Hilton Garden Inn Queens/JFK Airport

I can’t say that the rooms or the physical hotel is 5 star quality (in reality 3 stars) but the staff at this hotel really goes above and beyond.
I stayed here in March before flying out to London and when we got back we missed our layover flight and decided to call in to see if they had any availability. They quickly got our information and payment and we were booked for the night. The following morning I forgot my Michael Kors puffer jacket in the room and since the weather was so nice out in CT that I completely forgot about my coat. It wasn’t about until 3 days later that I realized I had left my jacket behind. I called the hotel thinking I would never see my coat again but they were very helpful in relaying the message to housekeeping and having someone get back to me. The following day I got word from them that my coat was found and that they would mail it to me. I was just in awe on how empathetic the staff was towards me. It is my favorite coat, it would’ve been difficult to replace because the winter season was over in the fashion world. I got my coat back in a week and I couldn’t be more grateful to them.
Other notes: parking is very very limited at this property, I would say that more than 80% of guests park their cars on the street.

The staff at this hotel were what made our stay so wonderful. Everyone was super friendly and helpful. A group of us were in town for a wedding in the area. For whatever reason the arranged transportation to the wedding location fell through, and when 20 of us were in the lobby anxious about how we would get there the hotel staff made a few calls and organized a free shuttle to bring us to and from the wedding! This was just one example of how helpful they were. Hotel was clean and quiet. Good experience!

Good intentions but ultimately a waste of labor–
So when I walked in the door someone greeted me (mediocre greeting so I thought it was another guest) — but my initial thought was — wow, this is nice.
The person that checked me in said exactly the right things but could not muster up a smile which had me believing they just received feedback like «smile more — or else» — the very sad thing was that besides the 2 people behind the counter (and the greeter) there was a ‘trainee’ — I thought wow… what a poor example and precedence they are setting. The person behind the counter asked– is there any questions about the property? I said no as I normally stay in a Hilton property.
It would have been nice if they told me there is a charge for parking and you need this ‘ticket’ to get in the very tight parking lot. I had to go back to the front desk to get this straightened out. Off to a rather bad start — clearly all of the folks I encountered were not having a good day. I ended up walking next door to the Sheraton where the bartender (female) was very nice. I ordered my dinner (to go) there as well. This was the MOST disappointing Hilton property I stayed in — will NEVER (Seriously) stay here again. Hilton — I respected the brand and got duped. Not happy at this place :(

Airport hotels are the most important hotels in my life, because when I’m in one, I’m either seeking to avoid room service diarrhea and get a good night’s sleep before a stressful travel day– or I’m pissed off, exhausted and looking to get a good night’s sleep after a stressful travel day.
HGI was able to fulfill all my dreams. Simple dreams… but dreams, nonetheless…
I booked ahead and was able to secure a very nice room on the executive 12^th floor with access to the concierge lounge. Free newspaper, drinks, coffee, snacks and breakfast is always a fine start. The view is actually pretty cool, too. Watching planes take off and taxi in the dark was more fun than staring down into a murdery Jamaica alleyway or a parking lot. The windowpanes must be constructed of something really cutting-​edge, because I heard neither the noise from the highway or the airport at all. I wish I could construct a personal dome of the aforementioned material and shuffle around the city beneath it at all times.
«I can’t hear or smell you, ranting wine-​o, I’m under my dome!»
The bed was very firm, but I like that, so no complaints. The bathroom was nicely updated and modern with large open shower and a toilet that would easily flush a midsized Volkswagen, such was its awesome power. Good news for you, inexplicably giant bowel movement guy!
Room service was expensive as holy hell, as usual. I think the bill totaled around 65 bucks for two sandwiches, two coffees and a Coke. And while the food wasn’t encrusted with diamonds or plated in platinum as one might expect for that price, it was above average. The turkey club is huge with thick-​cut turkey, bacon, fresh lettuce, tomato and avocado served with a mountain of fries. The chicken Panini is equally delicious.
One last tip– park here if you’re headed out of JFK– it is cheaper than the airport lot. You can park up to 7 days and their free shuttle departs for the airport every 30 minutes. Have a good trip– may the gods of traveler’s diarrhea smile upon you and light your path, friend!

It’s a HGI next to one of the worlds largest airports. It sees huge turnover on guests from all over the world. Amenities are a bit worn but normal for a high traffic hotel. Kind of isolated from other hotels and restaurants. Super close to jfk and shuttle wait/​drive was super short. I stayed here due to a cancelled flight 3 years ago and it looks the same. Beds are standard. It has a gym and laundry. Everything worked just fine in the room (fridge, tv, kuerig and microwave.

Several things about this hotel:
1. Location is awesome, if you need to fly in/​out of JFK. It is only about 6 minutes from the airport (no traffic).
2. There is a free shuttle from JFK, which comes to get you within 10 minutes of calling. Please beware, the shuttle leaving the hotel to go to JFK only runs every half hour (e.g. 7:00 am, 7:30 am, 8:00 am, etc), so plan accordingly.
3. There is a restaurant inside the hotel, although we ended up going to the Sheraton next door, which seemed to have a wider selection/​variety.
4. Hotel rooms are very clean with a thermostat control.
5. Wi-​Fi included.
6. Nice little Welcome bag with water, Thank you card, etc, for Hilton Honors member was a plus :)
We had some miscommunication with the front desk staff about shuttle times, etc. The hotel Assistant General Manager, Dontavius Richardson, immediately addressed my concerns. There is something to be said about great customer service here.

The bartender Manoj was rude yet accommodating. Provided alcohol without asking for ID. The front desk was extremely rude and Dennis said Vulgar things while starred at me naked while the cops questioned me. I thought life back home was rough. This hotel doesn’t deserve any stars nor royalty.

Great location to JFK airport; took less then 5mins from terminal to ramp. Shuttle runs every half hour back to airport. Rooms are clean and are very small compared to a normal HGI. This is to be expected due to being near the NYC area. Dinner was average with very high priced drinks (even for a hotel). Breakfast (even free for gold/​platinum members) isn’t very poor. Crappy service and food is average at best. Recommend the mainline hilton before staying here.

A jewel in Jamaica for weary travelers passing thru JFK and need a rest stop on the highway in the sky.
The rooms are clean & quiet, nicely equipped with fridge, microwave and Kurig coffee maker. The bathroom is also well appointed and good sized. The beds were big & comfy with extra pillows that were much appreciated. The check in process was fast & friendly and overall staff is courteous & attentive.
The lobby needs updating — and the food at the restaurant is tasty but a little pricey for what is basically a diner style eating place.
The Gardens Inn is moderately priced compared to other hotels in the area.

There are a lot of pros and cons to this location.
The pros:
1.) Close to JFK
2.) Easy to get around Queens
3.) Close to Jamaica train station (if you want to go into the city).
The cons:
I can go on and on here. I walked into my room to find a strange man inside. He said, «I am almost done.» He was the maintenance man and although I am glad this hotel cares about everything working, it would of been nice to know someone was in my room before I went in for the first time. The bathroom smells odd. Best way to describe it is cheap bleach. The beds are hard, but not horrible and I had some broken appliances.
I was on the fence of giving this place a 2 star rating, but it really deserves a 3 based on my previous Hilton reviews. It’s not a bad hotel especially for the area, but there are rooms for improvement.

Bad hotel– beds are hard. Food is fair and parking is 21.00 a night if you can find a spot.

Great hotel! Convenient from JFK, clean room, friendly staff. Great breakfast too! Perfectly poached eggs! I NY

Stayed here before several times as I’m a HH member and always able to find good rates.
But this time, I have experienced bad by a front clerk by being given a wrong information in very rude way. His name is Dennis, a skinny black guy.
In addition to that, a rookie Hispanic girl who wanted to be nice but she is ignorant about this business.
I’ll have to come back here again but I am starting to look for other hotels like Marriott’s.

I loved our stay during 4^th of July weekend. The staff was very friendly. I was always addressed by name and charge to my room was never a problem. I LOVED the pesto chicken flatbread in fact I’m missing it right now. My only complaint is that they don’t have a pool lol but we probably wouldn’t have used it any ways. I doubt I’ll go back to New York but if I did I would love to stay here again.

I always stay here for work when I am in town. Free airport shuttle. The staff is so nice I don’t feel like I am in New York. The hotel restaurant is good and tons of places deliver too. I would not wander around the neighborhood but its clean and a nice place to stay.

I had my doubts. I drove to NY from IAD and the clock read 1 AM at the time I pulled up at the JFK Hilton Garden Inn. As expected, the shuttle roundabout was too tight to accommodate both my rental car and the shuttle which was parked there and both 15 minute check-​in spots were already occupied. The rest of the tiny lot they barricade for paying guests. A sign on a nearby pillar declares the parking rate as $ 21/​day plus tax. Fortunately, there was a street spot right next to the shuttle turn-​in.
Marc at the desk is quiet-​spoken and all business but is pleasant enough and very polite. There’s no pomp and circumstance at this Hilton branch though. They don’t recognize your Hilton status when you check in and they do not describe the facility for you like they do at other more expensive branches. You’re on your own to figure out their guest services, including the elevator location for yourself. Hell, I just navigated through five states to get there. I think I can handle finding the elevator, but I found it entertaining when I saw at least one other guest with bag in tow rubber-​necking the hallway past the front desk.
The rooms are relatively cramped and tiny compared to hotels in less expensive cities, but in that tiny space, they fit a queen sized bed, an arm chair, a work desk, two night stands and an armoire /​kitchenette (someone posted a picture of it) with a bathroom that was oddly roomy considering you have to angle yourself carefully passing through the narrow gap between the armoire and the bed. My room smelled of BO, but at $ 169 /​night in NY and it being 1 AM, I didn’t care. For some reason, the designers didn’t see fit to install blackout curtains so whatever filters in past the gauzy curtains you are subject to it, whether you like it or not. Perhaps they favor early risers? The mattress wasn’t the most comfortable I’ve tried, but did I mention I was tired? Their coffee maker of choice is a Keurig which impressed me and made great coffee in the morning.
They have a fitness room which I didn’t visit and an excellent on-​site restaurant which I reviewed separately. There’s a hotel pantry adjacent to front desk which sells toiletries, candy, nuts, chips, refrigerated beverages and sandwiches as well as a freezer with ice cream and entrees. I bought two water for $ 4 that night and one bottle for $ 2.50 the next: a discount for finding everything on my own? A coffee service in the lobby is available 24 hours a day with sugar and individual creamers which you should take with you if you don’t like the powdered variety in your room.
The only catch was figuring out how to get the water to funnel through the showerhead. You have to pull down the lip of the faucet. I came very close to admitting to the staff I couldn’t figure out how to operate a shower! Street parking at this hotel turned out to be easy, although I don’t know about how safe so take everything up with you. There’s a more expensive Hampton Inn and a Hilton on the other side of the expressway, but I liked this one just fine!

Very poor guest service. Check in took almost an hour. The rooms are small and smell bad, there is no place to put your suitcase once you’re in the room.
The receptionist prioritized the phone over the guest at the desk. Seemed incapable of handling more than one task at a time.
There is a $ 50 security deposit charge added per night that only shows up once you’ve paid, no mention of it beforehand, the surprise is not a good thing.
The rooms need some serious cleaning, the central air shoots out dust and the carpets are disgusting.
This hotel is a shame on the Hilton chain, I’ve never had any issues with a Hilton before, this is a very poor value for money.

Ugh. Got a king room on
for $ 119. Needed sleep before early morning flight to L.A. Worst room in the whole flipping place… right in front of the vending machines. Also a massive spotlight that illuminates the hotel sign on the exterior of the building was shining right at our window. Crappy bedding. Room service mistakenly beat on our door just as we were finally falling asleep. Noisiest hotel ever, and none of it airport related. Crap.

We had a pleasant stay at this hotel. But after a long journey everything would have done ;).
The lay-​out and decoration is like all Hilton Garden Inns. I like that they provide conditioner next to the shampoo. And upon request we also received toothpaste. Forgotten to pack…
The thing that surprises us was the high parking rate. After paying over $ 200 without tax for a night, $ 21, again without tax seemed a rip-​off.
And we noticed that upon arrival (11pm) and at checking out the lobby was packed with people, suitcases and noise. The reason for us not to have breakfast here. If I’m not even able to sit, let alone in peace, I’m not willing to pay $ 12,95.

Plus:
Room and bed were good and comfortable. I can sleep really well at anytime while waiting for my flight.
Airport shuttle service is available every 30 minutes.
Free self serve Starbucks unlimited at the lobby.
Minus:
Front desk asked the price I got from Expedia. Really? I actually told him and got a weird smile and nothing else.
They refused to check me in even after expedia called them about a mix up.
The waitress asked me to remind her when I requested a dessert to be serve after my grilled fish. For this price the waiter should be better.
The dessert (cheese cake) is tiny enough to be called a rip off.
So I would give three and a half star if I can avoid the restaurant. But being in JFK I can’t go anywhere else and stuck with it.