Where do I began, oh I know, how about I just start from the very beginning. Get your reading glasses out because this review, I hope will get you to change your mind about staying any where else when in Houston and at minimum give the JW Marriot Downtown Houston an Opportunity to wow you like they did me. I had a friend that wanted to celebrate my birthday and he was going to treat me to a stay at the Neighboring Aloft hotel, which is one of my favorite select service brands, but stick around and let me tell you how a 2 day Birthday stay - turned into a full on 9 day - STAYCATION! I knew that I was going to love the property from the moment I called and did just a polite schmooze to see if they could accommodate, myself and two friends for my birthday with Suite upgrades. Not only did they accommodate one upgrade, they upgraded both rooms and sent me two birthday amenities on each night of my stay. I was simply over the moon with the accommodations and efforts to help me achieve status of being knockout host to my friends, before i even set foot on the property. I owe a special thanks to Carina, forgive me if I misspell any names, and Joyce for being so accommodating they are front desk superstars. The property, to my eye was spic and span, please guys when staying at hotels, give grace for the fact that the hotel is inundated with us as travelers 24/7 and there can be a towel that is left out of place. But in the JW's case that was not the situation. The Concierge lounge is a sanctuary for the most Novice of traveler all the way to the most experienced Road Warrior. The lounge has to be about 2,000 sqft. One place for improvement just to give constructive feedback is please have the omelet station on the weekend as well as during the week. Their is a Boardroom that I know seats up to minimum of 12 guests in the lounge area, for any of the meeting planners who read reviews. One of the reason, I wanted a suite upgrade was to host a small group of friends at the property for a game night. Well once I laid eyes on the Concierge lounge, I just took a chance and carved out a little section for my self and friends, and what do you know the Hotel was overly accommodating. They allowed us to have a couple ice buckets and didn't mind that we ordered take out to the Lounge. As other guest came to the lounge we were able to make several friends and offered to have them join in the fun that was Left, Right Center. The food was amazing at the property. I had the pleasure of trying the MK burger, which was the JW's take on a smash burger it was to die for and the only thing could have complemented it more was a Milkshake! I loved breakfast, as that is my favorite meal of the day, so whether you have breakfast in the Lounge, Restaurant or in room dining you will be pleased. The Lounge is also, open 24/7 and I am sure most who stay with this brand know the evening social hours can get mundane, but the JW DT Houston knocks the nightly social hour out the park. One night I devoured a helping of nachos and the next night there was a spread complete with Salad, shrimp cocktail, wings and full size finger sandwiches. If you have ever had the opportunity to travel to Asia, they give the Asian properties a run for their money. When it came time for me to check out after my second night, I just couldn't do it and the friendly staff, made it more than easy to rest another night, which turned out to be an additional 6 nights, because I work in DT and the ease of the commute is phenomenal. The Houston Downtown Tunnel system, connects you to over 100 restaurants for Lunch, and then their are countless avenues to reach your building that I am sure you will have business or work the next day, which run right under the hotel. The cities transit, as a native Houstonian, I am not wild about, but as far as navigating the downtown area, the light rail is simply footsteps out side the front door, and they have a Shuttle that operates within a 3 - 5 mile radius, don't quote me on the 4th and 5th mile but i am for certain on 3 miles. For now, there is not a pool, at the property, however if you want the upscale feel of the JW, but want to partake in a TEXAS sized pool you can get discounted spa day passes to go to the Marriott Marquis for $60 by being a registered guest. However, stay tuned the property, I believe has a pool in the works for their guest in the near future. I for one would love to try it out for another night or two once it is in full swing. As far as the rooms, I had the pleasure of staying in 3 or 4 different room types, the Vice President Suite, an Executive King Suite, a Corner suite, and a Concierge Suite. Of course as you can imagine the VP suite took the cake and i was ever so grateful for the front desk staff allowing me to experience it. Pros about each suite are, the VP suite, has a Kitchen that is fit for a king, the Executive King suite has a Bathtub that can accommodate 2 adults of any size, the Corner suite is quaint size wise but as all of the suites at the JW the view from the bathroom especially on a high floor will make any Anniversary night unforgettable. Lastly, the Concierge king has an open hotel room feel but the tub has a glass partition that can be draped for privacy and is also romantic for couples when suites are not available. Lastly, I must give the most sincere thank you to every single staff member who helped me make my birthday amazing and staff phenomenal. I didn't have the pleasure of meeting the GM of the property but as a former Associate of Mr. Marriott, in the early years his motto was Take care of the Associate and the Associate will take care of the guest. It is more than evident that the Hospitality is at every level of the organization at this property. Special thanks to Alexis, Joyce, Kierra, Apree, Manuel, Macarena, Patrick, Carina, Gracie, Dawn, and Alex. The entire Staff is once again all stellar individuals, but these are all people who personally impacted my stay and make me want to make it a tradition to make the JW a home away from home at least once a year.…
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.