Hilton Hotel In One Bergen County Town To Close; Neighbors And Senator Mourn

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Just weeks after a prominent Sheraton hotel in Mahwah closed for good, a Hilton in Woodcliff Lake will shut soon — leaving local kids and families to book events elsewhere.

Lifelong Bergen County residents have been reminiscing about events they attended at the Woodcliff Lake Hilton, set to close the last week in February.

"To commemorate the forthcoming closure of the Woodcliff Lake Hilton," wrote State Sen. Holly Schepisi earlier this month, "I am reposting a picture from my Sweet 16 celebration held at the hotel 36 years ago." She then posted her photo, complete with '80s do.

A note on the hotel's website says:

"That's closing too???" responded one commenter on Schepisi's page. "My Sweet 16 was there as well. We are still mourning the closure of the [Mahwah] Sheraton Crossroads where we had our wedding reception."

But alas, the management company, Pyramid Global Hospitality, told news outlets that the hotel will close on Feb. 26. The Record of Hackensack quoted Scott Loventhal of Garden Homes — the new owner — as saying, "We will approach its redevelopment thoughtfully and in a manner that will best serve the borough’s future, with the evolving real estate market in mind."

The news comes two months after the iconic Sheraton Crossroads in Mahwah closed. The property owners have gotten town approval to build two warehouses there. Recently, employees told Patch that they are still fighting for pay they are owed. READ MORE: Broken Promises At Mahwah Sheraton?

Meanwhile, the news about the Woodcliff Lake Hilton inspired a flood of memories.

Paul Burns wrote, on a Ridgewood High School class of '73 page, "In addition to our recent reunion, I wonder how many of us attended a wedding reception, bar mitzvah, quinceanera, or other similar function there (raises hand; one of my sisters had her wedding reception there). Like the Warner, more and more of the places that figured in our younger lives are disappearing."

(Read about the closing of the Warner theater in Ridgewood, and its future, here.)