JW Marriott Grand Rapids in Grand Rapids, MI

Average property, unbecoming of a JW. Basic Marriott Courtyard at best. Run by kids without knowledge or/and experience in high end hospitality. Tired and depressing rooms, displaying poor lighting, small bathrooms, weak water pressure and most importantly an overpowering smell of "rotten eggs" coming out of the bathroom sink. Rough and unwelcoming bed sheets. Poorly tailored curtains that need to be closed by hair pins. The DND sign is ignored all the times. Staff walks in the room unannounced.

Most high end hotels focus on exceptional entrance motif etc. the JW Grand Rapids has an aesthetic clean front entrance. This property keeps an active change adding touches of art elements that catch your attention. When it comes to comfort the rooms that have been upgraded are focused on functionality and quality. The absolute best thing is the linens and pillows. Food quality could be improved with more creativity, design and quality.

Great stay! The room was a little smaller than I had anticipated but it worked just fine. Bed was super comfy. We stayed just overnight for my husband’s birthday before heading back home to DC. The surrounding area is nice and walkable. We sat outside for breakfast, which was really outstanding. The main cook is a character! Had a lovely time and would stay again if we were flying out of Grand Rapids again!

The hotel itself was fine - nothing special. The staff (other than the amazing valet) were marginal at best.I am only Gold Elite but asked for an upgrade at check in. Was told the hotel was fully committed. I was able to go online and see there was a ton of availability in all room categories. I don’t like being lied to but upgrades are never guaranteed so I lived with my low floor, roof top view next to the elevator and ice machine. Was offered lounge access for $70. I agreed but when I went to the lounge they had a small frig of drinks, snack mix and chocolate covered pretzels. I went back later for hors d'oeuvres which consisted of some cheddar cheese and cold falafel balls. Had dinner at the restaurant and sat outside. We left after not getting our food for over a hour. Tried to get breakfast at 6:30am but breakfast isn’t available until 7am at all restaurants including room service. No room cleaning at all. Garbage was overflowing but nobody ever came for service. The room was fine and bed comfortable but I wouldn’t go back.

We stayed here this past weekend. We drove from about 3 hours away to attend at concert at Van Andel and celebrate a birthday. I booked a few weeks in advance. A week or so before we realized that the 4pm check-in time would be kind of late since we thought we’d get into town earlier. I called to ask for an earlier check-in. I was not guaranteed an earlier check-in but they said they would make a note and I could call back the day of to see if I would have an earlier check-in. I called back the day of check-in and explained that I had called previously. I was told they would prioritize my room with housekeeping & while they couldn’t say how earlier I would be able to get in, I should be able to get in prior to 4pm. So you can imagine my surprise when I arrived at the hotel and proceeded to wait in a long check-in line because when I checked in with the app, I couldn’t pick an arrival time prior to 5:15pm. We did encounter traffic so we arrived after 4pm but it wasn’t even 4:30. I was honestly shocked when the desk staff asked for the best phone number to reach me because my room wasn’t ready. From the conversations happening around me, no one’s room was ready. They couldn’t tell me how long it would be until my room would be ready. This is after calling twice to ask for an early check-in. We were offered a pass to the executive lounge but the only reason we got into our room before 6pm is that I kept refreshing the app to look for the mobile key. Our plans for a nice dinner before the concert were dashed. By the time we got our room, freshened up, and got to the arena we only had time to grab food there at the concert. I’m not sure why there were no rooms ready at our check-in time but I think it would help to get rid of the noon check-out. Or perhaps they accommodate late check-outs over early check-ins. The room was fine, it was clean - everyone who worked at the hotel that I interacted with was pleasant but I regret picking this hotel. Arriving and not being able to check-in just soured the evening and made it stressful. I think there’s room for them to improve their check-in and check-out policies.