Points Miles and Bling (blog) contains referral or affiliate links. The blog receives a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your continued support. Credit Card issuers are not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details, current product information, and Terms and Conditions, click the link included.
The Ritz-Carlton (RC) brand is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio, which I enjoyed the most as an elite member until I got “Bonvoyed” by Ritz-Carlton Central Park. This Ritz has unbelievably low standards and does not reflect those of other RC’s worldwide. I would have stayed at the nearby Essex JW if it weren’t for the high RC brand reputation.
About Ritz-Carlton Central Park
Here’s a little bit of history: while many of us know some of the oldest Ritz hotels are in London, Paris, and Montréal, there was a Ritz that opened its doors at Madison and 46th in New York City (NYC), in 1911 and was owned by Harvard University from 1941 to 1951.
In 1982, NYC welcomed the return of the Ritz brand at 110 Central Park South, which then switched to Westin, Intercontinental, eventually becoming a luxury residential building in 2006.
The current Ritz Carlton Central Park opened in 1930 and was named Hotel St. Moritz. The property changed hands a few times until it was purchased by the infamous Donald Trump in 1985, who sold it within three years. He attempted to convert the building into a condominium but failed. In 1999, Ritz Carlton management purchased the building and remodelled it into a combination of hotel and condominium.
Stay at Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park
It was a weekend getaway for me and an opportunity to try two new hotels in Manhattan: the Conrad Midtown and the Ritz-Carlton. Last year, I had a great stay at the St. Regis New York and an okay stay at the Park Hyatt New York.
Many elite members prefer not to stay at Ritz or Edition because breakfast is not part of the perks for an elite member. I don’t mind the lack of complimentary breakfast as I usually fast in the morning. I make a few exceptions at hotels like the Ritz-Carlton Kyoto.
I used 90k Marriott points and paid an additional $450 to stay at the Ritz Central Park. The check-in staff was upfront about my choices, and I appreciated that. As an elite member, I could get the Avenue View Suite or Deluxe room free of charge. Or, I would have to pay the additional $450 for the Grand Park view room or $2050 for a grand park view suite. I opted for a grand park view room to enjoy a Central Park sunrise!
The Room
The room was spacious, but the decor was dated. The most recent renovation seemed rushed and budgeted – a TV against a painting in a five-star hotel?
Based on the pictures from the official website, my room seemed to have skipped the renovation. A single sofa in the room appeared sad and lonely.
The Amenities
I was displeased that this Ritz-Carlton did not have the iconic Asprey lineup. Instead, they use a brand typically provided in mid-tier hotels, Acca Kappa. The worst part was that they still had the Asprey-branded sewing kits and combs. Penny-pinching at a Ritz-Carlton? The hotel website still displays Asprey amenities. I wanted to sympathize with the un-Ritz-like behaviour post-pandemic, but it was just a sign of the worst Ritz experience.
The room was on the hotel’s top floor and had no tea or coffee amenities by default. The bar had overpriced alcohol, soft drinks, and three free water bottles. What is missing? A coffee machine or a tea kettle. So I called the hotel, and Denise from in-room dining informed me that it was an on-demand service now, and she was not too happy that I requested both a tea kettle and a coffee machine. She told me that they were out of stock for coffee machines. I politely asked, “Ritz-Carlton NYC should be one of the prime and flagship properties under Ritz-Carlton’s portfolio, and you do not have a coffee machine for me?” She said sorry and no simultaneously and affirmatively.
I then sent a message to the Marriott app and reported the situation. Some minutes later, a lovely gentleman brought a cart with a tea kettle and a filtered coffee machine, along with a big bag of wholesome coffee powder, lemon wedges, honey, and tea bags. When I saw the coffee machine, I quickly realized the last time I used a machine like this was when I had just started university while staying at a homestay. Moreover, this machine features a reusable filter – God knows how often it has been used and how often it gets sanitized. As someone who had just recovered from a ten-day penicillin bacteria-related illness treatment, I had to buy coffee elsewhere. I missed my Jura ENA 8 at home profoundly.
The Bathroom
Whenever I visit New York, I tend to walk a lot. I walked 18km the day before and 3km the second day. I was hoping to take a bath overlooking Central Park. To my surprise, the plug in the bathtub was not working, and the water kept flowing to the drain. I regret wasting a significant amount of water due to a faulty bathtub. I also reported this issue, and the hotel resolved it a few hours before I checked out of my room.
The View
As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, I paid extra for a view for this stay. I am happy the hotel fulfilled my request to assign me a top-floor room. And then the disappointment came: the windows had a transparent version of Yayoi Kusama’s art. Taking a photo or video was impossible without the infinite dots overlaying it. It reminded me of the DSLR era when I had to clean my image sensor periodically to remove those artificial and unpleasant circles of confusion.
Again, even though not contractually binding, my expectation for paying extra for a room with a view would include a clean or openable window so I could take photos or make time-lapse videos. Unfortunately, this was not the case. My remedy to this issue was to tell myself that I was probably unlucky as always and that the hotel would probably clean their windows soon, and I just happened to stay here at the wrong time. But, this is a Ritz-Carlton in New York City.
Conclusion
Over the years, Ritz-Carlton has been one of the most stable chains I have stayed at and probably the one chain where I had the most amazing experiences collectively. Admittedly, I have only stayed in prime locations or at more recent and most celebrated ones. Unfortunately, the streak has ended with Ritz-Carlton New York City; the hotel itself does not fit with the brand. In the future, I will stick with other chains if I ever want to stay around Central Park.
15 comments
My husband and I stayed at the St. Moritz in 1999 when visiting New York and it was the time of the millennium. Even though the hotel was not up to its name, I enjoyed the visit and the proximity to Central Park. For a Florida girl, and the time of the year, it is a fond memory. I couldn’t help but think of St. Moritz, Switzerland either and I used to smoke St. Moritz cigarettes. Fond memories.
Love it! That sounds like a special trip and memory for you. Thanks for sharing 🙂
All I will say is that there is a lack of consistency in the Ritz Carlton brand across the globe. While some live up to that “5 star” expectation, many on the other hand are no better than a rusty old Sheraton.
Most of my stays at a Ritz Carlton have not been great with the exception of my recent stay at the brand new RC Nikko in Japan. I do my best to avoid staying at old hotels in the US because the stays have always been disappointing.
Agreed, old hotels in nyc are most often not worth the points/cash. The service tends to wither be extremely ‘uppity’ or simply lackluster. Japan seems to a common country in everyone’s exceptions 🙂
Good Idea, also make sure you try RC Kyoto too.
Its too bad you had a crap experience @PMB Anshul. I know of this disappointment, thru others, of course. Since I am a devoted Globbz, the Park Hyatt NYC does not sound too badly now eh? 🫣
Not my experience, I know better 😉
Indeed you do, @PMB buddy. 😅 Next up is your PH SYD visit!
PH is an okay hotel, but I would stay at Conrad or StR
You were ‘segmented’ into a cheaper room product because you were on a points stay. That upgrade offer wasn’t just for more space or a better view. RC has nicer rooms that they give to ’preferred’ guests (literally has nicer robes, nicer slippers, nicer pressed linens, etc.) not booking the ‘entry level’ room rate. Guess which segment of guest interacts with the ‘better’ staff? Marriott corporate has to make its (ever increasing) margin off of you somehow!
It’s basically what the brand gives to us classless millennials + Gen Z babies – who have no frame of reference for actual luxury – and / or are staying there for the tag to social media. Had you complained after the completely unacceptable state of your room, and asked to be comped the grand view suite, I am certain your experience with the room would have been entirely different.
Incredible that they get away with overt segmenting. I have stayed at hotels that dedicate upgrades and suites for points folks, but the service levels are not altered.
Did they address you by name when you called down to the front desk?
Also, it’s worth pointing out that the St. Regis brand doesn’t appear to stock cheaper sets of sheets / pillows / towels / robes / slippers etc. ‘for the peasants’. Though I haven’t stayed in enough STR properties during and post-pandemic to know if this is still the case.
Allan can comment on that, this was not my trip 🙂
That’s my plan, I am going to complain now.