I just wrapped up a night's stay here at the Ritz in the West End (22nd Street). It's been eventful...but I would definitely return.

I booked a base King room through Amex FHR. When I arrived, I was told that I had been upgraded to a Premiere Garden View King (basically a standard room with a garden view) - I didn't push on suites as it seemed like they were sold out online. I was given a letter for FHR benefits, as to be expected, and confirmed 4 PM late checkout. When I arrived to my room, I noticed two things: 1. A box of chocolates attached to a personalized letter, and 2. A small, but unacceptable, cleanliness issue. I won't go into details, but it was nothing dangerous. However, it was something that should have been noticed by the housekeeper or during final inspections. I called down to get Housekeeping to come fix the problem, but waited 20 minutes with no one coming up. I went back down to the desk and asked to switch rooms. The agent tried to find me a suite, but was not successful. I asked to be moved to a different floor (to get a room serviced by a different housekeeper). My new room (still a Garden View King) did not have any issues. About an hour later, I received a call from the Housekeeping Manager apologizing - even though I didn't ask for anything, I received what I would consider to be more-than-generous compensation. The staff also continued to apologize for the issue during every interaction I had with them, including at check-out.

The reason I'm writing about this issue isn't to shame the property - mistakes happen - but to commend them for what I would consider a very positive service recovery experience.

Now, on to the room, the decor is understated, but I liked the mix of dark and light tones (kind of like cookies-n-cream, my favorite childhood ice cream flavor). The bed was great, as to be expected in a Ritz. The TV had the Internet TV OS. The red couch was fine - it would have been better with arms to rest my head. The bathroom was pleasant - the shower had wonderful pressure. The room was quiet, which was nice. I'm not sure what was going on with the right side of the window - it was very murky (like some kind of tinting issue). Robes were very comfy.

Service was already talked about, but I really liked it. Housekeepers would come and press elevator buttons for you, doormen were very consistent in holding open doors. The front desk staff was very nice.

I also really liked the lobby offerings - near the front desk, there was delicious hot chocolate in the afternoon, which was replaced by a jar of double chocolate chip cookies (that were apparently enjoyed by President Ford, according to the sign) that were really tasty in the evening.

Due to my $100 FHR credit, I dined at Quadrant Lounge for dinner. Both my cranberry passion fruit drink and sea scallops were very tasty.

Breakfast was also in Quadrant Lounge (or in-room dining). FHR gets a $60 credit (whether you are one or two). There was a buffet or a la carte menu. I ordered a la carte and thought the food was quite good. A side of bacon that comes out as 7 strips of bacon is always a winner in my book. Slightly annoyingly, the breakfast gratuity was apparently not included in the FHR credit - I wasn't going to push on $6, though. Perhaps, there was already-included gratuity that I missed on the check, but I'm really not sure.

Overall, I would definitely return to the Ritz as I felt like it was a good value, and the property really worked to make up for a small issue.