The W New York — Times Square occupies the northwest corner of Broadway and West 47th Street, rising 57 floors above one of the world’s most recognisable intersections. Opened in 2001 as one of the first W Hotels properties outside of New York’s boutique scene, it positioned the brand firmly in the luxury lifestyle segment at a time when Times Square was completing its transformation into a global tourism destination. The building is impossible to miss: the illuminated W logo hangs over Broadway, and the hotel’s glass frontage at street level looks directly onto the theatre district. The check-in and lobby bar occupy the seventh floor, above the retail levels, accessed by elevators from the Broadway entrance — a layout that removes guests immediately from street noise and deposits them into the property’s signature lounge environment.

The W Times Square is a Marriott Bonvoy property under the W Hotels brand. W Hotels do not operate traditional club lounges, so there is no tier-based lounge access regardless of status. Elite benefits are delivered through the standard Marriott Bonvoy structure: Platinum members and above receive a complimentary breakfast or points as a welcome amenity, space-available room upgrades at check-in, and the brand’s Whatever/Whenever service promise. For points redemptions, the hotel prices dynamically and sits broadly in the mid-to-upper range for a New York full-service property — expensive in cash terms, but often competitive on a points-per-night basis given the location premium baked into cash rates.

Location

The W Times Square sits on the northwest corner of Broadway and West 47th Street, putting it slightly north of the most intense pedestrian concentration around 42nd Street — close enough to the full Times Square spectacle without being directly outside the busiest stretch. The theatre district is effectively on the doorstep: major Broadway houses on 45th, 46th, and 47th Streets are all within a two-to-three minute walk. For a hotel catering to leisure travellers with Broadway plans, the location argument is nearly impossible to beat.

Transport links are excellent. The N/Q/R/W subway lines stop at 49th Street, approximately two minutes on foot from the hotel entrance; the 1 train at 50th Street is similarly close. The full interchange at Times Square—42nd Street — serving A/C/E, B/D/F/M, N/Q/R/W, 1/2/3, and 7 lines — is a seven-minute walk south. LaGuardia Airport is approximately 10 miles; JFK approximately 16 miles. The Port Authority Bus Terminal, for coach connections including the AirTrain link to Newark, is less than a ten-minute walk. For a Manhattan hotel with no meaningful transit inconvenience, this is among the best-connected options in Midtown.

The trade-off for the address is noise. Times Square does not quieten after midnight, and reviews consistently flag sound penetration on lower floors. Guests on floors in the upper 40s and 50s report a materially quieter experience, and the views from those floors — spanning Midtown to the Hudson — provide significant added value. Requesting a high floor is the single most effective thing a guest can do at this property.

Rooms

The W Times Square has 509 rooms and suites across 57 floors, with 43 suite categories from the Fantastic Suite upwards. Standard Wonderful rooms are compact by international luxury standards but reasonable for New York, with oversized windows as the headline feature — on higher floors, views extend across Midtown, toward the Hudson or over the theatre district. The W signature bed with pillowtop mattress and 350-thread-count sheets is a consistent positive in guest reviews; the Davines bath amenities are a quality step up from the generic W brand offering of earlier years.

The suite portfolio is a meaningful reason to deploy Suite Night Awards here. The Marvelous Suite on high floors runs to approximately 625 sq ft with a separate living room, 1.5 bathrooms, and panoramic views over both Times Square and Broadway — an upgrade from a standard room that is genuinely noticeable rather than cosmetic. The Extreme Wow penthouse suite is the flagship two-bedroom configuration with skyline views from an upper floor. Titanium and Ambassador members have reported strong success using Suite Night Awards at this property, particularly for stays during the week rather than peak weekend periods.

A recurring theme in recent guest reviews is that rooms are showing their age. The hotel has not undergone a full guest-room renovation since 2011, and while the bones of the W design language remain — moody lighting, bold art, the signature bed — the finish in standard rooms can feel dated relative to the nightly rate. This is worth factoring in when deciding whether a cash stay at market rate offers equivalent value to a points redemption.

Dining and Bars

The dining programme at W Times Square is more substantial than many properties of comparable size, with four distinct venues spanning the lower floors of the building.

Blue Fin is the flagship restaurant, a two-floor seafood and sushi operation with a street-level sushi bar, upper-level cocktail bar, and two private dining rooms. The glass frontage looks directly onto Broadway, making it a visible Times Square landmark in its own right. The focus is on fresh seafood and sushi alongside broader American plates, and the venue has long been one of the more reliable dining options in a neighbourhood not universally known for food quality.

Dos Caminos is the hotel’s Mexican restaurant, distinguished by a 40-seat mezcal and margarita bar — a credible offering for a neighbourhood crawling with pre-theatre and late-night drinkers. The Living Room Bar on the seventh floor is the social centre of the hotel: a cocktail lounge with a design that pays tribute to the Times Square of earlier decades, complete with resident DJs on weekend evenings. The destination fee cash-back credit of $40/night is redeemable in the Living Room Bar on cash bookings, which reduces the sting of the fee for guests who use it.

Pool and Facilities

There is no pool at W New York — Times Square. The fitness centre on the tenth floor covers approximately 1,300 sq ft and is equipped with TechnoGym cardio machines including treadmills, ellipticals, and a recumbent bike, alongside free weights, resistance machines, flexibility stations, and a punching bag. For a hotel of 509 rooms this is a modest provision; guests with more intensive fitness requirements may find it limiting during peak hours. The hotel has approximately 2,300 sq ft of meeting and event space across six rooms on middle floors, several with Times Square views.

Marriott Bonvoy — Earning and Elite Benefits