New York City: Ritz-Carlton Central Park (October 2018)

Ritz-Carlton Central Park – Helped to Make Our 50^th Birthday Weekend Special

My spouse and I stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Central Park for one night on a Saturday evening in mid-October 2018. We booked our stay online through the Marriott website, and we remitted Marriott rewards points for a complimentary stay. (This was perhaps our best use of points ever, since the room value was upwards of $800 per night!) A few weeks before we arrived, we received an email from guest services inquiring about our preferences and plans, and we mentioned that we were visiting to celebrate our joint milestone 50^th birthdays. (We had already booked our restaurants and theatre tickets on our own, or they would have helped arrange those activities.)

The Ritz-Carlton Central Park is located in a Beaux Arts building on the southern perimeter of the park on West 59^th Street. (Although it occupies the site of the 1930 former St. Moritz Hotel, the building has since been owned by Harry Helmsley, Donald Trump, and Ian Schrager.) From the moment we stepped out of the taxi, staff greeted us by name. I thought that my spouse had provided our surname, and conversely, he thought that I had given it, but neither was true. Our guess is that the doorman/valet sneaked a peek at the luggage tag on our suitcase and then passed our name on to all other staff that we encountered. It was a lovely arrival experience!

The property has an on-site restaurant (Auden Bistro and Bar), afternoon tea (in the Star Lounge), a La Prairie Spa, fitness center, and small sundry shop, in addition to club level accommodations that enjoy a separate private lounge. Many of the hotel’s nearly 260 rooms and suites afford either city or park views. (We were thrilled that the two windows in our standard room allowed us views of Sixth Avenue and a glimpse into Central Park!)

Our standard room had a hallway (which was the most convenient place to open the luggage stand for our small suitcase) that led into the main room. We were blown away by the first thing that we saw: two huge silver Mylar helium balloons with the numbers 5 and 0 to mark our special occasion! The balloons were positioned between the comfy king-size bed (with a nightstand on each side) and the small sitting area (with its tiny sofa, chair, and coffee table [which held a plate of sweets plated to mark our special occasion]). The side of the room opposite the bed contained a built-in unit that included two smallish closets (neither was long enough to hang a calf-length coat) and a shelf that held the TV, with drawers beneath (one of which held a pull-out refrigerated drawer). The marble bathroom was large by Manhattan standards, with a vanity for dual sinks, ample shelving, complimentary toiletries (even men’s dress shirt collar stays were offered!), and a big glass shower. (Note that our room did not have a soaking bathtub; in retrospect, we may have been assigned a semi-handicapped room, since the shower seemed as if it could be rolled into.) Textiles incorporated muted and tasteful earth tones, with creative and memorable wallpaper that showcased clouds. We loved the personal business cards that we could give to acquaintances advertising that we were “In Residence” at the hotel!

We loved our stay at the Ritz-Carlton Central Park! The service was excellent, and our accommodations were comfortable. In fact, we wished that we had booked two nights!