The Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad

Enjoyed a recent four night stay at the Nomad Ritz. Was able to book three nights with credit card free night certificates and paid for a fourth night with club lounge access. Had to recheck in each day since each night was a separate booking. Only the last night we were upgraded to a Madison suite with a suite night certificate. The standard room on the 14th floor was fine. No view to speak of. The Madison suite on the 33rd floor was amazing. Could see the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building among other sights. Club lounge offerings were superior to those at the Central Park property. And unlike some properties guests may pour their own wine and liquor. We met David, the lounge manager, and were really impressed with his passion for the operation and guests’ happiness. One guest was lent a guitar for his stay from a staffer. I was not contacted by the property prior to my stay like I usually am at other Ritz Carltons. We found almost all of the front desk staff helpful. Nubeluz and Zaytinya were superior experiences. Make reservations for the former far in advance of visiting. Zaytinya had plenty of tasty vegetarian options. The Nomad will be our new holiday tradition in New York. Like that we can walk from the LIRR to the property with minimal effort.

We were in the City for 5 days to celebrate my birthday with friends. We could not have felt more welcomed and taken care of. The front desk and doormen really seem to enjoy their job. The location is amazing. Nubeluz has unbelievable views and cocktails. RW line is steps away. Plenty of awesome restaurants, coffee and bagel shops near by. Thank you so much for helping us celebrate!

Wow! Just wow…Let me start by saying this is my 9th Ritz Carlton and became my number one after this stay. From the moment I reached out to the concierge about our friend anniversary(I’m very extra haha), they worked flawlessly to make arrangements and special surprises a reality. Before checking in, I upgraded the stay to club level and wow…I’ve been to multiple RC clubs and this hands down has to be one of the best! Quick breakdown of the highlights below: Pre-Arrival correspondence: Flawless. No notes. Every email was answered promptly, professionally, and with real warmth. The RC “can-do” attitude really shinned in all aspects from booking dinner, room amenities, preferences, and answering all questions. Staff: BLOWN AWAY! Every person I interacted with before and during(Quennie/Valentina/Trevor/Stephanie/All the Lounge Staff…the list is endless) made my friend Lindsay and I feel so special. Even room service knew it was our friend anniversary when I ordered my favorite, late night chicken tenders! I told Quennie before checking out this has become my number one RC! Rooms/Decor: Sexy. Cool. Sleek. So Clean. We were upgraded via NUA to the Madison level and holy f*ck…the room was unreal! I’ve attached photos of the bathroom tub that would make Meredith Marks(Real Housewicss of SLC want to move in ASAP.) I can see why many call this building home. When can I move in!? Club: Full transparency - It’s not cheap. BUT - The value is unmatched. The service, food offerings(hello, Jose Andres), top chef liquor, wine, and VIEWS. I would do it all over again. Fitness Center: Medium sized but very clean with Peloton bikes and water for days. Elevators: LIGHTENING fast. You barely wait and they whisk you right up to the floor. From service, staff, food, and overall experience…this even beats RC Central Park. When I come back in December, this will be the hotel I stay at again. Thank you thank you thank you RC Nomad for making this stay so special :-)

So the good news is this hotel has some great infrastructure, rooms with great views, and several trendy restaurants and bars. However it ends there. Check-in at 4PM was quick and efficient (no status recognition of any kind here I am a Plat - not that I expected it) and I was quickly shown to my room: 1909. Thats when things quickly went down hill. While do have mild allergies - I rarely take anything for them (not even OTC meds) and within an hour of being in the room I started having an itchy throat and eye irritation. I couldn't figure out what was going on and continued to prepare for dinner later that evening. Then I noticed black spots around the AC (pictured below) around the air conditioning which was directly blowing on me. This is not what you expect from any hotel - esp not one that retails for 1k a night. I immediately went to the front desk and requested a room change at 5:21 PM; I was promised a room change. I wanted to get this done as quickly as possible as I needed to go buy clothes for dinner and drinks with my friends later that evening starting at 7:30 PM. Over an hour went by - no one called or came up to help me change rooms. No one even came by to check the dangerous health hazard growing in my room! The apathy either meant they didn't care or more disconcertingly knew about the mold and gave me that room anyway! I called back after over an hour. No apology, no sense of urgency to help me change rooms - I think they just flat out forgot; which for a health hazard is kind of bad. I finally got into my new room at ~6:50. I now could not go shopping for khakis and a dress shirt if I wanted to make dinner. While the place we were dining at was casual - this would become a problem later. After dinner I tried to get into the rooftop bar at the hotel with my friends but was denied due to the dresscode. lol. At this point I had been defeated. I ended up returning to my new room and turning in for the night. I slept fine and the views from the hotel were nice but overall this place was massive miss. To the hotels credit housekeeping knocked on the door at 11 AM on the dot the next day. Concluding thoughts: I would describe this place as an impotent bull - it has the tools to succeed but just doesn't have the drive to do it. I would strongly advise the immunocompromised, people with small children, and elite athletes to either avoid staying in this place or carefully inspect the room and bathrooms. While I cant say if this was an isolated incident or a widespread problem, the lack of urgency here was very concerning. I have attached a view from the room as well as the colonies around the AC unit in the original room.

This is third time that I’ve stayed at the hotel, and it is the best stay yet. We stayed in a Nomad Suite. It had plenty space and beautiful modern decor. What really stood out was the service. Cynthia at the front desk and the lovely gentlemen working the door are absolute stars! We had a minor snafu with the lock on our door malfunctioning multiple times, but the hotel handled it very well. Location is fabulous with delightful restaurants and shops within walking distance. We will be back again and not soon enough!