I am sad to leave such a negative review. AVOID this hotel at all costs. I have been waiting a few weeks before leaving this review to give myself a chance to calm down and not fire off a review out of anger and frustration. And after a few weeks I still feel that if I could leave ZERO stars , I would. My husband and I arrived at the JW Marriott Essex house on Tue Aug 19th for a one night stay. This was a date night for us, as we were in town to see a broadway show. It had been several years since we had stayed at the JW Essex. In the past we stayed at this location many times and absolutely loved it. It has been several years since our last stay and we anticipated the same wonderful service and accommodations that we had experienced before. When we arrived to the valet, we were greeted by the same valet that was there years ago! He has been there forever. We remembered him and he remembered us! It was genuine and he was kind. Unfortunately, that's where the service and experience ends. As we entered the lobby we marveled at the GORGEOUS and I mean drop dead gorgeous renovations since our last stay. The lobby wow- the transformation. A new restaurant that was never there before. WOW. Onward to the check in. We were happy and smiling and excited to be here. As we approached the check in desk there were plenty of staff on hand to help. We were the only people at the check in , so it was not busy. Unfortunately we encountered Lenissa at the check in. Lenissa basically refused to tolerate our happiness and good spirits as absurd as that sounds! She had a curt demeanor and was not welcoming. We were gushing over the new renovations explaining openly to anyone standing there that we are customers from long ago and excited for our stay. Lenissa was clearly annoyed- like lets get this over with annoyed. She asked our name, we gave our info and I made the big mistake of asking if there are any upgrades available, to which she immediately said the hotel is SOLD OUT tonight, that wouldn't be possible, plus your room is ready now. Then, a coworker leaned over to her and I am not sure but i think he pointed out a possible upgrade. He then started helping a customer who arrived. Lenissa then informed us that she could do an upgrade on the 5th floor facing central park, but the room wasn't ready and it may take a bit. I conferred with my husband who was standing right next to me. We were thinking.... room ready now or wait for a view? still all the while we are smiling and happy. Lenissa rudely says what's your choice? I said we will go with the room that is ready now rather than wait but thanks for the offer! My husband says very quickly says, aww maybe central park view. Lenissa literally huffs in annoyance, a vibe , an attitude. clearly annoyed even more by us. She then looks at me sharply and says- You said your mind was made up and now it seems like its not. You need to be sure. I said --- oh so sorry! We will take the view please , and she literally says- I already checked you into that room and then undid it and put you in the regular room because that's what you wanted! ) GRUFF) . So I said, no worries!! Leave it be! we are good with the first room. No view needed. Sorry for the confusion! To which she said nothing. No smile , no gesture, nothing. Handed us the keys and abruptly directed us to the elevators.
Now...... on to the room. Our room was hot when we walked in and the thermostat was set at 72.. We lowered it to 70 and came down to the new lobby bar for a drink and some snacks , then out for a walk in central park. Upon returning , the room read 70 but felt even hotter and more humid, you could feel it from the coolness of the hallway. We lowered it to 68 thinking that would do the trick. We then went back out to do some shopping/ sight seeing. came back and the room read 68 , but was sweltering. It was nearing 4 o'clock late august sunny- that time of day where its hot. the room was not cooling down, just getting hotter. We agreed to just go down to the front desk together to let them know about this problem. We get down to the front desk and the other agent is busy with a customer and the only person available was Lenissa. We discussed amongst ourselves that she was rude and abrasive and there was no way we were going to encounter her or complain to her. No one wants confrontation on a trip, so we did not dare approach her. We looked at the time and figured we could tough it out and get dressed in the hot room and head out for our dinner and our show. We went back to the room and got ourselves ready, left our belongings there , and on our way out to dinner we stopped by the front desk again and got lucky! Lenissa was gone and there was a new person. We explained the situation about the AC not working and our attempts to continuously lower it and monitor itl This employee was nice and reasonable - just normal- what you would expect. He offered to send a repair man, we suggested just putting us in a different room ( if available) as we would be returning late and if the air wasn't working - we would not be able to sleep. He agreed and said he would switch the room- and yes good availability so no worries ( although she said the hotel was completely SOLD OUT - ha. phooey) When we returned a few hours later we were given the keys to a new room and grabbed our belongings and took them to the new room. The air in the new room was much better, breathable for sure. Overall the decor in both rooms was very tired and a little stained, dusty, etc. The window shades in both rooms were dirty with grime build up from touching them, the lamp shade stained, the wallpaper peeling in spots. We did not dine in the restaurant because we were so put off with our check in experience really bothered us and ruined our stay., Just off putting to say the least. Less than 24 hrs in a place we once loved and never wanted to leave. Now , we couldn't wait to leave and would certainly never go back. There are so many other properties to stay. If you need this location particularly , try some of the neighboring hotels around central park. Not here.
