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For one week during each summer for the past five years, my mother and I have stayed in the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square, New York City. Why do we keep going back? The combination of a great location, friendly service, and quality in-room dining made us fall in love with this Marriott, and while there are indeed some things wrong with it, they do not overshadow all the things it does right.

The Marriott Marquis seems to go all-out when it comes to making guests feel comfortable and at home. The bedding in rooms is luxurious, soft, fresh-smelling, and always crisply clean. In recent years, they've added a soft caramel-colored blanket to the bedding collection, which both me and my mother have fallen in love with and contemplate (jokingly, of course) stealing every time we stay. I also love the duvets they put on the beds, which are fluffy and light while still being warm and comfortingly heavy.

The tissues in the bathroom are soft, as are the towels, which are generously-sized and considerately rolled neatly in storage spaces. The bathroom's decor is tasteful but not boring, with shiny granite countertops, brushed pewter-like faucets and handles, and a sparkling off-white tub, wall, and floor tiles. There is framed art on the walls, in both the bathroom and the bedroom, which adds a certain touch of class even though the 'art' is actually predictably conservative prints with no spark or soul. But in a hotel, especially one as large as the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, could you expect anything else?

The Marriott Marquis hotel itself gleams, inside and out, and is obviously well taken care of. You get the sense as you walk in that you are a valued guest, and that you are receiving exactly what you pay for. Not a spot of dust or water mark anywhere, no lack of cheerful, helpful maids or genius concierges to make you feel as though you're missing out on any service. Even the staff who bring food up for in-room dining is beyond courteous, some of whom even remember us through the years and bring us desserts 'on the house' for being such loyal guests. The service is unprecedented, and well worth it, in my opinion. No amount of raving could describe how wonderful some of the servers in this hotel are- we begin to feel, every year, almost as though we are friends with them!

Elevators in the Marriott Marquis have been recently remodeled to follow a complicated system, which backfired disastrously the first year they were implemented (the second year we stayed at the hotel). Now, the bugs appear to be worked out of the computer system, but there are so many new guests who have no idea how to use the elevator keypad system that the system still runs slowly sometimes. Another issue is that at peak traffic times, elevators can become obscenely full of people, a problem which could be largely avoided if the Marriott Marquis' elevators worked like normal elevator banks instead of using a fancy computer calibration system.

Overall, the Marriott Marquis in Times Square is classy and clean, with little to truly complain about. I would definitely recommend this hotel for any traveler planning to stay in New York City for vacation, especially if you hail from a country where the exchange rate is beneficial for you! The Marriott Marquis, while quite good, is also very pricey, and while some of that can be expected in a city like New York, it may still be out of the price range for many travelers.

Learn more about this author, Rhea Wood.
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