Westchester Marriott

We checked in late on Christmas Eve after a really long day, and Alejandra greeted us so warmly that it felt like home. The wait staff on Christmas morning were just as great. Kudos to the service. It’s a great hotel in a convenient spot just off Rt. 287, near the Tappan Zee bridge. The decor is tasteful and looks recently renovated. That warm welcome was an unexpected treat.

The people and service were great, the rooms were good, and the renovation turned out well. The new bar in the entry is cool, and the bartenders are welcoming. Still, we were disappointed that the hot tub and pool had been removed and replaced with a courtyard. We asked when booking through a third party whether the pool, steam room, and hot tub were working after the renovation three years ago, and were told they were. We used to love coming here for the full resort experience, relaxing without having to leave the hotel. I’d also suggest replacing Ruth’s Chris. It isn’t the same as it was.

Rooms were clean and had two queen beds for two adults and two kids, and parking is available. But we needed to call the front desk for an extra quilt or pillows, and for more towels. We got just three bath towels and one washcloth. There weren’t any activities for kids, either. The weekend bus schedule is VERY LIMITED, and the stop is across a very busy intersection. It’s far from Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. The front desk wasn’t friendly at check-in, and we were charged $25 per person for the good breakfast buffet. We were also charged for our 18-month-old and 2-year-old. At the bar, they served us a drink in a chipped glass. I was afraid I’d cut myself or swallow a piece, so I didn’t drink it, but they charged us anyway. After a day of walking and exploring, we came back to find huge tubs of water bottles and a little note saying there’d be NO RUNNING WATER from 10 PM until 3 AM. The water was cut off at 9:30 PM and was STILL OFF when we woke at 9:45 AM to get ready. We had to use bottled water to wash our faces and brush our teeth. VERY INCONVENIENT.

Most of the stay was fine, but the privacy issue happened twice in two days. When I checked in at 4:30 p.m., housekeeping tried to barge in at 5 p.m. and the latch lock was the only thing that stopped them. The front desk said, “whoops, did you have the do not disturb sign on? They were probably working off of a list from 8am.” On checkout day, with the do not disturb sign up, they tried to come in again at 10:30 a.m., even though checkout is noon. The desk’s response was basically “whoops, what can you do?” They offered a Marriot points worth 1/5 of a night after asking what I wanted them to do. Neither time did anyone say that it shouldn’t have happened or that they’d tell a manager and make sure it didn’t happen again. Nothing suggested they’d actually address housekeeping entering occupied rooms. Since it happened twice, it seemed they hadn’t even considered my first complaint.