JeffS

Booked a two night weekend point stay at the Essex House for 90K points. I had originally booked the Times Square Renaissance but changed my mind thinking this would be a better place and it was a good call ( thanks No Clu for pushing me over the edge on that change).
Checked in around 5:30 PM and was upgraded to a junior suite (king bed). Selected the $10 F&B credit for my amenity. The front desk associate did a great job welcoming me to the hotel and providing information. It was our anniversary and they delivered a small complimentary bottle of champagne and with chocolate covered strawberries about 30 minutes after we arrived.

The room: Nice and spacious with the windows along the east and south side walls. I had a partial view of Central Park from the east side windows. Good sized bathroom with a large shower and separate tub. There was a huge workstation and drawers along the east side wall that ran about 1/2 of the length of the room.

The "famous" lights: I've seen comments about the lighting system in the rooms. Not sure if that was here or on some other site like Trip Advisor. The primary room lights (spots along the windows) worked like dimmers where you held the switch down to slowly turn on (and up) or turn off the lights. A small blue led indicated off. The bathroom lights just required a single push. There were individual lamps as well. All the lights slowly go from on to bright and then the reverse for on to off. Be patient with them and they work just fine.

The Concierge Lounge: As previously reported, this is a new lounge just recently opened. It is located on the first floor next to the B/C elevator bank. Large white doors, you can't miss it. The decent sized lounge is only open for breakfast on Saturday and Sunday which was fine for me since we were out on both nights.
I would rate this CL as serving one of the best breakfast spreads of all the Marriott's I've stayed. Pretty much all the big items: eggs, potatoes, sausage, bacon, cereal, several types of fresh fruit, yogurt, pastries, bagels and bread. There was also smoked salmon with all the trimmings.

The location: Well it is on Central Park South between 8th and 7th Ave so you are walking distance to the park obviously as well as plenty of shopping and restaurants. The Columbus Circle subway station is about a four minute walk away. We even walked back from the Gershwin and back from Hells Kitchen (47th and 9th) with no problem since the weather was decent each evening.
If you are a cigar smoker there is a nice shop on 7th where you can purchase your favorite smoke and then enjoy it there. We saw the Rev. Al Sharpton enjoying a smoke with friends on Saturday afternoon.

I would definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for a very nice NYC hotel in a prime location.

Oh and that $10 F&B credit? We never used it so on check out they told me they would convert it to points. Another nice touch to a nice weekend.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the detailed trip report! Much appreciated.

Even though this hotel is on the Marriott list for the lounge being closed on weekends/1,000 points instead, I'd heard a rumor it was going to be open on the weekend & that the lounge offerings would be robust. The management wants to make this one of the top NYC Marriotts.

Cheers.

drewstheme

We stayed at the Essex House back in March using our rewards points. I believe we spent 35K or 40K. We were there one night on our way back to Atlanta following an 8 day trip in Ireland. Since we were celebrating our 10 year anniversary, I mentioned it to the desk and they kindly upgraded us to a suite. It was a spectacular room. Lots of space, Central Park view, full bathroom with tub. It was certainly the largest room I've ever had in NYC. I'll definitely stay at Essex House again if I need to be in that part of the city.

DYKWIA

Sounds great. I've just booked 3 nights at the end of October. Good to hear that the lounge has opened.

No Clue

I completed my trip last week and had a chance to check out the new concierge lounge. Overall, it was a great stay and the new lounge is a very nice addition to the experience.
I had booked a manhattan suite and was offered an upgrade to a central park suite when I arrived. My last stay at his property was in a manhattan suite on a high floor that gave us sweeping views of Columbus circle as well as the western side of Central Park. I told them I would be perfectly content if I could get the same type of room so I turned down the upgrade. I have stayed in the Central Park suite before and didn't particularly like my room layout so I didn't want to chance it.
The concierge lounge is located in the elevator vestibule that services the upper floors. Even though I had heard of its general location, I missed it when I checked in but it is so obvious I had a "duh" moment when one of the staff showed me where it was. The hours for all day access are Monday through Thursday from 6:30am to 10pm. Breakfast is served from 6:30am to 11am Monday through Sunday! Evening offerings are Sunday through Thursday from 5pm to 10pm.
Wednesday evening was the only time I was able to check out the evening offerings as I had other plans on Thursday and the lounge was closed in the evenings on Friday and Saturday. They had the usual fare with crackers, cheeses, etc. but also had a couple of hot items, eggplant lasagna and a veal pasta. There was an honor bar that also had complimentary sodas, water, etc. The staff was very attentive and friendly. I don't want to claim this is as good as the RC club lounge but the service level was closer to that than the other Marriott concierge lounges that I have been to. For example, I asked what time the desert was going to be offered and one of the staff brought us a sampling of all of the deserts. They were also quick to bring refills of beverages and clean used plates off of the table.
I also really like the atmosphere of the lounge. The lighting in the evening was subdued and soft music was playing. Many of the other concierge lounges I have been to have somewhat harsh lighting as well as less than desirable furniture. I found this lounge to be very comfortable. There are several different areas to sit. Some offer privacy and others more in the open seating.
I also had breakfast in the lounge every morning. Scrambled eggs, potatoes, sausage and bacon were the hot offerings. Bagels and a lot of assorted breads, pastries, cereals were also offered. There is a large refrigerated area on one of the walls stocked with fruit, juices, cream cheese, smoked salmon, and many other items. The lounge was pretty busy when I was there around 8:30 to 9:30 but never so crowded that it was difficult for my party of 3 to find a place to sit.
Overall, it was a great visit and this has become my favorite Marriott property in NYC. There are a few cons but they get overshadowed by the pros.

fieldeng

I stayed here back in June prior to the lounge being open. I paid about 35k points per night.

Once I arrived, the counter upgraded me to a Central Park View Room immediately (as a Gold) and apologized for the lounge being closed. They offered me 2 buffet breakfasts and a 2500 points per night "rebate".

I used the concierge several times and they were amazing. Always helpful and friendly.

The room was on the 5th floor with a huge king bed, a massive bathroom with a huge soaker tub and a big couch along the wall.

The famous lights were fairly interesting. I liked them though some may find the lights behind the bed annoying.

Overall, one of the best Marriott hotels I've ever stayed at. The service was top shelf.

I'd stay here again without hesitation.

MrLANlord

First (correction: second ever post) from a long long time lurker...

Thanks OP for posting this and the others for their comments. I've booked a rewards stay the weekend of Sept 27th. I'm taking my wife there from Boston for our 10 year wedding anniversary. I'm glad to hear the great reviews. I'll post mine once back.

While we won't be in the hotel much - dinners at celebrity chef restaurants (yay!) and a show at the Gershwin (like the OP) - it sure would be nice to get a good room upgrade for the wife. Wish me luck :-)

DENROC

Stayed Saturday night 9/7; lounge was open Sunday. Very elaborate food choices; excellent quality

opus2002

I just go Marriott Gold yesterday. I am thinking of booking a room for late October weekend.

Let me just make sure of this, isn't one of the benefits of Gold status a free breakfast? If so, is it at the Concierge lounge? Also, do you ever get free parking ($65 for 24 hrs)?

BKKLEE

quickest answer is to look at Sharon's sticky -
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...-weekends.html
and find out that -
* NY City / JW Marriott Essex House New York / CLOSED; Breakfast in lounge on weekends (nice breakfast); 08/21/13 update

SkiAdcock

No re: free parking AFAIK. Often the parking is run by a separate company.

Cheers.

mab

FWIW, I was charged $7 for a couple of local phone calls (trying to track down my cell phone), as a platinum member.

I don't really care that much about the 7 bucks, but the practice of nickle and diming your best customers while hiding in fine print about not being a "participating hotel" is a deterrent to my returning.

sammyindc

Staying at the JW Essex House right now. Checked in last night and got an upgrade to a suite. Room is nice, very spacious for New York standards.
However not at all impressed with the Executive Lounge. Not sure if it's because of the Thanksgiving holiday but it's way overcrowded, dirty (food on the floor), plastic cups for orange juice. Servers running around like chickens with their head cutoff, lounge attendant telling people there is a 30 minute wait. I expect more from a JW Marriott.

SkiAdcock

Wow - that's so unlike prior reports. I'm assuming (hoping) that's not the norm.

Cheers.

No Clue

I hope this is due to the timing of the day before Thanksgiving at a hotel on the parade route.

I will be there in a couple of weeks to see if it has calmed down any.