I have stayed at many JW's, usually they are very good properties. The fisrt night I lay down on the bed it felt old, too soft - thin mattress. I requested a change of mattress and instaed they put two doors (yes two doors) between the mattress and the box spring to make it more firm but did not work. Result a bad back pain. For the rate they charge, I am sure they can change the mattresses regularly or buy better ones. Food was expensive and average quality

Have stayed at this Hotel as well as most of the other luxury hotels in CCS Venezuela. I have been visiting Caracas about 6 to 8 weeks/ times a year since 1999.

The lack of Hotel rooms coupled with the currency controls in the country have caused room rates to sky rocket and service to dive. I can accept paying the high prices since this is market driven but the lax service really is a reflextion on the management.

Some examples of problems I have encountered have included the room not available. Room type reserved not offered. Corporate rate not honored even when booking confirmed at time of booking. Keys constantly deactivating. Generally bad service.

My company encourages us to use this hotel because of the location. Prior to this we would use the Gran Melia which for the most part has excellent service but is in Sabana grande which is a high crime area. In reality all of Caracas should be considered a high crime area and I am not sure I would encourage anyone to walk around anywhere in the city. I do not recommend this hotel and for the most part do not recommend traveling to Caracas unless absolutely necessary since all of the decent Hotels are a total rip off.

You'll notice from reading reviews of hotels on this site that generally the hotels in Caracas are really expensive and fraught with weaknesses.

The Marriott is a good business hotel, and is a good choice among a bad selection.

Because the city is so very expensive, weaknesses stand out. At about $300 a night, one expects excellence, but that's not what you get. The black market rate of Bolivares is over twice the official rate, so everything is about two or three times more expensive than it should be.

There is no fraud here, as reported at the Melia. The amenities are good: quick internet, an OK gym, and so on. It always seemed to be a relief to arrive here from the chaotic and incredibly noisy streets.

Many of the complaints in other reviews appeared in my visit to the Marriott: rooms that were not cleaned properly, keys that deactivate daily, hyper-expensive food that is mediocre and matched by weak and sometimes snotty service, and so on. For breakfast, two eggs, cold toast, weak coffee and fruit costs $40. The rooms are OK - but the furniture is not particularly comfortable and looks worn, the bed has a dip in the middle, and so on.

The hotel was censored last fall for not paying its taxes.

The most unfair aspect of all of this - and not just the Marriott - is that black market prices are charged, yet guests must pay official rates. Getting black market cash can be dangerous - counterfeit, and so on.

Overall, the hotel is probably the best among a bad lot. The Centro Lido and Caracas Palace are more expensive and claim to be good, with the Lido reviewed a couple of years ago and no reviews on this site for the Palace - so who knows what you'll get there.

This is my third time at the Marriott, and I am resigned to it.

I wrote a review of the JWMarriott Caracas a couple years and have stayed there a few times since. Just like in the title of this review ... it's the same hotel, different floor. I generally like the hotel (though can be pricy) but has always been a reliable, convenient and quality place to stay. Is it a 5 star? Well, I don't stay in enough of them to know. Since I have friends in Venezuela, I took my nephew for his high school graduation gift to experience the people and the country. We stayed at several hotels in Venezuela (including the Hotel Avila in Caracas - which I reviewed). I decided to stay here the last three nights of the trip for a little luxury before our flight back to the US and a more central city location. When we arrived there were several bell persons waiting to take our luggage to the front desk and room. And though all were pleasant, and the front desk personnel were friendly and helpful. Since the last night we were going to stay in a suite, I asked to be upgraded but there was none available for the first two nights. Not a big deal ... we were taken to our room on an upper level facing El Avila. The view wasn't as nice as previous visits (since new buildings are springing up around the neighborhood blocking the mountain a bit) but the room was fine for us: two beds, desk, chairs, tv, etc with the nice size bathroom including separate shower and bathtub plus amenities. The beds in the Marriott are very firm but have a perfectly soft upper layer that one just sinks into. Love them. We went down to the pool for a while ... not very large (and as others state) it is a bit noisy. But since I wouldn't expect a tropical style pool with bar here. We walked to the Lido shopping mall (a couple blocks east), had dinner and shopped for a Leones cap and shirt (the Caracas pro baseball team). This isn't a big mall but has an assortment of regular stores, restaurants and services. The biggie mall is Sambil a mile or two east with hundreds of stores. We took a hotel cab (and yes they can be expensive) to El Hatillo to eat lunch and check out the huge crafts shop Hannsi Centro Artesanal. We walked to the Metro to ride to other parts of the city as well. On the third day we moved to a Suite 201 which has a kitchen area, living room, balcony, bedroom and oversized bathroom. Of course it has all the amenities as well. There was also a fruit welcome basket and the rooms were spotless. We asked for sheets for the sofa bed (for my nephew) and three staff members came to prepare the bed within minutes. And after I had to the US I received an email from the hotel stating I'd left a couple items in the room (shirt and sandals). They allowed my friend to pick them up after I emailed his name for identification. As this is a business style hotel, it has a large and rather unfriendly lobby. Nothing quaint about it but it was serving as a great place for groups to mingle after their meetings at the various sofas and chairs. If you are looking for a cute and cozy hotel this one is not for you. However, if you are looking for a respectable hotel in a good location for the business person then this one is perfect.