Yelp U.
Yelp
My overall experience at W Aspen failed to impress. I'm a Marriott-loyal customer, and I have stayed at different hotels across Marriott's multi-tiered brands. W is part of the Marriott brand luxury hotels, and with a high price, my expectations are high.
Pros:
Location, location, location. This hotel is steps away from the gondola plaza. Or when riding downhill on the Little Nell trail, slight right to the Aspen Alps Park (Google Maps) just before the gondola station, and you'd be across the street to the hotel front door.
Another thing I liked about this hotel is that the hot tub and pool on the rooftop are available 24/7. In addition to the rooftop views, open 24/7 is notable. Unfortunately, the towel cabinet was empty when I went up at 7 am. I wasn't sure why the management keeps the facility open 24 hours a day if they couldn't keep it guest-ready at all times.
The BMW X5 (and X7) airport transfers are a plus if they show up!
As expected for the price range, this recently built hotel looks wonderful, mostly very clean (except for a spec of tobacco or weed in the room), and has excellent amenities. The check-in was fairly easy. The food at the restaurant was decent.
Con:
This hotel is missing the "luxury" customer service you could expect at the price range. I've experienced better from a premium or even basic hospitality business. I believe this component is a problem and largely influenced my rating because it's the service(s) that make the experience primarily a luxury.
The staffs are not attentive to details. I called the hotel a week before I arrive. I gave my flight arrival information and requested an airport transfer. You might have guessed correctly: no one showed up at the airport on my arrival until after I called the hotel.
The staffs are not friendly and helpful. E.g., the staff does not greet at all. I was at this hotel for four nights, walked in/out of the building, saw staffs at the hallways/public areas; no one said hi or good morning/evening. With a smile behind the face mask due to COVID, greeting someone might be the only, if not the best, way to show friendliness. Also, no one at the front door ever asked if they could help me find an open slot on the ski racks, help stack my board, or find my board when I was heading out---that is a failure for a "ski valet" service. The ski valet is included in the resort fee, so technically, it wasn't even a free service.
The staffs do not demonstrate the ability to anticipate guest needs. I would not expect this type of service if I was staying in a premium or basic hotel. But this is where "luxury" customer service comes in and makes the hotel experience different than others. Mainly because this hotel's staffs are not friendly and talking to guests, the hotel barely met this expectation. For example, only one staff, a tall gentleman, stood out and made a difference during my stay. My card key stopped working, so I had to request a new card. While a lady at the front desk helps set up a new key, the gentleman jumped in and asked if there is anything else they could do to help or I need... I just wanted a new key at the time, but his offering led me to realize that I could use a bottle of water. Such a little thing made the experience better. But unfortunately, only one person in five days/four nights.
Staffs at the restaurant (Living Room) are not any better. In for a late lunch, no one asked if I need to be seated, but I asked the bartender if my party could sit outside. The bartender said yes, so my party sat at the empty patio to find all the heaters and fireplace turned off. The server didn't offer to switch on, so we requested. Then it turned out that all the portable heaters ran out of gas. This level of customer service gets worse. First, the server that came to get the order answered a question that essentially implied talking shit about the restaurant manager. I find that rude (to the manager) but hilarious. Second, I guess there was a shift change between servers after my party had placed an order. The outgoing server left without a word and did not introduce the new server. The incoming server (#2) introduced themselves and had to reconfirm the order details. After dining, server #2 handed the check upon request and never came back to pick it up. Just a little background why this is a problem, I dined with someone not staying at the hotel who insisted on splitting the charge. That someone also had to leave immediately (time-constrained). So, I just did a room-charge since we couldn't pay by credit card and waited. Server #2 finally approached us and asked if my party were OK while we were walking out. In the conversation, the server said, "I assumed you were going to do room-charge."
Conclusion:
After weighing my overall experience at W Aspen, I decided to give it a one-star rating. Despite its superb location and awesome rooftop hot tub/pool, the nearly $1000/night for this Courtyard experience is just not worth it.