The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park

We enjoyed a wonderful long weekend at the Ritz Carlton New York Central Park. Huge compliments to the exceptional check in experience. Front desk staff very professional and welcoming. They assigned us a very nice high floor room overlooking Central Park. Eric and Manny took exceptional care of of us in the lobby bar. Their knowledge and overall service were outstanding. Taina was a tremendous hostess at the restaurant. Zaheer did a great job with service at breakfast & lunch in the hotel restaurant. Compliments to the valet staff at the front entrance on tremendous service. Overall an awesome experience !

Awesome service! We had a special occasion and they made it very special for us. Highly recommend location!

Beautiful stay and the best French toast. Fantastic staff.

Let's start with the positives: the RC Central Park is impeccably located. Can't do much better than 59th St at 6th Ave. The staff are well trained and courteous, even opening the doors in unison. The hotel feels exclusive and intimate; this is not The Plaza with tourists running around. However, there are problems. I booked one night at a club level room. At check-in the agent claimed I had not booked a club room, thinking I was expecting lounge access due to my Marriott status (I am titanium elite). Having stayed at a few Ritz-Carltons, I know the drill about booking club rooms separately. He doubled down on this until I emailed my reservation proving I had booked club access. I understand mistakes happen, but for a property charging eye-watering room rates, you expect these details to be triple and quadruple checked. Furthermore, I was charged $30 for a suit press that was supposed to be provided complimentary with a club room. After calling the hotel, being put through to voicemail promising a 24 hour response and never receiving one, I finally got ahold of the manager who granted me a $100 credit for my stay. I'm fine with the resolution, but all of this ring and roll felt unnecessary and surprising for a supposedly world class hotel. On top of this, nothing about the common areas, room, or view tempted me to return. The park view for at least the first ten floors goes for little when you are just staring at pedestrians. I had a considerably better view six blocks over at the Sheraton. The room was fine, but lacking the modern control panel amenity at the St. Regis (for lights, alerting maid, privacy etc.) and it was oppressively dark. The bathtub, cramped into a corner between the shower and sink, has someone 6 feet and over folded in half. Bed was comfortable and I liked the straight on view of the television with seating area in-between, but ceilings are low and everything felt small. Great hotels in NY are a needle in a haystack, and this one does not earn the reputation it has.

So this was my first trip to NY in many years and I decided to splurge on a park view room at the ritz. Overall the experience was excellent. The club lounge came in handy. The room was very comfortable (although the light switches were a little confusing). Room service was very good. Overall service was excellent with a few minor issues that were manageable. I’ll stay here again soon.