What are your opinions on the best hotel in NYC?
I have stayed in Mandarin Oriental and Ritz Carlton Centruy Park.
I just wanted to stay in a different property this time.
Please post your opinions.

IMHO>
FS
Pen

http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost....43&postcount=7
lists the 4 biggest threads on NYC

Carlyle is another boutique style lux

If you'd like to try a couple of smaller boutique-style hotels, I'd recommend the Plaza Athenee (E. 64th Street) or the Lowell (E 63rd Street) -- both are Virtuoso properties. If you want an upgrade at time of booking, the St. Regis E. 55th Street) will do that for Virtuoso clients.

RC and Mandarin are my favorites. Although, the Lowell is pretty great too.

What about the St. Regis?

For something different, try the Pierre. No longer run by FS (Taj now), it has tremendous charm and terrific suites; but their rooms vary a lot, with some much nicer (and bigger) than others.

For a more modern and consistent product, the best is the Peninsula. But all of the hotels mentioned in this thread are quite good, no problem finding good hotels in NYC, albeit for a high price.

From my experiences, I would say that the Four Seasons New York is the best in the city. Second best in my opinion would be the Ritz-Carlton Central Park. I found the Mandarin Oriental New York to be overall a bad hotel experience. Even though I stayed there a couple months after opening and being upgraded to a suite overlooking Central Park, I felt that the service was not up to par and the beds were as hard as rocks. The room was nice and had one of the best views I have ever experienced in New York, but one night for some reason all the calls in the hotel that should have been routed through the front desk suddenly were routed through the room. The reason why I was upgraded to the suite was because the first room I had had a shower that was improperly constructed and as a result, the water ended up overflowing in the bathroom. The room also was one of their better rooms and it felt like a broom closet. Also, they had one of the worst bed and breakfast packages I have ever experienced at a hotel. At the FS for example, if your breakfast bill ended up being 65 dollars or so for breakfast for two people, FS covered it completely. The Mandarin Oriental charges you if you go over their daily breakfast number allocation which is I think 45 dollars for two people. The front desk never told me about this until I was reviewing the bill. I have stayed at the Pierre three times when it was a Four Seasons. The service was fantastic and it had an old New York feeling but the rooms were old, small, and cramped. The nicest thing about the rooms were the beds but beyond that the rooms were lousy. I would not stay at the Pierre unless they have done a major renovation since I think it is a waste of money to pay 500+ for the Pierre when you could stay at the Ritz-Carlton for an even better experience.

So I guess I studied all night long and decided between two hotels.
Either The Lowell or the Four Seasons.
I just came back from Four Seasons George V and really was impressed with their service and wondering if it will be the same.

if i remember correctly, someone said the Pierre and the St Regis had the best 2BR suites.

The Four Seasons is in a class above the Lowell in terms of quality and service. I have stayed there three times and really enjoyed it. The FS also opened a new restaurant that has gotten good reviews.

I have stayed at the George V before. The service at the Four Seasons New York is good but it is not as good as the George V. The staff at the FS NY are less effusive and warm. I would have to say though that there is no hotel in NY that offers the same level of service as the George V in my opinion. The FS NY though overall is a fantastic property from the size of the guest rooms (600 square feet with high ceilings, gigantic marble clad bathroom, walk-in closets) to the building design (IM Pei).

Thank you for your generous reply. So as you can see on the left side I do have the American Express platinum card(which I hope I can get a centurion card in my life time), and asked for price quotes.
Since The Lowell was in the Fine Hotels and Resorts program it came out to be around $700 for a junior suite. For the Four Seasons, they were not included in the program and the rate was around 850 for the smallest room they have.
So Im sorry to really bother you guys and I do feel like Im asking the same questions over and over again, but this is probably my last time asking.
Which should be the better choice?
Thanks for taking time to answer my dumb, personal questions.

theyre not dumb. its a personal choice you have to make.

a lot of people like lowell, carlyle, and plaza athenee because they are smaller and more intimate.

the four seasons and the ritz central park are large, and very different atmospheres. and of course they have more space and offerings.

i think you will be happy with either lowell (if you like those sorts of properties) or four seasons

and while it sounds like it might be busier season, you also might try asking DavidO, our resident virtuoso TA, if he can get you virtuoso benefits at the four seasons. (he has said he has been able to in the past)

I see that a Lowell King room is $595, and the next room category is a Junior Suite (which I see at $775). [These are Virtuoso rates]. One possibility would be to call the hotel and ask if they would upgrade you at the time of booking, in the hope that they might gain a new client. Can't hurt to try!

Easy choice, Lowell junior suite would be nicer than FS, service comparable and cheaper. It is a much smaller hotel (and almost all rooms are suites, btw); in many ways better than the FS which is more business oriented (but has the advantages of a larger hotel). I haven't stayed there since it was renovated, and now with the new bathrooms it is that much better as a hotel. The boutique hotels in Manhattan definitely understand that they need to keep the service level high in order to compete (unlike some of the larger hotels which have used their very high occupancy rates to drop the service a notch).

Lowell - $595 (400) but upgrade isnt good.. / $775 (600) / $1025 (800)
(same as best available and virtuoso)

Caryle - $540 (400) / $615 (500) / $750 (650) / $925 (750)
(slightly higher than best available)

FS - moderate / superior rooms are (400)

()=sq ft