. It was $285.75. $100 off next Hilton stay and $100 to spend shopping/dining. 5000 Hilton Honor points. They talk so fast I had to ask the guy to repeat several things slower. I went over and over details so as not to have any surprises. Non-refundable. I booked it.
Then the email confirmation came. Yes, it was for those 3 days but only 2 nights. Of course I called to say there was a misunderstanding and in the end received a refund. They said I could book the other night for $300+ but I declined. We already have a reservation at Hyatt/Chelsea and I thought it was a better deal.
It's been busy since March and until today I didn't look thoroughly at my Hyatt reservation to compare it to the HGVC offer. The Hyatt was $274.10 per night (9 & 10) and $166.10 (11th) when we moved to smaller room after our daughter leaves. We need a pet friendly hotel for a small dog. I began adding the taxes. 4.79% City, 5.88% Occupancy, 4% State, $2.50 convention, $1 Lodging. The total came to roughly $823. Ugh! The HGVC offer was sounding pretty good. I called the 888 number on the HGVC confirmation and got routed to another sales rep.
Short story long, the 57th St. property was no longer available but I had the choice of 4 Hilton hotels. I chose the Hilton Garden Inn Manhattan Midtown/East because of the TripAdvisor reviews. It is a smaller hotel and gets good reviews for service and cleanliness. Booking.com has good reviews too. Reviews for other hotels was mixed. The total cost for 3 nights was $659 ($285.76 promotion/$373.13 extra night). Plus we'll have to pay $150 for the dog. That brings to $809. Plus the $200/5000 HH benefits.
I booked it.