The price was competitive, the Theatre District and Subway were close
We have stayed at 5 different places around Times Square. Our stay at The Courtyard by Marriott Times Square South would fall about in the middle of our experiences. It is a good deal for the money, but we felt a little too much of the corporate big chain feel and felt like that took away from our New York experience.
None of this is to blame the Courtyard by Marriott Times Square South as they did a nice job and were very gracious to us. We were first assigned a room with a back "court" view which was depressing and dark. We asked to be moved and they said they couldn't do it that night as they were booked up, but would do it in the morning. It all worked out just fine and we appreciated all of the friendly assistance. The room was fine, a typical NYC Marriott room - smaller than elsewhere, but this is NYC. It was bigger than two of the other places we stayed for the same cost. We especially liked that it had a fridge, and unlike the Waldorf-Astoria, they didn't chide us with nasty notes if we put something in the fridge (heaven forbid if the guests actually used their fridge!). The ice tray for the fridge was about 3 inches by 6 inches and the cubes the size of large buttons. Needless to say, I made the trip down to the lower level on crowded and long wait elevators (also typical in lower cost NYC hotels) to visit the single ice machine. I wish there was an ice machine on each floor, or even every other floor!
Our room had a big chip in the floor and few other small dents and rough spots, but was generally fine. We had a hard time getting the alarm clock set or the TV to come on (it took several on/off cycles and then it was OK), but everything else worked ok. They did have the little Marriott store that came in handy, but neglected to stock the local newspaper in it, so we had to trounce around outside in the rain trying to find out what the local news and events were. They provided the weekday USA today for free, which is fine until you want to have some of the local experience (see above).
They only gave a room with two people one regular coffee per night. I am not sure what that was all about, maybe a new means of economizing?
On the positive side, the hotel was very close to two different subway line entrances and to Times Square. Also Bryant Park is only 1/2 a block away and it was a great place to take a bagel and coffee for breakfast and enjoy the people, the sun (if you are lucky), and the New York experience.
All in all, I would recommend this hotel for the cost conscience traveler who wants to be close to Times Square and doesn't mind the big chain experience.