Le Meridien New York, Central Park

Long story short, this hotel is not luxury. Prior to arriving they reach out and ask how they can make your stay special, if you're celebrating anything, or need anything to make your stay better. I told them my reason for visiting and upon arrival, there was nothing done or special to acknowledge my visit. For reference, when I stayed at The Ritz and they asked the same thing, they gave me the most thoughtful welcome gift related to my reason for visiting. The Classic King Guest Room is okay. There was no luggage rack or additional space to elevate your luggage beside the desk. So if you're more than 1 person in this room, space can be challenging. I asked someone at the front desk if they had a hair tie. At other Marriott properties, I could have sworn you could request a hair kit similar to a dental kit. The front desk lady smirked and said no we don't have hair ties. For an establishment that made it a point to ask prior to visiting what they could do to make my stay better, there was NO sense of hospitality. She couldn't even make a recommendation to visit the Duane Reade on the same street to help problem solve. Again, no above and beyond service, not luxury! For the price paid, the least I could expect is solution orientated front desk assistance. The food at the property is okay. The views are minimal. The location is the only reason I gave it three stars, otherwise it'd be 2.5. The hotel is walking distance to Central Park, a Pure Barre class I took, the train, and an accessible bus. However, the location is not enough to have be stay at the property again.

It was OK. I stayed here for 10 nights as I was visiting family and friends (used points). PROS: Excellent location, friendly cleaning staff and the French restaurant is nice. CONS: There is zero benefit as a Titanium member (they got excited telling me I’d earn 1K points for my whole stay); There is a 45 usd per day destination fee which wasn’t useful to me (some days I’d just buy a 6 dollar coffee and tipped 15 just to use the daily 25 food spend portion); I had to ask several times to change my room from back facing no view (finally got a front facing with broken A/C - even the maintenance guy told me to change rooms again). In a nutshell, I struggled to see the “luxury”. My friends stayed at another hotel around the corner (AKA hotel) and it was cheaper, bigger room, and they just randomly found it online.

Ah Marriott......Where the Promise Ends at the Reservation Confirmation. I did not receive the room type that I booked. It was beyond obvious there was something happening when the agent left the desk to go talk to someone at check in. My "terrace" was above the terrace room that I booked. It was a fraction of the size with two beat up dirty chairs and weeds growing everywhere. To access the "terrace" requires an awkward step in and out of a door that doesn't stay open. So if you aren't careful, the door could push you and cause you to lose balance traversing the doorway. The room itself needs so many repairs. The desk looks like it was glued back together. There are scuff marks on the ceiling as a guest clearly attempted to store their luggage on top of the closet/wardrobe. The wood in the room is badly beaten. The safe won't stay open and slams shut. It makes putting items in and taking items out a risk of losing a finger. The difficult-to-turn shower head? The leaky shower that flooded the floor..... A Masterclass in How Not to Design a Hotel Room.... Design wise this place is atrocious. Yes, Manhattan hotel rooms are small, but they can be well thought out to maximize space in a shoebox. Whoever designed this place clearly has never travelled before or simply hates hotels and the people that use them. They must think every guest is over 6 feet tall as you have to be a giant to use the vanity mirror in the bathroom. And everyone enjoys taking a shower in order to turn on the shower. I feel very bad for the housekeepers who have to deal with the shower set up every day. Bonvoy Status: Thanks for Your Loyalty, Here's Two Towels........... 2 TOWELS! 2 TOWELS? When we arrived, 2 bath towels, 2 hand towels and a floor mat. Laundry doesn't cost that much. Is that really where management thinks the cost savings are located or your nod to being environmentally conscious? Your hotel already has an environmental grade of C, less towels aren't going to raise that grade. Have you done the math on how much staff time and energy it costs to bring towels throughout the hotel when all the guests order more towels? How much time is it worth to your guests? That time spent waiting is intangible and how arrogant of you as a hotel operator to not think how much this detail matters. Where Marriott Loyalty Goes to Die...... Bonvoy status or the fact that I reside in a Marriott managed property means absolutely nothing and went unrecognized. There was too much emphasis on if they could pull off the bait and switch on the room type. So I ask you this.....if you aren't going to recognize my loyalty, why should I continue to be loyal to a brand who does not care about its guests or their experience? The restaurant outlets do make great cocktails.

*MARRIOTT PLATINUM TITANIUM BEWARE* Zero recognition, NO BREAKFAST, NO UPGRADE - this hotel doesn’t care about you! HIDDEN FEES - I’ve spent well over a year of my life staying at Marriott - this place was very disappointing.

HOTEL SCAM ALERT!!! Our nice stay was concluded on the last day when they emailed me over 650$ in incidental charges. 500$ for a smoking fee, which neither my wife nor I smoke. And over 150$ in hotel destination fees. I disputed the charges and they immediately took the smoking charge off but claimed I agreed to the destination fees. How could I agree to these fees when the entire trip plus taxes was paid 100% prior to staying and it was paid through a 3rd party points system! The City of NYC just passed an ordinance against these fees too. BEWARE!