Marriott New York JFK Airport

I'm only about an hour into my stay, but I wanted to leave a good review already. I usually find other Marriotts around the world good to just okay, so I didn't expect much when I picked this one. So far, though, it's impressed me. The blonde woman at the front desk, whose name I can't remember but starts with H, was very sweet and helpful. She answered everything I wanted to know before I even had to ask. I also had a great conversation with sean in the M club. He was very polite and elegant. The room is really good too, with a decent view. This will definitely be my go-to property for JFK layovers. Thank you for a great experience!

The friendly staff were what made this overnight stop worth the price. After a couple of weeks in the South, we expected to be back to the usual NY service, so their warmth and helpfulness came as a very pleasant surprise. They seem to have been trained really well, and management deserves credit too. We chose the Marriott as a balance between cost and room quality before an early flight. That tradeoff worked out about as expected: the room was fine but standard, nothing special. It also wasn't quite as close to the airport as I thought, because the roads leading in are a maze. We enjoyed dinner at the restaurant, which I'll review separately. The morning shuttle to departures was good, but leave enough time during busy hours.

The hotel itself was nice and check-in went fine. The food was awful. Two bites into the "cajun" wings, I couldn't make myself continue. I tried the calamari next, which was better but still not great, and the margherita pizza tasted terrible. It wasn't anyone's idea of a margherita pizza. My husband asked the "food & bev manager" whether we could get a refund or something since we hadn't eaten the food. The answer was to "try again tomorrow." After three dishes tasted like trash, why would I spend more money? What would change by tomorrow? Given that response, I'll try a different hotel next time.

The hotel has a good gym and breakfast, and I liked it overall. One thing really bothered me at night: the smoke detector is right above the bed, with a bright LED that blinks every five seconds. It's annoying. What's the point of having shades to block light if that flashing keeps lighting up the room?