We stayed at the Central Park Ritz-Carlton the week after Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time.

Check-in:
Unfortunately, they only had one person at the front desk at the time we checked in, so we had to wait several minutes for him to help us. But the check in process was extremely speedy.

Room:
We were given an "interior view" Superior Room, which is essentially a window that faces a brick wall. The room was pretty large, compared to other New York hotel rooms I've stayed in. The bathroom was especially spacious and had both a soaking tub and a shower. The bath products were Frederic Fekkai and the toilet even had its own room, which I loved. The bed was extremely comfortable. The only complaint I have about the room is that there was no iron or ironing board.

Staff:
The housekeeping staff were great! We never saw them, but they visit your room twice a day. Once in the morning for the usual cleaning, then once in the evening for turndown service, complete with chocolates on your pillow! The concierge staff was friendly, though extremely busy. When we went down in the morning, there were three of them all working at full capacity. The doormen are very helpful and anytime you leave the hotel, they tell you to have a wonderful day/night. The only staff that was not friendly was the waitstaff in the lounge bar. She was not very helpful to us when we were looking for a table.

Service:
Room service was prompt and efficient. The restaurant downstairs is pretty busy and they recommend you have reservations, even for breakfast. We had to use the business center once, but the business concierge was not there, so it was confusing as to how to use it when no one is present. But eventually someone helped us and we didn't get charged for the internet usage or printing.

Location:
It was lovely to walk out the door each morning and have Central Park right across the street, though the smell of the horses can be a bit overwhelming. There are two subway stops within one block, which made for easy access to any other part of town. It's a short walk to 5th Avenue, which made window shopping a breeze. You just need to plan ahead and leave with plenty of time if you are taking the subway to mid-town for a show.

Check-out:
Checking out was easy and painless and we were out the door quickly. The doorman was extremely helpful in getting us a cab to the train station.

Other:
I have heard that the Central Park Ritz has a complimentary Bentley that can be used to take you short distances, but the couple of times we wanted to use it, it was already booked. It is first come, first served.

Once again, top notch! Well worth the money (and its a lot!). Ensure you get a room as high up as possible - stunning views at dawn when with European jetlag you lie awake staring out across the trees! Only draw back is hotel lacks a fine dining 'option' and as such no glam breakfast room either. But space is limited in NYC and this hotel, as far as luxury & location go, is top!

I've stayed at many different Ritz Carlton's now, and I gotta say that I'm most impressed w/ the level of service from their Central Park Staff. My parents who have been married for 35 yrs were celebrating their anniversary this past weekend, and several staff members went out of their way to say a nice word of congratulations to them. I thought that was classy. The club level staff is absolutely stellar, clean rooms, etc... Will definately stay again.

I agree with all of positive comments about this hotel in previous reviews. I love Ritz Carlton and do not intend to suggest that this location does not live up to Ritz standards. However, there are some important characteristics of this location that you must be aware of which may or may not be an issue for you.

I kind of expect that the staff will bend over backwards for your every need at these prices, and they do. However, that doesn’t mean that they do so for free. They will get you whatever you want, whenever you want it, and charge you 4 times more than anywhere else. I have never appreciated the significance of extraordinary service at extraordinary prices. What impresses me is extraordinary service at moderate prices.

I realize that complaining about cost when one is staying at a Ritz is silly, but this Ritz is more costly than any other Ritz I have stayed at. I just want to prepare anyone who is used to paying $15 for a cheeseburger at a typical Ritz for the sticker shock; they are $29 here.

Also, I did NOT pay the premium for the Park View. I was in the Superior Room ($995/night) for 5 nights that was supposed to have a courtyard view. A courtyard view here means brick wall. I realize that this was my error, since I could have paid 50% more for a view. So if you don’t want to see a brick wall, pay for the view. Otherwise the rooms are beautiful, comfortable and the bathrooms are huge. I had no problems with noise on the 6th floor.

But the prices and lack of view aren’t my real concerns. The reason I would not return to this hotel is that this hotel had virtually no common areas to speak of. The lobby and the adjacent lounge are small by any standards (about 40 chairs). Their is a small bar that is really a common corridor that leads to the hotel's only small restaurant. That's it. The grand tour will take you 3 minutes. It reminds me of a nicely appointed apartment building where there is a small lobby and elevators. So the only thing we used our room for was a home base. When we came in, we went straight to the elevator to our room. When we left, we walked straight outside. There is noting to see or do inside this hotel (they do have a spa and meeting rooms on other floors).

The lack of common areas in the hotel may not be a factor for many of you. I realize that many travelers would say that they come to NYC to see the sights, not the hotel. But why can’t you have both? Particularly at these prices. I like my hotels to be destinations unto themselves. If it is raining (like it did one day during my stay) I want an oasis from the storm. Here, there was no place to sit because the chairs in the lounge were full of people escaping the rain.

For example, The Plaza is right next door and is about 6 times the size of the Ritz and has large common areas and probably similar levels of service. I can make example after example of nearby hotels that are bigger, but I realize they are not Ritz Carltons. If I had it to do over, I would have stayed at the Marriott Marquis in Time Square, which I realize is a whole different experience in the middle of the hustle and bustle.

The bottom line here is that the Ritz is not much of a destination as far as hotels go. The reason to stay here is the great service, Central Park across the street and its proximity to many great attractions.