The best things about this hotel were that it is quite new and clean, there is a great free breakfast provided, and it is only 50m walk from the subway. My family of 4 had a "2 double beds" room and there was barely enough space left to store our 4 suitcases. The rooms are extremely tight. After 4 nights we moved to the Hotel Newton in Upper Manhattan where we had a much more spacious room at a much lower price.

I booked the hotel via Hotwire.com, and got lucky. This hotel is great!! Only 170 steps from Subway :) Yes I counted. Or half a city block.

Breakfast was great. Rooms were clean (a bit small, but most hotel rooms are smaller in NYC). Towels were new and nice. Staff was really really nice. "R" train was very close.

We stayed there 5 days and loved it.

You will love it too I have no doubts.

Give it a try.

Cheers.

I cannot fault the stay we had last week at this hotel. The rooms are well appointed and clean. The staff were phenomenally helpful and booked taxis, reserved tables at restaurants, suggested places to visit, offered advice etc. Nothing was too much trouble for these guys and they were friendly with it too. The hotel is a 2-3min walk from the nearest Metro so it is ideal for getting around and there are plenty of good restaurants within a 5 - 10 min walk. The area does look a bit seedy at first glance with auto shops and empty lots but it was quiet and we had no trouble. I would highly recommend this hotel.

We booked a 5-night stay here based on the TripAdvisor reviews. We also booked a backup reservation at the Brooklyn Marriott for $150 a night more, just in case. We quickly cancelled the Marriott reservation after checking into the HI Express, and seeing what we had there.

The hotel is on a block of Union St. in between some working class apartment buildings and auto repair shops, so the street looks a bit gritty upon first arrival. However, we quickly recognized that there was no reason to be concerned. People walked dogs and strollers down the sidewalk; laborers at the auto shops were cordial; and the street was very quiet at night.

The hotel property is very well lit, clean and new. The front desk staff were friendly and always had a smile and a cheery hello.

The rooms were clean and comfortable. Decent beds & linens. Good climate control. Window opens if you prefer fresh air, which was nice. The free wi-fi worked well, with a strong signal. Good water pressure and great showerhead. Fluffy towels without that burnt dryer smell. Our room had a jacuzzi tub big enough for two. Coffee maker in the room was nice too, and the hotel offers breakfast downstairs until 10:30am.

You are 1/2 block from the subway at 4th & Union, so it's a quick 10 minute ride into the Financial District. There's a great Mexican restaurant on that corner as well (next to the Bagel place) that's got nice outdoor tables and good food.

We had a rental car and parked in the hotel lot. It's relatively small, so there's a chance you may come back late an not find a spot. Don't fret though! There's plenty of street parking on the back side of the hotel and we had no problems doing that. The hotel only charges you for parking if you are in the lot when they do their nightly tally around 1am.

Overall, a great experience. Would stay here again. Convenient to Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Gowanus.