Best Luxury Hotel in NYC
 

Hello, I am planning a 5 night surprise visit to NYC in February. Our last night will be Valentine's Day. I was hoping to get a few recommendations from all of you for the best hotel. I was thinking the Four Seasons or the Peninsula. We will be staying 2 nights at 60 Thompson and 2 nights at the Ritz-Carlton Battery Park. Any personal thoughts would really be appreciated.

Ritz Carlton Central Park.The best location in the city.

I think this is a pretty personal decision and you will get a lot of opinions. Here is mine: moving for one night is not worth it. In fact, moving twice within a 5 day stay does not make a lot of sense, esp as both hotels you have chosen are downtown. I have stayed in both and like them both a lot. If this is a first trip to NYC for one or both of you, my first choice would be the Ritz-Carlton Battery Park as you can get great such views of the city, river, Statue of Liberty, etc and sunset and twilight are quite spectacular. No views to speak of at 60 Thompson except the roof bar which does have good views, but is outdoors so as there are there in February you may not be able to take advantage of it. However, the neighborhood of 60 Thompson is more interesting and there are more restaurants and shops. Perhaps that is why you are moving hotels, but I am not sure it is worth it.

If you really want to move hotels, then stay downtown for a few nights and then move to midtown for the rest, or vice versa. Different flavor, different neighborhoods, etc.

You might want to check out the Mandarin Oriental, too. They have some beautiful suites that overlook Central Park.

Both the Four Seasons and the Peninsula are very nice. From what I've heard, the former is probably a few notches above.

Add another reco for the Mandarin Oriental. Had to stay there recently for a meeting - and everything - including surprisingly the food (hotel food,, even for small groups is always an issue) - was superb.

For romantic & intimate, the Plaza Athenee.

I must agree to being mystified why you'd want to move 3 times in 5 days. If you're a man, you don't understand how much your lady (I might be making assumptions?) might hate packing and unpacking. If you are a lady, you're a better woman than I, gungadin. I could sort of understand if you'd like a few days downtown and a few days uptown...but 2 different spots downtown??? Unless there are business reasons, why bother?? And don't ask which is better w/o giving us more info cause they're apples and oranges.

I think to pick an uptown location, it would help to know your age and whether you prefer traditional decor to more modern. Everybody raves about the RC Central Park, especially if you can manage a park view room. It's a more traditional place. The Mandarin Oriental <i>starts</i> at the 35th floor of the new Time Warner building. It's very Asian/spare decor. Recent reviews of the Peninsula haven't been great. The Four Seasons is also very modern in feel.

If you want views then stay in a room WITH a view at the New Ritz-Carlton.
If you want to brag about exclusivity, then stay at the Carlisle on central Park.

I did not realize that the hotels I have already booked were in the same area. Thanks for that input. I have been to NYC before, when I was young and carefree in a sleeping bag on a friends floor would do. I also stayed at the Sheraton near Times Square, but was looking for something less generic if you know what I mean.

My English husband has never been and I wanted to stay in different locales for a bit more taste of the Big delicious Apple. So any recommendations will do!

I don't think you have to move hotels to get different &quot;tastes&quot; of the big Apple. Pick a place you'd like to stay and use <i>transportation</i>.

I would nix the RC Battery Park locale unless one of you has business in the financial district. The views are great and you get more for your money, but that's because it's not really near much except the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Wall St. Without a car (which I don't recommend) you'll spend a fortune on cabs or all your time in the subway.

If you want trendy, the Soho House (not in Soho but in the meatpacking district). It may be a private club. I don't really understand how it works but if you can..go. Otherwise, the Gansevoort is right nearby, also new, also trendy. These are &quot;downtown&quot; places but north of both Soho and Battery Park (on the edge of the village).

If you then want to move to a more midtown/classic place, the Ritz Carlton Central Park with a park view is &quot;it.&quot;

TopMan's reco of the Carlyle (note the spelling) is uptown (upper east side) and good for museums and galleries and more classic designer shopping but the hotel may not be up to par with the others.

I think your decision should be based on what you plan on doing with your time. If you will be spending most of your time going to Broadway shows, the museums up along Central Park East, shopping at Saks or along Lexington Ave, then staying in the mid-town area makes a lot of sense. However, if you plan on only seeing mid-town for a day or so, and spending more time in Greenwich Village, Soho, Wall Street or other downtown areas, then 60 Thompson or the Ritz-Carlton Battery Park make more sense. (There is also some great discount shopping at Century 21 near the WTC.)

In general in my experience, there are better and less touristy restaurants in the downtown areas than in mid-town.(Ignoring both the upper east and upper west sides which can be just as hard to get to from midtown as from downtown.) It is less congested and quieter as well. Of course if you really don't mind moving hotels for a night or two, then by all means stay in both midtown and downtown and get a feel for each.

In my experience working in the WTC and having many clients in mid-town, you can get to midtown via the subway during the day in 20 minutes. At night there may be fewer subways, but overall it is not really that long a trip, and if you will only be in mid-town for one or two nights, then not an issue at all, IMO.

If you like small hotels, 60 Thompson is a great choice. The RC Battery Park is larger, but overall a good hotel as well. The hotels are about 10 minutes apart by cab. There are a lot of good choices all over the city really. Love the &quot;Shag Bags&quot; in the rooms at the Thompson! I knew then it had to be a British chain. . . .

One of my favorite hotels ( in the world ) which rarely gets mentioned is &quot;Trump International&quot;. The rooms are georgeous and many have views of Central Park. The hotel itself is very intimate and has one of the best restaurants in NYC. I always have a hard time chooosing a hotel after reading the reviews on this website as it seems every hotel no matter how nice always has atleast one negative review. But, read and you will find that all the reviews about the Trump are excellent!

Le Parker Meridienne and The Plaza...