Marriott Marquis Times Square – Is it the place to be in NYC?

Well, that is the golden question isn't it? With tens of thousands of hotel rooms in Manhattan alone, which property do you go to? We decided to try the Marriott Marquis in Times Square.

It's a behemoth. 1,966 rooms, 51 floors and 574 feet tall, It straddles 1 city block between 45th and 46th st. although the official address is 1535 Broadway. Like so much Times Square real estate the first 8 floors of the building house publicly accessible spaces such as meeting and ballrooms. The exterior facing Times Square is valuable LCD Panel space sold for advertising. The 24 million pixel panel is 330 by 78 feet.

The hotel lobby is on the 8th floor and accessible via escalators or elevators. The elevators are called using touch screens where you select the floor and a preprogrammed elevator is assigned to you. Above the 8th floor, your keycard is required to go up to the rooms.

Most impressive is the atrium, at 400 feet tall, it is one of the largest indoor spaces in the world. The colours are typical USA in the 80's beige/tan. This could use some updating.

There are three restaurants in the hotel, two of which are on the 8th floor. The Revel and Rye as well as the Broadway lounge. The former has two large banks of LCD screens on two back to back walls, showing advertising and sports. They don't really make for a cozy space and are in no way subtle. The Broadway lounge is a nicer space, with double height windows facing Times Square. There are some art deco influences here, and at night, this is a nice place to be for some drinks and socializing. There's also a revolving restaurant at the top.

Our room on the 21st floor faced Times Square, offering a great view of this hive of activity and lights which was a nice bonus. Sadly, the signs don't pop like you'd expect them to as they're angled to be seen from the street, not from above - no fault to the hotel of course. Our corner room was very large for NYC standards, in great shape, neatly appointed; no dings on the furniture here. The king bed was excellent, as was the walk-in shower. The usual amenities, soap, hairdryer shampoo and conditioner were all there. Large soft towels were plentiful, as were face cloths.


OUR EXPERIENCE:

We arrived early (10AM) and were offered the choice of two doubles or a King. Big bonus was that the room was ready. Added to our bill were city and state taxes as well as a $30.00 USD destination fee. This destination fee is mandatory but the $30.00 can be used anywhere in the hotel and for some city attractions. We decided to apply it to breakfast.

After dropping off our luggage in the room, we headed for the Revel & Rye Restaurant and had $69.00 US worth of breakfast. It was a heap of food, and very heavy on the potatoes. This could (should?) have been partially fruit - certainly at these prices. The jug of coffee was so - so at best, and try as he might, our server forgot the water I asked for twice. He did apologize profusely for forgetting it. The kitchen messed up Angela's order, but rather than wait for a replacement, she went with it anyway. Again, with profuse apologies and several offers of replacement from the server.

We had some work to do, so back to the room we went. This oasis of quiet, comfort and excellent internet helped us achieve our goals so that I had some extra time for some architecture photography. The big atrium lends itself well to that.

We opted for dinner in town and returned at 11 pm. We could call up the elevator with our keycard from street level. This was odd as anyone could have hopped in with us and have had access to the room floors.

Early next morning check out was easy and quick, The permanent night shift clerk was very chipper and all smiles. We caught a cab to La Guardia and were there in 25 minutes flat. Not bad for a Monday morning..

CONCLUSION:

If you're a Bonvoy member you'll make plenty of points at this property. Rack rate for our room was about $600 US. Overall the property is certainly in very good shape, although it does look a bit dated. If you're an architecture buff, this is certainly one for the list. I would certainly recommend this property - Location, Location and It offers a great oasis away from the bustle 8 floors below. The breakfast (and other food) options are plentiful and pricey - but hey, It's Midtown Manhattan, at a signature property. If you want to pay less, there are some food options for purchase in the extremely well stocked convenience store, which also has a Starbucks implant. Would we stay again? Yes, but I would message my travel advisor for a better room rate.

(All photos by Gin & Tonic Travel)