JW Marriott Essex House

I couldn't have asked for a better stay - our rooms were ready two hours before check-in time, which was very helpful! The bellmen/concierge were timely and helpful with our bags. AC was on point (95 degrees outside!). Our room was extremely clean and spacious. We went to Bourbon Steak for dinner and Dino was an MVP! He was so helpful with suggestions and guided us towards picking the best dishes. The entire staff was courteous and timely, and they knew our needs before we did! The icing on the cake - the staff singing happy birthday to our friend. I truly couldn't have asked for a nicer visit to NYC. Read less

The hotel has one of the greatest views in the city, being right over Central Park, however it seems like it just sort of relies on that. I prepaid for my room, and it was apparently "assigned to someone else" when I tried to check in just after 4pm check in time. The woman checking us in at least gave us a $200 credit and offered that we could have a drink in the bar while we waited for her to sort it out, which she did relatively quickly, however this delay made us miss our dinner reservations. Furthermore - once we got to our room, the room had a queen size bed, when we had reserved and prepaid for a room with a king size bed. All of these inconveniences, and we weren't even upgraded to a room that had a view of the park without leaning against the windows. The air conditioning barely makes the rooms cool at it's highest setting. This is supposed to be a top notch hotel, and it isn't even close. I'll recommend others to look into other options if they want a view of Central Park. Read less

Having researched extensively for months before our trip to NYC to celebrate our 30th anniversary, my husband & I ended up picking Essex House among the few reservations I made. In contention were The St. Regis, The Luxury Collection Manhattan and Langham, all within similar price ranges for our visit. We were literally tearing our heads apart one week before departure, not knowing which of these hotels to choose from. While the latter 3 offered rooms/suites which were not only larger but also more luxurious and modern than Essex House, what tipped our decision were a combination of a few factors. Firstly, the communication right from the beginning with the Essex House reservations team, to the very end of our stay was absolutely on point, quick, helpful and efficient. Ms. Olivia Ribbe made sure all our needs were taken care of, as far back as 6 months before our trip! Very often, communication between the central reservations team of a hotel or brand and the front desk check-in agents goes awry. We have experienced countless times when prior written requests were lost or ignored by check-in agents but not this time. She made sure we were upgraded to the best possible room, the Manhattan Suite, although we had only booked an entry room. When I saw from the Marriott app that we were upgraded to this suite, I proceeded to cancel the other three bookings. The other tipping point - the Executive Lounge here I read, is one of the best in the country. Coming from Asia, we are spoiled with the spread these lounges offer on this side of the world, so we prepared ourselves for a more parred down experience. However, the lounge in Essex House did not disappoint at all. Newly renovated, it delivered on all accounts. The breakfast spread every morning was wide and very substantial. We also dropped by in between hours to pick up a snack & drink and the ambience was very conducive to just spend some down time here. They also dished out a respectable evening offering with desserts to end the night! I would say though that if we hadn't received the upgrade, we may not have chosen this hotel. Reading reviews of dated & dusty rooms, some with no views at all, no coffee machines in the room (not acceptable for a 5-star hotel nowadays), bathrooms which are tight, dirty windows, for the price range and calibre the JW name carries, being an older building, Essex House needs to upgrade if it wants to keep up. I would like to mention though that upon request, a coffee machine can be put in the room prior to arrival at no charge. So, one just has to ask. Still, why not furnish all rooms with one to keep up with the other 5-star competition? The Suite was large and very comfortable, not exactly luxurious nor modern, housekeeping was efficient each time, and we had a city view mainly looking towards the south and a side view of Central Park. One weak point is the bathroom. For a suite this size, the main bathroom was small, with a single sink. And true to other reviews, the windows truly need a good thorough cleaning from the outside! Housekeeping always delivered, replenishing all supplies with much efficiency. The few times we interacted with front desk agents and concierge were pleasant, though slightly inconsistent. Some were more approachable & friendly than others, one struggled to make sense of the computer screen in front of them, and there is a slight disconnect between concierge and front desk agents with regards to items offered complimentary, also the ever mind-boggling destination fee credits. Ultimately, one needs to review based on the price paid, and because we had secured a really decent rate for our Essex Room and subsequently received an upgrade several notches above this, we feel that our experience here was well worth it. Having said that, I am not sure if we will always return to Essex House, especially if the rates here tend to be on the higher side for dated rooms & bathrooms. Read less

Hotel is in an ideal location for exploring Central Park and midtown. Staff were friendly. Our room was so disappointing for the money. There was no view and felt dark. It was junior suite and not the same room pictured on the website. No upgrade for Titanium member. We were not even granted a 4pm checkout. If you have Marriott status stay somewhere else where you will be treated with better perks … we’ve stayed nearly 100 nights at Marriott properties this past year alone and never spent so much on a disappointing room. I highly suggest you stay elsewhere when visiting NYC. Read less