The Rittenhouse

The Rittenhouse Review

Service at this small luxury hotel begins about two weeks before your stay with a handy concierge e-mail asking for any special requests: dining reservations, hometown newspaper (they can print out more than 950 different newspapers), flower arrangement for your loved one, you name it. The hotel also caters to new mothers with their "Anything a mother might have left behind" service. The staff, among the nicest in the city, greets you with a glass of champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries on weekends, while children can select (and keep!) from a "treasure chest" of toys and teens get a complimentary movie and popcorn. The 33-story building's sawtooth design gives the large guest rooms unusual shapes, with nooks and alcoves; many of the rooms overlook the famous square. Each room has a large marble bathroom with a glass-enclosed shower and small flat-screen television on the sink; many also have whirlpool tubs. The management is deeply involved in community affairs, and promotes local artists at the third-floor Satellite Gallery and with the placement of original art throughout the hotel. The restaurant, Lacroix, puts a sumptuous French spin on local ingredients.