Eating the Big Apple: JW Marriott Essex House
1. Looking for Food Heaven? Its At Smorgasburg
2. Dinner at Per Se
3. JW Marriott Essex House
4. Eating Our Way Through NYC
5. United Airlines: BusinessFirst Class JFK-SFO
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We were only in town for two nights and while the first night was spent at a friend’s apartment in the West Village, the next day we headed up-town toward Central Park for a short one night stay at the JW Marriott Essex House. While I’ve had many recent experiences with Hilton / Hyatt / Starwood, Marriott is one chain that I just haven’t stayed at very often. In fact I think my last stay at a Marriott was over five years ago. But since it was the recommended hotel for my wife’s team we didn’t look around at any other options.
The hotel is actually quite close to Colombus Circle where we had dinner the night before, and is in a great location if you’re planning to spend some time around Central Park. It’s also close-by to all of the 5th Avenue shopping and there are some great food options nearby which I’ll be detailing in a future post. Since it was still early, we spent some time walking around before checking-in and checked out the hotel vicinity.
The hotel’s main entrance is on Central Park South between 7th Ave and Avenue of Americas and there is another smaller entrance on W 58th St. We checked in and headed up to our assigned room on the 10th floor. As a lowly Marriott Silver which I received through the complimentary reciprocal status match between Marriott/United, as expected no upgrade or special amenities were provided. Since our room was on a low floor on the opposite side of the park, unfortunately we weren’t able to enjoy some of the Central Park views that the hotel is known for.
By NYC standards, the room was actually quite large and certainly comfortable enough for two people. Our standard room had lovely views of some concrete enclosure or roof top on the opposite side of the park. There was a large king bed along with a day bed, a desk/work area, and a small bar area next to the bed. While everything was clean and tidy, the room and the decor certainly felt a bit dated and it probably due for a refresh in the near future.
Overall, a perfectly fine stay at the JW Marriott Essex House. But at a price tag of over $500 a night, even by NYC-standards it didn’t feel like we were getting very good value for the price and wouldn’t be a hotel that I’d recommend if other comparably priced options are available to you.
For the seasoned NYC veterans out there, what is your go-to hotel?