I loved the hotel! The view of Central park was great. The rooms were a bit small, but not to bad. We had a great time.

My daughter and I loved this hotel. It was her first visit to New York and the staff was kind enough to upgrade us to a room with a great view of Central Park. My daughter worked out every morning in the fitness room while I stayed in our very comfortable bed. We walked to all the museums and our Broadway show, no cab needed. There is a great little pizza place just across the street (south doors). Real Italian style pizza. Our dinner was $8-total!We has a wonderful visit to one of the greatest cities in the world. I will stay here next time I come to NYC.

We stayed in deluxe queen overlooking park. While there was not much time to linger in the room while visiting NY, the view of the park from our room window was very nice, relaxing, and certainly added to our visit. The concierge was extremely helpful in any way we asked. Breakfast was a little expensive in the hotel, but the great service made up for it. Room was small, but typical for NY.

very good price/value

The Essex House has changed hands often in its storied history in New York; most recently it was a Westin. Now it's owned by a hotel group from Dubai.

These comments relate primarily to the Westin years. Our last stay was February 2005, when we were in town to see Christo's "The Gates." Our first stay at The Essex House was in the late 1980s, when we were in town to appear on the old Phil Donahue Show. Remember the advertising line, "Guest stay at New York's Essex House?" Well, that was us.

Our love affair with the Essex House expanded when we moved away from New York. Every year we'd come back for the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, and since we were not "out-of-towners," we needed a place to stay. The Essex House became our New York Thanksgiving Headquarters.

It's on Central Park South, about a block and a half from where we'd watch the parade (at Columbus Circle). And after about the third stay, they'd stop asking us about the stepladder we crammed into the elevator (parade, little kid, stepladder—get the picture).

The rooms are large (by New York standards) and very well appointed. During the Westin years, they got even better, with the Westin's Heavenly Bed.

The lobby, hall, and room decor is exquisite. The staff is attentive and the food at Cafe Botanica is wonderful. We never could afford dinner at Alain Ducasse's, but their reputation is fantastic.

Since we are now marching in the Macy's parade (as balloon handlers), we've moved our base of operations down more towards 34th Street (where folks congregate at 6am on parade day). Our new place is the Doubletree Guest Suites at Times Square. It's convenient, but it can't possibly compete with the Essex House.