ORDNorth

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signothetimes53

I just checked out of the Westin Times Square this morning. Overall, it was a very positive experience.

I was upgraded to a nice Junior Suite on the 30th floor. Street noise was not an issue for me at all, even though I'd read advice here to get much higher if possible. Room was clean and comfortable. Breakfast lounge was better than I expected, with the muffins and pastries fresher and higher quality than other SPG properties I'd visited.

The one negative: the wifi internet was slower than dial-up on Day 2, so bad that I gave up on even trying to use it. I informed the front desk on checkout, and while she apologized, I did not get the impression that she had any intention of getting someone to follow up on the problem.

Overall, the hotel gets an A- from me. Certainly it was a vastly superior experience for me than my horrendous stay at the W Union Square a month ago.

Out of my Element

Spent Saturday night at the property. Was going to stay at the Sheraton New York, as Times Square was showing as Sold Out, but they opened up availability on Friday, so grabbed a corner room (our preference) at $223, and headed in to the city. Went to check in at around 11:30, the desk agent (who checked us in 2 weeks ago and at Christmas, and many times before) never seems to know us, but the agent next to her, in the standard line, always remembers us and greets us warmly. She saw that last time and this time, and instead of the standard "your room is not ready, we'll call you when you can check in" suddenly found us a higher floor (last time), and this time offered us an Atrium Club room. Having never been there before, and knowing the rooms were a bit larger than even the corners in the tower, we accepted.

Was surprised that even though there was a large sign about "New gifts for Golds" (or something like that) right near the check in line, she was not familiar with the new Gold amenities. Had to go in the back to find out. We took the 250 points, since we knew the room had a Mac (which we weren't planning on using), and weren't interested in the beverage. She did tell us that even though we were in the Atrium Club, we would not have access to the lounge, as we are not Platinum.

Room was nice, only on the 11th floor, but very well soundproofed. Didn't turn on the computer, so can't comment on the speed. Bed and shower were fine. Saw no signs of construction mentioned in this thread, so that must be done. Did visit the Atrium itself, which is a nice seating area. Tried our keycard in the club lounge and it didn't work, oh well.

All in all, one of our better recent stays.

Braswch

What should I ask for to get the largest square footage room?

I have two of the following reserved in May:

Deluxe, non-smoking: 2 Double Beds, Non-smoking, 310 sq. ft. / 29 m²,Heavenly Bed And Bath, Free Access To Health Club, Free Bottled Water In Room, High Floor Room

I'm a lowley SPG Gold, so what should I ask for as far as an upgrade? A bigger room? Only potential "catch" is that each room will have 2 adults and 2 kids. What I'm not sure about is do the King rooms that have the sofa's take 4 people? Are the sofa beds pull out beds? Are there any King rooms or Suites that we'd be ok in or do we need the double/double?

I'm assuming the following would be the ultimate upgrade (outside of the presidential suite):
Corner studio suite, non-smoking: Queen + Double Sofa Bed, 727 sq. ft. / 68 m², Combined bedroom/lounge area

Out of my Element

The standard rooms wouldn't hold 4 people, unless you can put them in the 2 beds provided -- no room for a cot, and no fold out sofa.

The corner rooms are bigger, but not in a way that would allow a cot, either, and no sofa.

The Atrium Club rooms (which are all on lower floors, they face 42nd Street and you can see the bumpout from 42nd or 8th) are bigger, and might fit a cot. I've only been upgraded there once (as a Gold), and don't recall it well enough to tell you exactly what's in it.

Braswch

Thanks - We only need 2 beds, one for a couple and one for two kids. So two doubles would work (what we have reserved). Also a King and a double pull out sofa would work as well.

mohan12

Checked in today and found out that the Westin Times Square no longer offers evening lounge service. Very disappointing- this is a big loss for guests, esp. Plats. Does anyone here think anyone at the property or SPG cares what we think about this decision? I have to assume not b/c I can't imagine guests complaining about it. It was a differentiator for SPG in NYC (besides the Sheraton properties); this type of declining customer service makes staying at the Hyatt Grand Central even more of a 'no-brainer' for me (and I'm guessing a few others.)

Background: Picked this property over the W (before I discovered the fantastic NYC Hyatt properties) a few nights a week for most of 2009-2011 for a few reasons: location (better than the late W Court/Tuscany IMO), staff (better than the W times square), rooms (bigger/more welcoming than W times square), and lounge (non-existent at the W- GREAT feature on those days we're lucky enough to have time to unwind there) I hope they bring back evening service.

PS- other posters are right about the awful broadband connection.. come on Westin & SPG!

phlashba

I agree with the above. I just checked out yesterday. The service was great and they treated me very well but I had to move rooms because the wifi was unusable and the iMac died several times. The internet problems I had every day of my stay would have been understandable several years ago but in 2012 there is ZERO excuse that they can't provide guests with a workable, consistent connection!
Also the Atrium Club benefits were totally useless to me since I only have coffee in the morning and there is a coffee maker in the room. I naturally expected an evening happy hour so this was a major disappointment (It closes for the day at 1:30 pm!!!!). I will only stay there again for a really REALLY good rate. Otherwise it's just not worth the mega-hotel hassle.

habshabs444

Anyone experienced the plat breakfast amenity as of yet? Staying here this weekend for 3 nights and was debating whether it was worth it vs just having breakfast in the lounge.

On another note, my suite night award request has yet to go through yet my requested junior suite is showing for those 3 nights in question when I was looking at rates on the starpicks website.

LovetoTravel83

I think there won't be a plat breakfast benefit since you are already granted to get in the lounge as a plat.

In regards to your other point, I say contact customer service now so they can approve that request.

Southstreet

Just stayed at the Westin Times Square last week-end for 2 nights. Booked it at 12,000 points per night before SPG raised it to 20,000 points/night, so I already felt I was getting a bargain. Location of this hotel is second to none - we were not disappointed.

As a Platinum, we were upgraded to a Premier Deluxe Corner King on 36th floor with a great view - was very quiet and no complaints about the room. Agree about Wifi, though. Sporadic and slow.

I was also disappointed that the evening club service was not happening. However, the comp PLatinum breakfast in the Club lounge made up for it. Fresh fruit cups (and I mean fresh!) with excellent danish, lemon bread, muffins, cereal, even hot oatmeal, was fantastic, especially considering Manhattan prices. It was great value.

Overall, I enjoyed the hotel and would consider it again just for the value, but it really didn't distinguish itself as a NY hotel. Was OK, but not stellar. Frankly, would probably try out a couple other hotels before going to this one again.

hotelfanatic

Is over priced at 20K. Give the Hemsley a try - is 12K and rooms are newly renovated.

habshabs444

I just got back from a 3 night stay on points (12k/night). My suite night rewards did not end up going through despite there being availability for some time during the 5 day window. I was given an atrium club room on the 11th flr which obviously did not have any view but the room was nice albeit a little dark. The inroom MAC computer was an added bonus instead of having to rely on their painfully slow WIFI on my Ipad. We didn't really use any amenities except for the lounge for breakfast which had a decent spread and the service staff were very nice. 4pm late checkout was granted with no questions asked.

Only hiccup with the service was the first night as our bags did not arrive on our flight and were subsequently delivered by the airline to the hotel. I would have assumed that they would have just been placed in the room, however I had to call down not once but twice when we arrived back to the hotel at 1am to get them after waiting 30 minutes from the original call.

Other than that, this hotel definitely met our expectations but may be a bit of a stretch at 20k/night

stylo4444

Staying here for a night next week after a couple nights at the Westin Jersey City. I was looking at the W Times Square and then also the Sheraton New York, but I generally have good experiences at Westin's. Was very close to go with the W though, so we'll see if this was a good decision or not. As a Platinum member, I'm not sure what the upgrades are like but I'll be hopeful...I've read a bunch of reviews and they seem hit or miss, but mostly on the hit side I'd say.

Will review this upon returning!

phlashba

If the three you mentioned are the choices then IMO you chose wisely! Hope you have a good experience.