Review: JW Marriott Bucharest, Romania

Review: JW Marriott Bucharest, Romania

NAME: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
LOCATION: Bucharest, Romania
DATE: October 2019
REVIEW RATING:
BEN SAYS: This classic city hotel has excellent amenities, but the location leaves a bit to be desired
19


We spent our last night in Romania at the JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel. As much as I loved some of the smaller properties we stayed at, I was kind of happy to be back at a major chain hotel for a night with easy access to coffee, a great shower, and fast internet.

Booking The JW Marriott Bucharest

The JW Marriott Bucharest is a Category 4 Bonvoy property, and for our date a free night would have cost 35,000 points. That worked out perfectly, because Tiffany and I both had free night certificates through Marriott’s co-branded credit card, valid at a property costing up to 35,000 points per night.

The paid rate for our stay would have been 235EUR per room, so that represented a great use of the certificate, given how much lower the annual fee on the card is than that.

JW Marriott Bucharest Review

We only had a fairly short stay at the JW Marriott, as we arrived in the afternoon and departed the next morning, and we did do a bit of touring in the afternoon.

The JW Marriott Bucharest is about a 30 minute drive from the international airport (we dropped off our car there before going into the city). The hotel has over 400 rooms, and certainly meets the “grand” description.

JW Marriott Bucharest exterior

The hotel’s lobby was beautifully maintained, and reception was easy to find.


JW Marriott Bucharest lobby


JW Marriott Bucharest lobby

There was also a small shopping mall of sorts just off the lobby, with some high end stores.


JW Marriott Bucharest shopping


JW Marriott Bucharest shopping

At check-in I was helped by Alper, who was incredibly friendly. He explained I had been upgraded to a family suite on account of my Ambassador status, asked if I needed late check-out, and also familiarized me with the executive lounge, which I had access to.

JW Marriott Bucharest Family Suite

I was assigned room 846, located on the eighth floor.


JW Marriott Bucharest hallway

The suite was absolutely massive. There was an entryway with a half bath and a small kitchen on the right.


JW Marriott Bucharest family suite entryway


JW Marriott Bucharest family suite bathroom


JW Marriott Bucharest suite kitchen

Then there was a large living room with a dining table with four chairs, a couch and two chairs, and a desk.


JW Marriott Bucharest family suite living area


JW Marriott Bucharest family suite living area


JW Marriott Bucharest family suite living area


JW Marriott Bucharest family suite desk


JW Marriott Bucharest family suite living area

The minibar setup (including a coffee machine) was along the wall closest to the entrance.


JW Marriott Bucharest family suite living area

There was a welcome amenity consisting of a bottle of rose and a fruit plate.


JW Marriott Bucharest welcome amenity

Since this was a “family” suite it had two bedrooms — talk about a completely unnecessary upgrade! Closer to the entrance was the second bedroom, which had two double beds.

JW Marriott Bucharest family suite second bedroom


JW Marriott Bucharest family suite second bedroom

Then further into the room was the main bedroom, with a king bed.


JW Marriott Bucharest family suite main bedroom


JW Marriott Bucharest family suite main bedroom

The main bathroom was nice enough, though nothing special. It had a single sink, a tub, a walk-in shower, and a toilet.


JW Marriott Bucharest suite bathroom


JW Marriott Bucharest suite bathtub


JW Marriott Bucharest suite toilet


JW Marriott Bucharest suite shower

Toiletries were from Aromatherapy Associates.

JW Marriott Bucharest suite toiletries

The room had views of the city — Bucharest isn’t necessarily the most picturesque city (at least after being in Transylvania for nearly a week), but the views were still quite nice.


JW Marriott Bucharest suite view

Wifi in the room was fast and free, so all around I have nothing but good things to say about the room, especially given the awesome upgrade.

JW Marriott Bucharest Executive Lounge

The JW Marriott Bucharest executive lounge is also located on the eighth floor, and is open daily from 6:30AM until 9:30PM. The lounge has the following services:

  • Breakfast from 6:30AM to 10:30AM
  • Afternoon tea from 3:00PM to 5:30PM
  • Evening happy hour and snacks from 5:30PM to 7:30PM
  • Open bar from 7:30PM to 9:30PM

The lounge was spacious, and never really got busy. There were some dining tables deep into the lounge, then some couches facing TVs, and then also some high-top seating.


JW Marriott Bucharest executive lounge


JW Marriott Bucharest executive lounge


JW Marriott Bucharest executive lounge


JW Marriott Bucharest executive lounge


JW Marriott Bucharest executive lounge

The afternoon tea selection was nice but not substantial, and consisted of chips, snack mix, fresh fruit, pastries, cakes, and some scones.


JW Marriott Bucharest club lounge afternoon tea

JW Marriott Bucharest club lounge afternoon tea

Then the evening selection was brought out, which included mostly cold options, though also had a few hot dishes. All alcoholic drinks were served by the lounge staff.


JW Marriott Bucharest club lounge evening happy hour


JW Marriott Bucharest club lounge evening happy hour


JW Marriott Bucharest club lounge evening happy hour


JW Marriott Bucharest club lounge evening happy hour

JW Marriott Bucharest Breakfast

The hotel’s signature restaurant is JW Steakhouse, which is one level above the lobby. As a club guest they let you have breakfast in the restaurant rather than the lounge, which is awesome (and not required). Restaurants almost always have better spreads than lounges, so it’s nice when you get the best of both worlds.

Breakfast in the restaurant was served daily from 6:30AM until 11AM.


JW Marriott Bucharest restaurant


JW Marriott Bucharest restaurant


JW Marriott Bucharest restaurant

Breakfast consisted of an excellent buffet, along with cooked to order eggs and other hot goodies. I’ll let the pictures speak mostly for themselves.


JW Marriott Bucharest breakfast buffet


JW Marriott Bucharest breakfast buffet


JW Marriott Bucharest breakfast buffet


JW Marriott Bucharest breakfast buffet


JW Marriott Bucharest breakfast buffet


JW Marriott Bucharest breakfast buffet


JW Marriott Bucharest breakfast buffet


JW Marriott Bucharest breakfast buffet


JW Marriott Bucharest breakfast buffet

JW Marriott Bucharest Gym & Pool

The JW Marriott Bucharest has World Class Healthy Academy in the basement. This is an outside gym that is used by locals, but hotel guests have complimentary access.


JW Marriott Bucharest gym

The gym was large, had great equipment, and even had a pool and spa. I went at 6:30AM thinking it would allow me to get pictures, but the gym was packed even shortly after opening. So I wasn’t able to get pictures, so I’ll instead share the below pictures from the hotel’s website.

JW Marriott Bucharest gym


JW Marriott Bucharest pool

JW Marriott Bucharest Bottom Line

While we only had a quick stop in Bucharest, the JW Marriott was great. The service was friendly, the hotel is beautiful, I got a great upgrade (Tiffany also got an executive suite upgrade as a Titaninum member), the lounge was good, and as elite members we even got restaurant breakfast.

I have heard that the hotel maybe doesn’t have the best location if you’re looking to explore the city. The hotel is close to parliament, which is convenient, since it’s one of the biggest tourist attractions in Bucharest. But otherwise the surrounding area isn’t necessarily that charming.

I’d stay here again in a heartbeat.

Conversations (19)
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  1. Boraxo Guest

    Stayed here a few years ago. The hotel is not downtown and thus not particularly convenient for tourists who want to be walking distance from restaurants and sights. But location is offset by the quality (even average rooms are superb) the lounge and very cheap taxis. If you a more central property try the intercon.

  2. Caroline Guest

    Wo i am so impressed by the Kitchen in the family suite ! So many kitchen cabinets (were they full of pots & pans, dishes or food?)but on the photo i could only see a small micro wave.

    See, if all the hotels provided a fully equipped kitchen in their suites,people would not book airbnbs apartments when they travel with kids or friends but would go to such hotels .

  3. Eliteflyer Guest

    You and Tiffany should have looked into staying in the same suite given you were upgraded to a two bedroom suite in any event.

  4. Ralph4878 Guest

    I get that you used a certificate to book this property, but...
    Definitely not in a great location if you are planning to tour the city by foot.
    And that price if paying? Suite upgrade or not, much better located properties at the 5-star level - with far more character - like the Grand Hotel Continental, the InterContinental, and the Athenee Plaza Hilton, can be had for well under $200 (and, sometimes, under $120) regularly.

  5. Tom Guest

    You say this was 30 minutes from the airport, but is it downtown? The old town is the best place to stay.

  6. M Guest

    Sounds like the kind of place no one actually trying to enjoy Bucharest would stay. One thing a Marriott loyalist ought to learn is to skip Marriott hotels when the location is utterly charmless.

    What’s the purpose of travel but to see the things you are going to see?

  7. KDENFlyer Guest

    @The nice Paul

    It is just you

  8. pixielott46 Guest

    how did you get access to exec lounge? Ambassador checking into the JW Cancun got laughed out!

  9. Mark Guest

    I was going to say exactly the same thing The Nice Paul! Just call a toilet a toilet...

  10. Azamaraal Diamond

    I mentioned earlier that as a lowly silver we got upgraded to an exec floor suite on a free night Marriott Credit Card stay (before they left Canada unfortunately)

    If there was ANY REASON to like Bonvoy the Bucharest JW Marriott is the only one that I am aware of.

    Awesome stay and glad you had the same experience we did. We had stayed before in the Bucharest Doubletree which unfortunately could not come anywhere...

    I mentioned earlier that as a lowly silver we got upgraded to an exec floor suite on a free night Marriott Credit Card stay (before they left Canada unfortunately)

    If there was ANY REASON to like Bonvoy the Bucharest JW Marriott is the only one that I am aware of.

    Awesome stay and glad you had the same experience we did. We had stayed before in the Bucharest Doubletree which unfortunately could not come anywhere near the awesomeness of the JW and it cost a bunch more.

    Great Hotel and glad to hear they are just as rewarding as they were with us lowly plebes.

  11. JJ Guest

    I stayed there in April. I felt the same way. Overall it’s a nice place.

  12. Omer Guest

    I remember I stayed there maybe 2 years ago for 5 nights for 60000 points. Used to be a-15000 points a night hotel....Then it rose to 20,000 and now 25,000

  13. Mathias Guest

    Was there anything inside the paper bag next to the welcome amenities?

  14. KR Guest

    Beautiful hotel--the room, amenities, breakfast and lounge/restaurant buffets.
    How was the coffee? When I was there in Bucharest, the coffee (in several establishments) was awful--the worst I ever had. Tasted like dishwater. Hope yours was better.
    Loved your Romanian trip, and Tiffany has good taste when it comes to picking out the hotels!

  15. Robert Glanville Guest

    We stayed there as Titanium members July 4-7 using Prestige 4 night benefit. Paid $360 all in. Same room view as you but 1bdrm. The happy hour and free food at the lounge every night was great! Nothing pleasant to see around the hotel though. Indoor pool was packed every time I used it. Could still manage laps though. Gym was big enough. Def stay again at the same cheapter rate :o)

  16. Sam Guest

    Those bathroom tiles are hideous - look so dated and cheap. It's a shame in an otherwise nice bathroom.

  17. The nice Paul Diamond

    Is it just me, or are American euphemisms getting out of control? It’s bad enough that toilets or lavatories are called bathrooms, when none of them contains a bath. But now we have a “half bath”? It’s so wince-inducingly coy.

    Still, glad you made it safely back to your natural habitat of the big hotel chain. ;)

  18. Denis Guest

    Just 4 years ago it was Cat2 and cost 10,000 points. WOW WOW WOW

  19. Karl Guest

    Thanks for the review! I’m heading there this weekend, and at least now I know what to expect. Seeing your photos, I feel like the room is tired and in need of some reno. And that’s already the family suite, how much more the basic rooms. Nonetheless, I appreciate the thorough review!

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Boraxo Guest

Stayed here a few years ago. The hotel is not downtown and thus not particularly convenient for tourists who want to be walking distance from restaurants and sights. But location is offset by the quality (even average rooms are superb) the lounge and very cheap taxis. If you a more central property try the intercon.

0
Caroline Guest

Wo i am so impressed by the Kitchen in the family suite ! So many kitchen cabinets (were they full of pots & pans, dishes or food?)but on the photo i could only see a small micro wave. See, if all the hotels provided a fully equipped kitchen in their suites,people would not book airbnbs apartments when they travel with kids or friends but would go to such hotels .

0
Eliteflyer Guest

You and Tiffany should have looked into staying in the same suite given you were upgraded to a two bedroom suite in any event.

0
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