I'm planning, perhaps 'overplanning'! ha a very special NYC weekend for my husband's 50th in October. Can anyone give insight from staying recently at the Ritz Central Park(park view) or Four Seasons(Tower park view)?? For the astronimcal price I really want to know what distinguishes the 2..we want a lux/opulent room and great conceirge services. Are the 5s's rooms worn, tired out?? R-C more recently renovated? Thanks for your input!!

If youwant something truly lux - but moderne - not traditional - go for the Mandarin Oriental. Did a meeting there recently with a very demanding group and everything was superb/memorable. The concierge was remarkable with some of our more difficult requests - and the property is almost new - so nothing is worn yet.

Did you see the rooms nytraveler? I hear they're small and poorly planned.

My wife arranged a very nice Four Seasons park view suite for me on a recent birthday, and I enjoyed it very much. The FS is older than the RC and Mandarin (since the latter are both very recent additions to the hotel scene in NYC) and the FS is not traditional decor. It's Asian influenced, lots of black/tan/cream, more angular furniture, etc. I can't recall staying at any FS with offensive amounts of wear on the furnishings, etc. FS is very good about refurb-ing as necessary. And of course, the best thing about any FS is that they WILL resolve ANY dissatisfaction to suit your expectations. Were you unhappy with some aspect of a room there, thay'd find you another one, or do something to satisfy.
I'm very partial to traditional decor, so the NYC FS doesn't suit my taste quite as well as most other city-based FS hotels in which I've stayed, but I'm always drawn back by the service, dependability and high quality.
The park views from the upper floors are spectacular. The RC is closer to the park. Service there will be close or as good. Decor more traditional. Less than 3 years old, so very 'fresh'. Depends on what you want out of your stay.

Did not see the regular rooms - the folks we did the meeting for are not the type to ever take a basic room - these were either deluxe (I'm not sure what they were acutally called) or suites - and were smashing but very moderne.

I would recommend the Palace as one of the best hotels in town. The rooms are VERY nice great location, the upper rooms have a view of the park and the service is superb. I've had clients, friends and family stay there and they have all raved about the hotel. If you are interested I can also make a call to make sure you are very well taken care of.