^^^

May I trouble you to share how much the buy-up cost? The basic Platinum continental breakfast option sounds quite meager.

The items were à la carte, so there was no fixed price buy up unfortunately. Great waffles and fruit plates etc, but rather expensive.

Update just stayed as a Plat
 

I had two recent stays at this hotel. First stay I received a platinum Upgrade to a beautiful suite on a high floor and the second stay I did not. Unfortunately the second stays room was connecting....noisy and problematic. I could have moved but had lots of luggage etc so just braved it. I spoke with the management and they were helpful in trying to understand my issues, overall I think I would return. It is hard to say based upon only two stays.

Good things:
1) Continental Non upgradable breakfast in Blue fin. Coffee or tea, No cappuccino or specialty coffees....Bread or muffins, cold cereal and yogurt as well as choice of three juices. Service was friendly and I enjoyed the people watching and Environment of Blue Fin.
2) If you are seeing plays, location cannot be beat smack in the middle of time square....Tourist Heaven. Also close to MOMA, TKTS discount tickets is right out their front door, hundreds of restaurants on 8th and 9th avenue are within walking distance as well.
3) Staff seem friendly and capable.
4) Starbucks directly across the street
5) W Beds cannot be beat.

Negatives:
1) All their rooms except suites appear to be the same 290 square feet...which is on the smaller side. You are paying more for location within the building, views etc. You can hear between rooms with connecting doors.
2) Times square IS THE Most Touristic area in the world....it is not NYC, it is a mini UN, New Yorker's avoid this area like the plague (I used to live here)....However for plays, it is Broadway. It is not a "cool hip area" like Soho or Union square and while you are getting a good look at a vibrant center of NY, it would not be my first choice of locales.
3) In a hotel with 500+ hotel rooms, it is easy to feel that you have gotten lost in the shuffle like I did on my second stay.
4) Lobby is on 7 so you must take two sets of elevators to get to your room....this is a time waster.

Overall, The positives for my stay outweigh the negatives. It is a good choice if they are offering a favourable rate. For tourists who are trying to give their kids or spouses the touristic NYC Experience....you could not choose a better location or hotel. For business people, the internet speeds were good and this hotel was located quite centrally to get around and near many subway stops and mid town offices.

Wishing everyone safe travels!

Made a reservation for 6 nights, end of June.

After booking received the standard confirmation email, which contained the following offer:

It will be my wife's first time in NYC, so having a room on a high floor with a view of Times Square would be perfect...

Are any of those upgrades worth it? I'm SPG Platinum 100, so I'm guessing I would receive at least some kind of an upgrade anyway?

Fantastic Suite sounds nice but in the description, those are supposedly on the lower floors.

Any suggestions?

The biggest challenge I see is you have a six night stay, which decreases the odds of a suite upgrade. Still, based on your status, you should get a decent upgrade if available. I'd send a note ahead, or through your Ambassador, requesting a high floor.

Personally, I've never cared about views, and I certainly wouldn't pay extra to get one. But YMMV.

Besides, there's lots of places in NYC to go to get amazing views.

Cheers,

I got the same email and put in for a Marvelous Suite and got a confirmation email the next day. Doesn't seem to be much information about the room online or even on their website so not sure what to expect.

Stayed and bought these upgrades a few months ago.

Was told: Fantastic and Marvelous Suites are identical. Marvelous Suites are on higher floors and with better views.

The bedroom of the suite seems to match the layout of a standard room so I was quite happy with the upgrade as the standard room would have been a bit small. I guess as with most standard suites, they just joined two standard rooms together.

Note that the website seems to indicate that they are physically different, with Marvelous Suites having a "dining table for two, a wet bar" which my rooms did not have. On clarifying, was told it was an error but till now it hasn't been corrected.

Anyone who has found it to be different please let us know...

Pretty poor that the property has the wrong description of the room on their website and has had such for at least a few months!

Thanks for this information travelswithmyself! ^

Staying here at the moment. Last time I stayed at this property was 9 years ago and I met someone who would become my girlfriend for the next 5 years. Apparently that's not happening this time.

Overall, a reasonably good property, but clearly not as good as either the W Union Square or Downtown despite it usually having higher rates.

Pro's:
Service appears a bit more practiced than some younger W's
It is an attractive hotel. I like the lobby area in particular
As a Platinum, was upgraded to a corner room on the 50th floor with good views

Con's:
Internet is functional, but unacceptably slow
3 free plugs next to the bed, but two of them are blocked by a nailed down side table, so can't be used unless you have a tiny plug
Room not huge
Even in a corner room, the bathroom door is a bit of a flimsy setup
Times Square is horrible
The cocktails in the lobby bar are terrible
My room doesn't have a Do Not Disturb sign, so I spent quite a bit of time talking to housekeeping. That gets annoying fast

Great Platinum Recognition
 

Just back from an excellent stay at the W Time square. For years I have stayed at the W Union Square but on occasion tried other hotels due to rate differentials or conferences or hotels being sold out.

My last stay at the W Times Square was pretty much flawless. I was contacted by the W Insider prior to my stay to see if I had any special requests. Besides a platinum upgrade I did not. All rooms at the hotel except suites are 290 square feet so a suite upgrade is great as the suites give you a second bathroom AND a living room.

I arrived at the property tired from a flight, my room was ready, my platinum recognition was immediate, the insider came out to say hello and I received my SPG plat suite upgrade. This was a 6 night stay so it was very much appreciated. Room was clean, extra bottled water and a very friendly housekeeper.

Plat breakfast was nice in Blue Fin restaurant. Juice, Coffee or tea, Muffins or toast and yogurt if you wanted. Muffins were three in a basket and huge so I avoided them as I need no more muffins....ahem. Everything was fresh and service was friendly.

They are now doing a renovation project of their lobby which didn't affect me at all. There are signs and the W lobby bar is closed, but I never had great service at the lobby bar anyway, so hopefully this will improve when re opened. The Blue Fin bar is indeed open right downstairs and had great drinks and an amazing view of the tourists and locals walking through Times Square.

I have said and repeatedly say that I don't love Times square and how touristy it is. That said, this trip it really grew on me and the W's location really is excellent. I was able to walk to the Museum of Modern Art.....NYC Subway stop is across the street from the hotel exit. Great Italian Restaurant right down the street on the left Trattoria De Colore....Many dining options on 9th avenue two blocks away MANY. Also, The Broadway shows are right there and 5th avenue is two blocks away. Needless to say, I am planning to stay again and am hopeful for a great stay as I have invited friends.

Overall, due to the location and size of this hotel, I tended to avoid, yet now it is becoming a favourite. I would suggest you check it out if you are in NYC. The one caveat I say to the flyer talk community is that this hotel lowers the prices on their suites if they are not full, which means upgrades are never "for sure"....That said, With the W Insider and an attentive management team I think this is a hotel to be reckoned with.

Travel safe and be well!

I stayed at the W last May and just absolutely hated the place. My least favourite hotel ever. I just don't get how anyone can recommend this place. The rooms are tired, dirty and tiny, you might get a view of Times Square but the windows are filthy. the lobby is just too pretentious with the "reserved" booths loud music and over priced drinks. You can dine in a beautiful roof top restaurant one block north south or east, for half the price and really - you want to stay at the W for a free muffin and oj in the morning? The area sucks for all the tourists, police sirens, neon streaming in your window all night. The Sheraton is much closer to MOMA and Central park and the Union Square has nicer dining. Anyway - that's me - I hated the joint.

W New York - Times Square
 

I just thought I'd weigh in. While I agree that the property could use a good renovation, I think the staff is top notch. They upgraded me to a Marvelous Suite both times that I stayed and the staff sent bubbly and chocolate strawberries to my room on my most recent stay.

According to Neil, the hotel manager, the property is about to undergo a complete renovation. Additionally, the hotel's head of Whatever/Whenever, Alice, is awesome, she comped a full breakfast for me, going beyond the standard muffin basket for platinum members and gave me a full property tour, including the ultra premium suites.

As others have posted, the lobby bar/check-in area is being renovated. It's a complete renovation, with targeted opening Labor Day, and a soft opening sometime in August. The check-in area has temporarily relocated to the Store area that is to the left of where it used to be.

This is my continued go-to in the TS area. The staff and treatment are consistently top-notch. Definitely a credit to the SPG system. ^