I just enjoyed a nice corner room on the 42nd floor. Upgraded as a Plat from a Superior room. The view was great and the staff tried its very best. Only real complaint is the Club - way too busy & noisy, food wasn't quite what I expected. I ended up visiting delis in the area for bfast.

Just stayed at the Westin Times Square for 2 weeks (well, two consecutive 5-day stays anyway). Maybe I'm not used to staying in such high-end properties as you all are, but this was the nicest room I've stayed in over the past few years. My travel agency usually puts me in Marriott or Hilton properties, but somehow I ended up here this time, and wasn't disappointed in the least.

The first week I was in a club-level on 14, the second week was a regular room on 36. Main differences were that the club level had a Bose wave radio, a larger sitting area, and Molton Brown toiletries rather than the standard issue Westin toiletries (which I got the second week). No complaints at all about the noise -- you can't expect complete sound proofing when you're in the heart of midtown Manhattan. The staff was extremely friendly and I never had to wait at the check-in desk (both times, around 8 PM on Sunday night).

The high-speed Internet was kind of flaky. A couple days, it would completely cut out for half an hour at a time. I did call Service Express and they connected me to Unisys, who apparently is in charge of the hotel connectivity, and they weren't able to do much other than confirm that there had been reports of problems earlier that day. Also, the second week I was there, instead of being prompted to authorize the $14.95 charge each day, it came up with a screen saying "Please enjoy high-speed Internet free of charge for the time being while we upgrade our service". But I got charged on my bill anyway. Didn't have the time to complain about it.

Used room service once, it was so-so. I ordered a pizza which arrived a little bit soggy, but the creme brulee I had for dessert wasn't bad at all.

The week I stayed on the club level, I took advantage of the free breakfast only once. It was a nice selection of muffins, bagels, juices, cereal, etc. that you'd expect from a continental breakfast. Never made it back to the hotel in time to check out the hors d'oeuvres between 6 and 8 PM.

Good sushi at the Bar 10 Lounge downstairs. Not a huge selection, of course, but what do you expect, it's a bar. Beats chicken fingers or nachos any day.

Overall, a very good experience. At $249/night and $209/night respectively for each of the two stays, it's a little too expensive for me if I had been in NYC on leisure travel. However, if all Starwood properties are this nice, I have been missing out on a lot!

-chris


[This message has been edited by chriseng (edited Feb 04, 2004).]

The Westin is the most visible and appears to be closest hotel to Port Authority Bus Terminal. As much as they have cleaned up 42nd St, the area around the Westin is still a little rough as it borders 8th Ave.

Was expecting grand lobby but found out they had 2 or 3 small door entrances that seemed to be more like entering a hallway or subway. Very disappointed with first impression that I called Starwood on my cell and canceled that evening's stay. Booked Marriott Grand Marquis for $40 less with more security, grand lobby, large room (with 2 chairs!) and better situated to Times Square.

I guess Las Vegas and New York are two cities on my not stay list for Westin.

------------------
Please click daily and help those less fortunate at www.thehungersite.com

My wife and I stayed at the Westin Times Square last October when I attended a conference there. While nothing too special, it was a decent property in an OK location.

The lobby is somewhat strange - the entrance is quite small on the ground floor and you have to take an elevator or escalator up to the lobby floor. It can get quite crowded in the ground floor area if a lot of people arrive at the same time.

When I was there there always seemed to be a lineup at reception. There were never more than 2 clerks on duty, and at least 2 or 3 times I heard front desk managers frantically calling for more clerks to come to try to reduce the lineups. Perhaps they are trying to have people do double duty elsewhere in the hotel. The concierge staff was very helpful.

Our room was a corner on a high floor facing south and west - it was unusual for NY in that we were high enough that there were no other tall buildings in front of us and we could see quite a long way in both directions. We got an upgrade due to Gold status, but I don't remember what room level was we eventually got.

The room was OK, with one major problem. The only chair in the room was the one at the desk. The TV was in the corner, and the only place that anyone could sit and read a book, etc. was on the bed. I found this quite strange, as there was plenty of room to have a chair or two. We called to ask about this and the staff were genuinely confused that we would even want somewhere to sit. The bathroom was nicely appointed, although, as noted elsewhere, there is a shortage of counter space.

All in all, I think there are better situated and appointed properties in the Times Square area that could be had for about the same price. While I wouldn't avoid the Westin in the future, I wouldn't be hurrying back.

------------------
Oh Canada!
Standing on guard for thee...

Stayed there last night. Hotel was fully booked so no upgrade, which I expected, since I couldn't book a third room for a co-worker. This was probably due to the storm and upcoming parade. Had decent size room on 24th floor overlooking the roof of the bus terminal and part of 42nd street. Several issues:

Bathroom had no tub but only a stand up shower with a shower curtain and a loose shower head. Needless to say, when I stepped out of the shower the entire bathroom floor was flooded and flowing out onto the carpet. Service Express sent an engineer (at midnight) who changed the shower head, but no one to mop up the water. I threw towels on the floor to at least protect the carpeting.

Read the phone rate card, but did not notice the access charge. Got billed $1.75 each for two calling card calls (front desk removed one)

Final bill had a $22.00 charge for Cash and Points, with associated taxes. Had no idea what this was, but I did use the club lounge and the gym, both of which you have to sign in for, but are supposed to be free for Plats. Front desk gave no explanation for the charge and removed it without question.

The service promise was never mentioned and I was never asked about the problem with the shower. I used the club lounge again in the morning so I'm waiting to see if I get billed for that as well. On the plus side, the club lounge was well stocked in the evening (the hours could be longer rather then 6 - 8) and in the morning. I was very impressed with the gym. All of the aerobic equipment had personal LCD tv's that worked with headphones they give you. There was a good variety of weight machines as well.

Just an FYI...there is no service promise at Westin hotels. The only Starwood brand that has a service promise is Sheraton, ergo, it is called the Sheraton Service Promise.

Sincerely,

William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

They look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.

I am guilty as charged.


[This message has been edited by intwrite (edited Mar 18, 2004).]

I guess I have to plead guilty to not understanding then. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

You referenced a service promise and there isn't one in effect at Westin hotels. Simple as that.

Sincerely,

William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

William, I'm sorry for being too vague. You understood perfectly, I was referring to myself. I've looked at the words "Sheraton Service Promise" hundreds of times but saw "Starwood Service Promise". The same thing with the phone rate card. I saw only what I wanted, rather than what it actually said.
This lack of attention to detail constantly gets me in trouble, especially at home when my wife gets a hair cut that I do not notice, or I trip over the couch that she rearranged.

Westin Times Square
 

We are staying at the Westin Times Square next month; can anyone comment on whether it is worth the $40 (a night) to upgrade to an Executive King Room, which for use of the club lounge for continental breakfast and appetizers, as well as use of the fitness center and a larger room? Any comments are appreciative.

If you are a Platinum member, you are entitled to lounge and gym access and upgrade possibility.

If you are not Platinum, I think it's worth $40.00. Breakfast in New York City easily costs you $10.00 per person. The afternon appetizer is another $10.00. That's $40.00 for 2 people. The gym at this hotel is decent and the view is nice. It's worth paying for it if you do work out at the hotel gym.

When I called to make my reservation, I was told that I needed to do this upgrade upon check-in. Is this your experience?

I was at the Westin this past weekend. I upgraded my room. They charged me 30.00. I got an email about the offer. I went to the lounge which is on the 8th floor. Anyone could of walked in and they probably did. Nobody askedfor proof of room or whatever. This is the first time I used the Westin lounge so I dont know how they do it in other locations.

THe room was nice and seemed very new. Probably worth the 40.00. I saw in the daily news using rate code sun10. There are room nights avail at 99 per until july as part of the times square 100 anniversary.

Rob

any more details on this $99 rate? I didn't see it on the SPG site or the Times Square (www.timessquare.com) site.

Rob,
Where did you find the $ 99 rate, best I found was $ 249 with club floor upgrade.