Marriott Marquis New York Rating: 3.5 Pearls

Times Square, Manhattan, New York City

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Times Square

As New York's second-largest hotel (with 49 floors and 1,949 rooms, just behind the New York Hilton's 1,980 rooms) the Marquis draws equal parts conventioneers, large families, Broadway fanatics, and international travelers taking advantage of a weak dollar. Good for anyone looking for a classic New York experience -- it's in the heart of Times Square, right behind the Good Morning America studio.

Still, the mammoth hotel spectacle can feel like a cross between Epcot Center and an airport, what with the chaotic street level entrance (the lobby is actually on the eighth floor); the electronic check-in/boarding-pass kiosks; the glass-enclosed, neon glowing elevator pods that soar up through the open 49-story atrium lobby; the expansive corridors with travel agencies beside Starbucks beside overpriced gift shops; and the hordes of indifferent-looking uniformed employees milling about.

The concierge

Though not on par with the doting attention found in New York's luxury hotel set, the Marriott is equipped to handle a steady stream of thousands, even posting staff members at the fitness center and business center. Their concierge service is a cut above the Xeroxed list of nearby restaurants distributed at many of the other chain hotels (and other Marriott properties, like the J.W. Marriott in Miami).

At the entrance, a line of red-coated bellmen wait outside at all hours of the day. But the only real greeting I received was from the security guard at the downstairs reception, who simply said, "Good afternoon, welcome to the Marriott," when I asked for directions to the eighth-floor lobby. But with thousands of guests at any given hour, compounded by convention traffic (from folks not necessarily staying at the hotel), it was naturally impossible for the Marquis to provide me with attentive service, even with hundreds of staff members at any given hour and at every corner of the hotel. The closest they come to adding any personal touch is when they refer to guests by name when they call down to the front desk. (Caller ID helps.)

But when I did make requests, the staff really delivered. Automatically set on the TV is a Marquis promotional infomercial, in which the hotel concierge tracks down a faux guest's size 7, black, AA pumps. So I decided to test the concierge for myself, asking if she knew of an inexpensive, authentic Italian restaurant a few blocks away. (And make note, anything inexpensive in Times Square is near-impossible to find.) She recommended Amarone on 9th Avenue, about three long blocks away. She told me to tell the hostess I was referred by her ("Jill from the Marquis") when I arrived so they would take "special care" of me. They did, hooking me up with some free appetizers, and the $14 fresh-made pasta was phenomenal. Good call, Jill.

In the evening, a torrential downpour opened up. I asked the concierge where I could pick up an umbrella (expecting they'd send me over to the gift shop), but instead they handed one over, no problem.

View on a Larger Map

The Marquis is in the true heart of Times Square. Blinding neon marquees consume every visible lot high into the sky. Food, souvenir shops, and sightseeing options are endless, and the sheer volume of bike and foot traffic can be a bit of sensory overload.

Directly in front of the hotel, there are double-decker bus tours, panhandling "performance artists" dressed like the Statue of Liberty in green makeup posing for shots at $5 a click, and sales pitches infused with political platforms -- "Obama and McCain condoms, just $5, no matter who wins you'll still get screwed." Best of all, though, is the TKTS discount booth right across the street, where people can procure same-day theater tickets at up to 50 percent off.

Sweetening the deal, in May 2009 the city closed Broadway off to traffic, between 42nd and 47th Streets, making it incredibly pedestrian-friendly and more conducive to sightseeing. Furthermore, 12 subway lines are less than five minutes away at the Port Authority and Times Square subway stations at 42nd Street.

But beyond the franchise shopping and pedicabs, there's a slightly more authentic (and less tourist-oriented) New York to be found only two long blocks away -- in Hell's Kitchen, a slum turned upscale neighborhood that boasts less gimmicky, less expensive, and much better-tasting restaurants than in Times Square.

New York City has three nearby airports: JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark (in New Jersey). Getting into town from JFK or LaGuardia is usually more convenient than from Newark, but travel times are heavily dependent on traffic conditions and the time of day. From JFK, a taxi to anywhere in Manhattan costs a flat rate of $45 and takes around an hour in average conditions. From LaGuardia, a metered cab ride to Midtown Manhattan costs about $40 and can take 30 minutes if traffic is light, three times that if it's bad. Rides from Newark cost at least $40 plus tolls and can take more than 90 minutes. It's customary to tip your driver 15-25 percent.

Those looking to save some cash can use the privately run shuttle buses that are available at all three airports for about $14 per person. For more information on the shuttles, go to Super Shuttle or New York Airport Service. Public transit is also available for as little as $7 per person, but mass transit can take up to two hours and can involve lugging bags up and down subway stairways.

For mass-transit directions right to the hotel, check out HopStop.com.

The Guest Room

Standard guest rooms are 252 square feet, which is certainly comfortable by Midtown standards but smaller than the nearby, comparably priced Westin, Hilton Times Square, or W Times Square. My "Deluxe King" room was huge, though, at 336 square feet. There was ample space for a large desk, a loveseat, a chair, and the king-sized Marriott Revive bed, which is the branded version of a firm mattress with a down comforter, 300-count sheets, and six pillows (some foam, some feather).

Though the decor is typical of a Marriott -- an off-white paint job and blandly textured blue, gold, and red carpeting and furnishings -- the room was generally clean, but for a few carpet stains and some dust in the vent, which was directly above the bed. My room came with a 42-inch hi-def LG flat-screen TV -- always a treat to see local news anchors done up in heavy man-makeup -- but I got stuck paying $10 for spotty wireless service in the rooms, which didn't work anywhere else in the hotel. (Wi-Fi is free, but equally unreliable in the lobby.) At least I was able to share a few disgruntled head nods with other guests who crossed power cords with me in the Atrium Lounge.

The bathroom includes zingy orange ginger-scented toiletries from Bath and Bodyworks, but the hotel lacks luxury in-room essentials like a minibar and bathrobes, which would usually be available at similarly priced hotels.

My room had only one narrow floor-to-ceiling window. The light wasn't marvelous, but the view was incredible -- from just the 22nd floor, overlooking the Hudson River, the taxis looked like matchbox cars honking inaudibly below.

The gym

In keeping with the airport vibe, the hotel packs in a gratuitous number of features: novelty New York gift shops (no couture here), and boarding-pass and checkout kiosks at various points along the way. Dedicating multiple floors to convention ballrooms, most of the facilities are more popular among non-guests, like the two on-site Starbucks and the travel agency.

Of particular note is the huge, glass-enclosed, 24-hour fitness center overlooking Times Square. The facility packs every conceivable piece of weight, cardio, and core equipment into a shallow room on the 23rd floor, but it's the extra touches, like complimentary Granny Smith apples and Luna Bars and Vitamin Water (at extra cost), that put the Marquis' gym a cut above. Plus, it's free, which is not necessarily a given in New York.

At $17/day, Internet at the Marquis is expensive, even for New York, with the particularly annoying restriction that it can only run from noon to noon. That means that even if you start your Internet pass in the evening, you need to buy another day's worth by noon the next day. It is, however, free in the lobby -- if you can find a signal.

A theater concierge can arrange for tickets at a moment's notice. The hotel also offers package deals that include the room rate as well as show tickets.

On-site parking is available for $55/day for cars and $65/day for SUVs. As is common in New York hotel garages, there are no in/out privileges, but taking the subway in the city is easier than driving anyway.

Encore has a kids menu

Times Square may be chaotic and overstimulating, but the Marquis is as good a place as any to stay with kids. Rooms are comfortably spacious, cribs and rollaway beds are both free, and the main restaurant, Encore, has a kids menu. Connecting rooms are also available.

Kids are sure to be wowed by the glowing elevator pods that zip up and down the 49-story lobby; just be sure to keep an eye on them in crowded, noisy spaces. Certainly the hotel's most attractive feature -- from a kid's point of view, anyway -- is its location just across the street from Toys 'r' Us Times Square, the world's largest toy store. Of course, the hotel is plenty convenient to lots of other sights and attractions, including Broadway shows, Rockefeller Center, and Central Park.

Allowing for the occasional carpet stain, some slightly worn furniture, and the overflowing garbage cans in the lobby, the Marquis is very clean, including the bed linens and the bathroom.

Atrium Lounge

The large-scale Broadway Lounge on the eighth floor serves reasonable cocktails with a full view of Times Square below. But it was only open briefly the night I was there, shutting down in the evening to host a private event. Aside from this, I wasn't impressed by the food at the Marquis, especially given the exorbitant prices. My $23 in-room breakfast of "crunchy" French toast came with soggy bits of cornflakes stuck to white bread -- a great disappointment, even though it arrived with a complimentary copy of the New York Times.

As for the revolving rooftop restaurant, The View, most guests pan the food, and there's not a single good review of the food in Zagat (from which it receives a 17). The three-course, prix fixe menu starts at $69, not including a range of expensive supplements.

During my stay, the Atrium Lounge, which is just an open lobby lounge with a locked bar at its center, was filled almost exclusively with conventioneers, easily identified by their conspicuous nametags. The Atrium also serves light bar bites. Other food options include the underwhelming Encore, which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner (both buffet-style and a la carte) and the even less respected sushi at Katen.

Unbelievably for a hotel of its size, the Marquis does not offer 24-hour room service. From 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., guests must either call for takeout or patronize one of New York's many all-night diners.