JW Marriott Essex House New York

"My best friend and I stayed here from Nov. 29th to Dec. 3rd, my first girls' trip. When we checked in, the staff and atmosphere were so warm and welcoming! It was one of the best hotels I've ever stayed in!! The decor and architecture were absolutely gorgeous. There were two staff members that were so helpful and very nice! One of them was Yamera (I'm pretty sure that was her name, but I'm not sure if I spelled it right. If not, I'm very sorry)! The other staff member was Howard, who worked at the Concierge Desk. He gave us recommendations for things to do, see, and places to eat at. They were both awesome!! The free breakfast buffet was delicious. The location was fantastic. It's located directly across the street from Central Park and pretty much in the middle of several sites around the city that you can walk to, so it's very convenient. If I go back to NYC, I would want to stay at this hotel again."

"I’m sorry but for 500 a night I expect valet service, I expect a room that doesn’t smell like mold, I expect the heat to work, I expect the internet to work and I expect my tv to work. I expect better communication about when issues will be resolved. A few other thoughts—if a room smells like mold, suggesting that someone come and spray the room with a masking odor is not going to fix the situation. And the water came out of the shower tap brown. There’s no heat in the bathroom so it’s freezing. And there’s an old school shower curtain for the shower (have never seen this in a purportedly five star hotel). It has no magnets so it billows into the shower and you spend your whole time pushing it away from you. Not sure how sanitary that is and at the least it’s inconvenient. A disappointing situation all around. HOWEVER, I will say that most of the staff is very very nice here (shout out in particular to Rifat and Donald, who were fabulous) and they did give me 40,000 Marriot points to make up for it. Someone a little less cranky than I am I'm sure could have a perfectly nice stay here."

"Stayed in a connected suite for a few days. This was really good with the family. But, I would rather be in a Courtyard Marriott than shell out for this mediocre product. It is a much better value. Devil is in the details: 1. The seat cushion at breakfast looked like someone had an accident on it. Gross. Then they started vacuuming at the table next to ours…during morning service. 2. Look up in the elevator and the little chandelier looks like it has not been dusted since the beginning of time. 3. The makeup mirror in our room is falling off the wall. Why am I reporting this. Seems like housekeeping should notice this. 4. Speaking of noticing…PLEASE straight the lampshades on the property. Makes the place look like it is in disrepair when they are tilted every which way. From in the room to in the dining room with the sconces…80% of them are not centered. Easy fix to make the place seem higher value. 5. Bellhop (with empty luggage cart for another client) rode the elevator with us…these are not big elevators. It was not a high traffic time. No need to crowd us. Aren’t there service elevators? 6. The door that encloses the two room connect suite is not adjusted properly, jams, and MUST be SLAMMED hard to close…thereby bothering us, and all the rooms around us at every entry and exit of the door. No bueno. Why would I have to point this out? House keeping, every time they come in and out should notice. On the good side : Staff responsive and friendly Concierge was epic. Use them to setup whatever events or sight seeing you desire. Position of hotel and center of the action was great. In general the room was quite nice."

"Parts of the hotel were under construction, like the exec lounge and restaurant. But they did a good job of setting up in the main ballroom. Rooms are small and outdated unless you get a suite. Elevators are small but to be expected from an older hotel. Staff was great and very helpful. Location is amazing if you want to be in the middle of all the action of 5th Ave and Central Park. With some updates this could be a great hotel."

"We can't wait to book here again! The room was very spacious and clean with an amazing view. I literally gasped walking into our room. Small details like the attentiveness of the doormen, easy check-in and check-out process, and close proximity to our desired locations made this easily one of the best stays. We were able to request a small fridge to hold some items, and extra soap since we packed lightly. Since it was our first time in New York, the staff was able to answer our many questions about travel and restaurants in the area throughout our stay. We felt like the hotel was safe and very quiet too. I travel for work often and tend to observe small details and this hotel really seems to care."