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The hotel’s location is just a short walk to the Bank of America Stadium home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, Time Warner Arena home to the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats and the new Uptown Epicenter Entertainment Complex.
Charlotte’s new light rail Lynx Line stops directly behind the hotel and provides light rail service to the historic South End entertainment district and the city’s Southern suburbs. |
By Tom Crosby
(May 2008) Hilton Charlotte Center City epitomizes the classic urban hotel in the modern age of skyscrapers and pedestrian malls. Hilton Charlotte is easy to locate in the heart of Uptown Charlotte on the corner of College and East Third Streets, directly across from the Charlotte Convention Center. (Charlotte business leaders like to call it “Uptown” as part of their positive outlook for the city.)
The covered hotel entrance at 222 East 3rd Street makes it easy for loading and unloading your luggage. Valet parking is available for $25 per day or covered self-parking for $18 per day in the attached parking garage.
The hotel is connected to Uptown Charlotte’s Overstreet Mall, which connects 6 blocks of office buildings and is lined with boutique type stores, shops and several fast food dining options.
The AAA Four Diamond Hilton Charlotte Center City recently completed a $30 million total hotel renovation of all 400 guest rooms and suites, its 30,000 square feet of banquet and conference space, the hotel’s main lobby, restaurant and lounge.
 Entering through the circular doorway, the bell/valet stand is on the left, elevators straight ahead and the check-in desk on the right past the carpeted stairway that leads to the second level gathering place with the restaurant, bar, lobby piano, several small shops and an exit onto College Street.
An escalator from this level to the third floor provides a walking connection via a series of over-street covered pedestrian arteries to dozens of Charlotte banks, high-rise buildings and retail shops. And while no one has ever categorized it as such, the walkways make Charlotte’s Overstreet Mall one of the largest indoor malls in the United States.
The hotel is connected to the Childress Klein YMCA, the largest health club in uptown Charlotte, and hotel guests have access to use the facility for a fee of $12 per day. This 50,000 square foot facility includes two half-basketball courts, an indoor running track, Olympic size pool and a large assortment of exercise machines and free weights. (Be sure and let them know if you are a member of a YMCA anywhere else to see if the fee can be waived.)
 The hotel’s newly renovated guest room inventory includes 145 deluxe city view king rooms, 15 corner kings, 176 deluxe double bedded rooms, 35 private access executive floor rooms that include access to a private 22nd floor executive lounge, 16 handicap accessible king rooms and one handicap accessible suite. The hotel also features a two bedroom Presidential Suite with large double bay living and dining room, 6 Hospitality Suites with built in wet bars which are ideal for entertaining small groups of less than 25 and 7 deluxe one or two bedroom suites with attached king room, a large sitting parlor with powder room and optional connecting double room on the other side of the parlor. One hundred percent of the hotels guest rooms are non-smoking.
 The hotel's deluxe king and double rooms offer many comforts. All rooms in the hotel feature Hilton’s signature Suite Dreams beds with the ultra plush pillow top mattresses and down pillows. The guest room centerpiece is a large wall mounted 42-inch high definition plasma screen television with cable channels, pay per view movies and video games. All rooms feature new state of the art technology called “Guest Link” which allows travelers to link their laptop computers, MP3 players, portable game station consoles, digital cameras and video recorders as well as portable DVD players directly to the 42” plasma screen TV. All rooms offer both wireless and wired high speed internet connections for a daily fee.
 In 300 guest rooms the bathtubs were removed and large marble tiled showers with glass doors were installed. 100 of the hotel’s rooms feature a bathtub/shower combination. The bathrooms are bright and well lit with plenty of storage space featuring Hilton’s Serenity Collection of Crabtree and Evelyn La Source bath products including shampoo, conditioners, mouthwash, hand lotion and French Milled facial and hand soaps. All rooms include make-up mirrors and hairdryers.
Hotel guests can enjoy complimentary daily in-room coffee and tea with Hilton’s personalized individual cup LaVazza premium Italian gourmet coffees and coffee makers. In the guest room closets you will find an iron, ironing board and extra blanket.
For the hotel’s private access executive floors, guest rooms (22nd and 21st floors) offer extra services and amenities such as private elevator key access, twice daily housekeeping service, complimentary, high speed internet connections, complimentary access to the connecting Childress Klein YMCA Health club, evening turn down service with the chef’s special amenity, executive level concierge service, cordless phones and CD players.
 All executive floor guests have access to a large 22nd floor executive lounge with spectacular cityscape views. The lounge offers daily continental breakfast service, day service with cookies, fresh fruit, coffee, teas and soda, evening hors d’oeuvres and full bar service. The Executive Lounge also offers guests their own Business Center and two 50” plasma screen TV’s.
When you are ready to unwind and socialize you will want to visit the hotels new Coastal Kitchen and Bar featuring a fresh taste of the Carolinas. The 120 seat restaurant offers relaxed surroundings and specializes in fresh local Southern Coastal seafood’s and low country dishes. Coastal Kitchen serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily and offers Hilton’s signature breakfast by Hilton buffet.
Coastal Bar offers a wide selection of domestic and imported beers, wines by the glass, specialty cocktails and martinis as well as a selection of appetizers. The bar overlooks a four story skylight atrium which is great for people watching at any time of the day. The atrium features a specialty gift shop, a barbershop and Avis Car Rental.
 For meetings, conferences and social banquets, the hotel offers 30,000 square feet of newly renovated function space including an 11,070 square foot grand ballroom that seats up to 800 guests for banquets and 1200 people for receptions.
All of the meeting space was renovated with new lighting, carpeting, wall coverings and banquet chairs. All meeting and banquet space features both wireless and wired high speed internet connections for a fee.
On the 3rd floor you will find the 24-hour-per-day business center, accessible with your guest room key. The Business Center features several computers with Internet access, printers, docking stations and fax machines.
Special amenities: Complimentary newspaper and early check-in/late check-out.; no smoking, coffeemakers, movies available, dual phone lines, voice mail, irons, hair dryers. Fee: video games, high-speed Internet and some CD players. Valet laundry, wireless Internet, 24-hour room service. Conference facilities, business center. Designated smoking area. Prices from $99 USD. (Updated May 2008)
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