JW Marriott Anaheim review

[crystal1313]

JW Marriott Anaheim

Hello! We recently took a trip to DTD and decided to majorly splurge and stay at the new JW Marriott in Anaheim. I thought I would post a quick review because I have seen others mentioning this new hotel.

This hotel is gorgeous! They knocked it out of the park in terms of design and “wow” factor. The lobby is incredible and the grounds are equally as nice.

The customer service here was also top notch. On par with Disney, and every single employee we came in contact with were super friendly and helpful. Here’s an example of the wonderful customer service:

One of the main reasons we booked this hotel was because I had looked on the website and they listed they had electric vehicle chargers. When we pulled up to valet (parking is valet only, even right now during the pandemic), we asked them to charge our car. Megan, a super friendly valet informed us that the chargers were not ready yet, but did offer to plug us into a regular outlet. We felt like she went above and beyond to accommodate us. I did see her name mentioned quite a few times on reviews for her wonderful customer service. (If electric vehicle charging is important to you, I would call ahead of time to make sure they have it.)

One feature we found while staying here was that they had their own entrance gate to Garden Walk. That was a nice surprise that we could cut through the Garden Walk to get to the DLR to make the walk a bit shorter. It was nice to have easy access to the shops and restaurants.

They have expansive outdoor areas. A rooftop garden with tons and tons of seating, a rooftop pool that was beautiful and had its own bar. There was also a rooftop bar that looked over the DLR. The view was impressive!

Obviously, the hotel is brand new, so everything was pristine. My DH thought the room was nicer than the GCH. We booked a king room with a trundle bed. The trundle was in the couch in the room and was a twin size bed. The bathroom was so nice, I wish I had it at my house! LOL. Huge shower and soaker tub. The room was super spacious and beautifully appointed. Everything I would expect from a higher-end hotel.

The only negative I can think of is…the parking fee is SO expensive!!! $40 a night!! YIKES!! And, as I mentioned above, it was valet only, so we tipped on top of that.

I think this hotel will give the DLR hotels a run for their money. Yes, it is quite a far walk, and yes parking fees are higher, but if this room is cheaper or even similarly priced to the DLH or the GCH, we would seriously consider staying at the JW Marriott again. Especially, if in the future the DLR hotels no longer offer EMH.

Here is a video of the hotel:

Feel free to ask me any questions!

 

[ParkHopper1]

$40/night AND Valet only....ouch. That is completely out of line for the surrounding area IMO and hate that kind of add on fees.

By time you add on tips if you need your vehicle regularly that is kinda ridiculous.

While I am sure it is much nicer than any of the on site properties, the value in those is 100% proximity for me.

 

[crystal1313]

$40/night AND Valet only....ouch. That is completely out of line for the surrounding area IMO and hate that kind of add on fees.

By time you add on tips if you need your vehicle regularly that is kinda ridiculous.

While I am sure it is much nicer than any of the on site properties, the value in those is 100% proximity for me.

Yes. I was absolutely shocked at the parking price! We justified it because we thought we would get a charge for our car from it.

And yes, Disney has them beat for proximity for sure!

 

[midnight star]

How long was your walk to DTD? Did you use the Harbor entrance?

 

[SteveH]

Thanks @crystal1313 for your review! With the ability to cut through Garden Walk where would it drop you out at? My rough look is with that cut through the walk would be about the same as walking to the Sheraton at the Park.

 

[nicole88s]

Thank you for showing this! We have reservations to stay here in December (fingers crossed the parks are open and we get to go!!). It looks so nice. I can't wait for your next video detailing the property.

I've been curious about the room too, because on the Marriott site they are still showing the rendering of the rooms and not the actual rooms, so it was great to see your video.

 

[crystal1313]

How long was your walk to DTD? Did you use the Harbor entrance?

Hi! Yes, we cut through the garden walk, came out on Disney way, and walked up to Harbor and used the Harbor entrance =) It took us about 15ish minutes. We tend to be fast walkers, so depending on how fast you walk it may be longer or shorter for you. Not too bad. But not super close either. We consider this about as far as we would walk. We stay at the convention center Hilton a lot and consider that about as far as we would walk as well.

Thanks @crystal1313 for your review! With the ability to cut through Garden Walk where would it drop you out at? My rough look is with that cut through the walk would be about the same as walking to the Sheraton at the Park.

So you come out above the mystic gifts and souvenirs. It took us about 15 minutes to walk to the harbor entrance. We thought we would have to walk down South Clementine, so we were thrilled to shave a bit of time off the walk!

Thank you for showing this! We have reservations to stay here in December (fingers crossed the parks are open and we get to go!!). It looks so nice. I can't wait for your next video detailing the property.

I've been curious about the room too, because on the Marriott site they are still showing the rendering of the rooms and not the actual rooms, so it was great to see your video.

So happy to help! Yes, I was frustrated by the photos online as well, because I like to see all the details! I have to say it looks much better in person than it did online. They really paid attention to ALL the details here and no expense was spared. The grounds were also really impressive. Hopefully, the parks open soon and you can go in December!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Oof! Valet required at $40/night. Even Disney is only charging $35 for Valet...

Were there any other Resort Fees or Extra Fees @crystal1313 ?

 

[crystal1313]

Oof! Valet required at $40/night. Even Disney is only charging $35 for Valet...

Were there any other Resort Fees or Extra Fees @crystal1313 ?

Hi! I just looked at my bill and no, from what I can tell, it's the standard room tax and fees that we get charged at all other Anaheim hotels. The only other fee was the parking.

Room tax was $38.40
ATID was $5.12 (Anaheim Tourism Improvement District-had to look this up!)
CATOURFE $.60 (Not sure what this is)

Hope that helps!

 

[Nonsuch]

I stayed at the new JW 2 weeks ago.

Short review:
I will not stay there again until Room Service and Club Lounge are available.

Long review:
The Good:
Beautiful hotel, with spacious rooms. DW though the interior had a similar style to a JW in Tokyo, with everything much larger. We booked and received a room with a King bed, which is much better than the bed-type roulette at the GCH. Bathroom had a large glass-walled shower and a separate large tub. Car is retrieved by the valet using a text based system. Nice view from 11th floor bar.

The Bad:
Terrible shower head, poor design and poor function. No in-room coffee maker and "Starbucks" in the lobby does not open until 7AM. Currently no room service or club lounge.
Customer service needs to improve:

• Housekeeping must to be requested (due to Covid). I called housekeeping from the room and got voicemail, so left a message with name and room number -- room was not cleaned.
• Added a day to my stay, and wanted a different view. Arranged this at the front desk in the morning and was told to expect a call by noon when the new room was ready. I never received a call and then I returned to the hotel at 5PM nothing had been done about assigning a new room.
• Asked at the front desk for a reservation for the rooftop bar that evening, and was told to book on open-table. Staff should not tell guests to "do it yourself". Staff should also have known that the bar was closed that evening.

 

[crystal1313]

I stayed at the new JW 2 weeks ago.

Short review:
I will not stay there again until Room Service and Club Lounge are available.

Long review:
The Good:
Beautiful hotel, with spacious rooms. DW though the interior had a similar style to a JW in Tokyo, with everything much larger. We booked and received a room with a King bed, which is much better than the bed-type roulette at the GCH. Bathroom had a large glass-walled shower and a separate large tub. Car is retrieved by the valet using a text based system. Nice view from 11th floor bar.

The Bad:
Terrible shower head, poor design and poor function. No in-room coffee maker and "Starbucks" in the lobby does not open until 7AM. Currently no room service or club lounge.
Customer service needs to improve:

• Housekeeping must to be requested (due to Covid). I called housekeeping from the room and got voicemail, so left a message with name and room number -- room was not cleaned.
• Added a day to my stay, and wanted a different view. Arranged this at the front desk in the morning and was told to expect a call by noon when the new room was ready. I never received a call and then I returned to the hotel at 5PM nothing had been done about assigning a new room.
• Asked at the front desk for a reservation for the rooftop bar that evening, and was told to book on open-table. Staff should not tell guests to "do it yourself". Staff should also have known that the bar was closed that evening.

We went to the bar, the view was gorgeous, but you didn't miss out on much...I wasn't super impressed with it. The lobby bar was another story and we really enjoyed that!

Sorry to hear you didn't have the best CS. We asked at check in about the bar because we had already made a reservation via open table, but had heard hotel guests got a VIP area there. They said they added us to the VIP, but honestly, I don't think anything was VIP and we got seated far away from the "view."

 

[dieumeye]

JW Marriott Anaheim

Hello! We recently took a trip to DTD and decided to majorly splurge and stay at the new JW Marriott in Anaheim. I thought I would post a quick review because I have seen others mentioning this new hotel.

This hotel is gorgeous! They knocked it out of the park in terms of design and “wow” factor. The lobby is incredible and the grounds are equally as nice.

The customer service here was also top notch. On par with Disney, and every single employee we came in contact with were super friendly and helpful. Here’s an example of the wonderful customer service:

One of the main reasons we booked this hotel was because I had looked on the website and they listed they had electric vehicle chargers. When we pulled up to valet (parking is valet only, even right now during the pandemic), we asked them to charge our car. Megan, a super friendly valet informed us that the chargers were not ready yet, but did offer to plug us into a regular outlet. We felt like she went above and beyond to accommodate us. I did see her name mentioned quite a few times on reviews for her wonderful customer service. (If electric vehicle charging is important to you, I would call ahead of time to make sure they have it.)

One feature we found while staying here was that they had their own entrance gate to Garden Walk. That was a nice surprise that we could cut through the Garden Walk to get to the DLR to make the walk a bit shorter. It was nice to have easy access to the shops and restaurants.

They have expansive outdoor areas. A rooftop garden with tons and tons of seating, a rooftop pool that was beautiful and had its own bar. There was also a rooftop bar that looked over the DLR. The view was impressive!

Obviously, the hotel is brand new, so everything was pristine. My DH thought the room was nicer than the GCH. We booked a king room with a trundle bed. The trundle was in the couch in the room and was a twin size bed. The bathroom was so nice, I wish I had it at my house! LOL. Huge shower and soaker tub. The room was super spacious and beautifully appointed. Everything I would expect from a higher-end hotel.

The only negative I can think of is…the parking fee is SO expensive!!! $40 a night!! YIKES!! And, as I mentioned above, it was valet only, so we tipped on top of that.

I think this hotel will give the DLR hotels a run for their money. Yes, it is quite a far walk, and yes parking fees are higher, but if this room is cheaper or even similarly priced to the DLH or the GCH, we would seriously consider staying at the JW Marriott again. Especially, if in the future the DLR hotels no longer offer EMH.

Here is a video of the hotel:

Feel free to ask me any questions!

I stayed at the JW Marriott this past weekend and agree with everything you said.

The cut through from the lobby to GardenWalk is a time saver to DL, and the walk to Harbor entrance is around 15 minutes.

It’s a nice property and I hope it provides some competition to the GCH to keep Disney on their toes. Although I wonder whether the majority of guests here will be theme park visitors or if the majority of them will be convention attendees.

 

[crystal1313]

I stayed at the JW Marriott this past weekend and agree with everything you said.

The cut through from the lobby to GardenWalk is a time saver to DL, and the walk to Harbor entrance is around 15 minutes.

It’s a nice property and I hope it provides some competition to the GCH to keep Disney on their toes. Although I wonder whether the majority of guests here will be theme park visitors or if the majority of them will be convention attendees.

We were there this weekend too! Lol. We wondered the same thing about who this hotel was trying to cater to families or convention center attendees.

I agree about keeping Disney on their toes. I also wonder as time goes on and things start to go back to normal, what the rates will be like at the JW. Will they try to stay on par with Disney prices? Or stay a little bit less expensive or become more expensive? We have never stayed at a JW Marriott before. So I’m not sure how expensive they usually are. I would assume quite a bit.

Now I’m wondering how the new Westin will change things around Anaheim too. Should be interesting!

 

[ParkHopper1]

We wondered the same thing about who this hotel was trying to cater to families or convention center attendees.

While I am sure they will get some Disney traffic, the whole incentive program that is brining the higher end properties on line is focused on the Convention business. While Anaheim has a great convention center they severely lack in business level accommodations to attract some of the higher end conferences that currently pass up on Anaheim.

While most of the resort motels are more that adequate for us theme park attendees, those properties don't fly for the serious business clients. Even the Hilton and Marriott currently at the convention center are considered relatively mediocre at best.

 

[crystal1313]

While I am sure they will get some Disney traffic, the whole incentive program that is brining the higher end properties on line is focused on the Convention business. While Anaheim has a great convention center they severely lack in business level accommodations to attract some of the higher end conferences that currently pass up on Anaheim.

While most of the resort motels are more that adequate for us theme park attendees, those properties don't fly for the serious business clients. Even the Hilton and Marriott currently at the convention center are considered relatively mediocre at best.

Interesting! So the new Westin will help with that as well. Thanks for the info!

 

[cruisehopeful]

Were things open in Garden Walk? It's been years since I've walked through there, but I think about half of the shops were out of business at that time.

 

[dieumeye]

Were things open in Garden Walk? It's been years since I've walked through there, but I think about half of the shops were out of business at that time.

It’s pretty full as far as vacancy level goes. Mostly restaurants and entertainment venues (theater, arcade, flight simulator place, indoor kids play gym, a magic show place, etc). There are a few other shops - mostly art, gifts, souvenir type places.

As for COVID related, most of the restaurants were open (House of Blues is not) and several of the stores seems to be temporarily closed, or at least they didn’t appear to be open Saturday afternoon during what you would expect to be regular business hours.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

JW Marriott Anaheim

Hello! We recently took a trip to DTD and decided to majorly splurge and stay at the new JW Marriott in Anaheim. I thought I would post a quick review because I have seen others mentioning this new hotel.

This hotel is gorgeous! They knocked it out of the park in terms of design and “wow” factor. The lobby is incredible and the grounds are equally as nice.

The customer service here was also top notch. On par with Disney, and every single employee we came in contact with were super friendly and helpful. Here’s an example of the wonderful customer service:

One of the main reasons we booked this hotel was because I had looked on the website and they listed they had electric vehicle chargers. When we pulled up to valet (parking is valet only, even right now during the pandemic), we asked them to charge our car. Megan, a super friendly valet informed us that the chargers were not ready yet, but did offer to plug us into a regular outlet. We felt like she went above and beyond to accommodate us. I did see her name mentioned quite a few times on reviews for her wonderful customer service. (If electric vehicle charging is important to you, I would call ahead of time to make sure they have it.)

One feature we found while staying here was that they had their own entrance gate to Garden Walk. That was a nice surprise that we could cut through the Garden Walk to get to the DLR to make the walk a bit shorter. It was nice to have easy access to the shops and restaurants.

They have expansive outdoor areas. A rooftop garden with tons and tons of seating, a rooftop pool that was beautiful and had its own bar. There was also a rooftop bar that looked over the DLR. The view was impressive!

Obviously, the hotel is brand new, so everything was pristine. My DH thought the room was nicer than the GCH. We booked a king room with a trundle bed. The trundle was in the couch in the room and was a twin size bed. The bathroom was so nice, I wish I had it at my house! LOL. Huge shower and soaker tub. The room was super spacious and beautifully appointed. Everything I would expect from a higher-end hotel.

The only negative I can think of is…the parking fee is SO expensive!!! $40 a night!! YIKES!! And, as I mentioned above, it was valet only, so we tipped on top of that.

I think this hotel will give the DLR hotels a run for their money. Yes, it is quite a far walk, and yes parking fees are higher, but if this room is cheaper or even similarly priced to the DLH or the GCH, we would seriously consider staying at the JW Marriott again. Especially, if in the future the DLR hotels no longer offer EMH.

Here is a video of the hotel:

Feel free to ask me any questions!

Can you order food and drinks at the pool? We are staying there tomorrow and Friday. I am hoping to be able to go to the pool straight away Thurs night and just eat at the pool.

 

[crystal1313]

Can you order food and drinks at the pool? We are staying there tomorrow and Friday. I am hoping to be able to go to the pool straight away Thurs night and just eat at the pool.

I would say, Yes. The lobby bar is both inside and outside by the pool. They had really yummy food. We enjoyed the burger there. I’m not sure if they had pool service or not. But you can certainly walk up to the bar at the pool area and order. Have a great trip! (Here is the lobby bar menu)

https://qrcodes.pro/3bxYFs