Overall, had a positive stay at this JW. But the rating reflects that this property is not new and some rooms are in need of renovation.
Arrival: Arrived by Uber. Due to a road closure, the Uber driver could not drop me off at the normal entrance. So he dropped me off on Brickell. Efficient check-in with a helpful young lady. I asked for a room upgrade based on my Titanium status and was provided a king room on the concierge level, floor 21.
Room (general): King room (2107). First impression walking in- powerful MUSTY odor. Old, ugly yellow-brown carpet. Room included leather chair, end table, nice curved Samsung TV, large desk, and a king bed. Mini-refrigerator and mini-coffee maker too. But refrigerator was crammed full of items for sale, so it’s not usable. A/C system struggled to maintain a consistent temperature. Due to TripAdvisor’s computer based review monitoring, I cannot include the specifics about the poor temperature control of the A/C (in drafts of my review submitted, TripAdvisor kept rejecting the reviews where I listed specific temperatures because the system interpreted the numbers as something else).
Bed: Good bed but linens were aging and had some holes.
Bathroom: BAD lighting. Very difficult to shave or put on makeup with the lighting in this bathroom. Ample counter space. Shower and tub combination, but this was a completely illogical setup for the shower and tub. There is no traditional tub filler spout. Rather, there are only two shower heads. So if you want to take a bath, it takes forever to fill the tub with the small, moveable shower head. Good Aromatherapy toiletries. Mediocre Andis hairdryer.
Noise/sleep quality: During the day on the first day of may stay, there was quite a bit of hallway noise. Hallway noise decreased at night. My second night, it seemed quiet on floor 21.
Housekeeping: Good housekeeping. I left a note requesting extra shampoo with a tip, and housekeeping read the note and left extra shampoo.
Gym and Pool: large gym and small pool on 7th floor.
Restaurants/bars: Restaurants and bar on site. Had a late lunch at La Terraza- Service at La Terraza was horrible. Had breakfast at Isabela self-service buffet with waiters providing coffee and drinks.
Lounge: The concierge lounge offered evening snacks but not breakfast. This was a good setup as breakfast buffet for BonVoy members with status was provided at Isabela’s. Evening snacks were ok, but some of the cold cuts tasted “off” and I didn’t finish mine. Nice “grab and go” section of fruits, cookies, and chips.
Parking: valet or self-park at $51/night.
Grounds: This is a city hotel with no real grounds.
Overall staff attitude: Overall, staff was excellent.
Conference facility: Large ballroom that seats 500+. We had a full house for a professional conference. Conference catering was mediocre. The fish was not good, but the beef was edible. Also, major complaint about conference catering and setup- one water station for 500 people is insufficient. The second day, the water issue was resolved. One other detail- WiFi service in the conference area was spotty. During part of the conference, WiFi simply stopped working.
Tips: (1) Ask for a high floor to help mitigate outside street noise. (2) There’s a 24 hour CVS across the street (same side of Brickell) from the JW.
About our review: We’re loyal Marriott Titanium status travelers. We’ve been all over the planet, which gives us perspective. And we compose our reviews based on our experiences, not others’ reviews.
