While I have not stayed, I have heard the same thing from friends who typically stay at the St. Regis/FS/top Waldorf suites when visiting. All of them have raved, particularly about the restaurant.

luxury was recently positive on both mark and lowell
in that thread >

Btw, at The Mark, some bathrooms have heated floors. The one that I am at, at the moment doesn't, or maybe I haven't found the switches.

Have never been to the Greenwich, but have been to the restaurant next to it, great place to eat, passed by the hotel's lobby, I didn't think that it would be I the "luxury" style. But haven't been anywhere but the lobby.

A rather nice hotel is the Crosby Hotel.

Luxury Hotels In New York
 

NYT reports that St Regis will again lose its restaurant. Adour will close in November.

FS and RC CPS also have lost their restaurants recently.

Luxury Hotels in New York
 

The Plaza is in my opinion a great hotel in NYC. Plus, they often offer a 3rd night free (currently being offered thru Nov 16) which makes it a great value.

I find a free night special is a terrific value at any hotel b/c on a typical 3 night stay it's equivalent to 33% Off.

Many hotels (including most Four Seasons properties) have routinely offered free nights well before GroupOn (and others of its ilk) became popular.

Plus, when you can get additional perks like free breakfast for two COMBINED with the free night, the value-add is impressive.

The RC CPS is opening a new bistro and bar concept soon.

Planning a family visit sometime in January / February 2013 and need help. Last time I was in NYC was 8 years ago and I suspect a lot has changed with the hotel scene.

We're seeking a place located anywhere from about 42nd street north (ie. not downtown). Should have inspired rooms (ie. not your standard Marriott), should be family friendly (as we will have 2 year old with us), and should epitomize the very best that New York has to offer.

Because we are visiting during a cold/snowy period, special touches like fireplaces in the rooms, heated bathroom floors, hot chocolate in the lobby, etc... would be appreciated but not required.

I have Ritz Carlton (Marriott) Platinum, SPG Gold, and my wife qualifies for ABA discount rates.

I know some of the favorites discussed here and on other luxury travel sites (ie. Andrew Harper, Kiwi Collection) seem to include Lowell, Mark, Four Seasons, St. Regis, RC Central Park, etc... but none of those options seem to offer "special" looking rooms until you get well into the $2000+ per night suite categories. Please convince me otherwise if you disagree.

Which of these properties offers the best luxury value proposition for under $800 per night?

Is Chatwal any good since SPG took over?

Sorry for the long-winded question(s)!

greenwich is brand new
mark was just redone, and has gaggenau kitchens for not much over base rate
trump was just redone, but as recently noted no separate showers

maybe mark studios / tower suites? (planned as condohotel, with aforementioned kitchen)
http://www.themarkhotel.com/own/nav/...floorplans.php
http://web.archive.org/web/201106052...floorplans.php

Lowell has rooms with fireplace (lowell king, only 1 with fireplace in the specific room category so you would have to specify that to reservations).
Hardware is really good, service is attentive but you don't have a lot of things to do in-house (small lobby) and the crowd is traditional borderline "too old" for me

St. Regis rooms are very old-world but I love them. Perfect soundproofing, nice layouts akin to a junior suite in most hotels, and the best shower pressure of any NYC hotel (Grand Luxe rooms have separate shower/tub and dual vanities). The KC Bar is at its best in the winter and at the time you're visiting will be filled with a good number of locals.

While most of these hotels will have promotional offers in the dead of winter, I've found the St Regis rates to be overall a bit lower than the Ritz/FS/MO.

The house car is another nice touch, though I can't comment on whether the FS or Ritz still offer one.


Also, you may want to look into the Plaza Athenee.

The Lowell King would just side in under 800$ budget... and with a 2 year old that is a small room IMHO. Jr. Suite would be best at Lowell, also with Fireplace. I think you should add The Surrey to your list as they have a good family promotion via Virtuoso for Ultra Deluxe with a connector. Will give you more like 1000SQ feet of space for perhaps a touch over your budget. Under budget you can do a Grand Deluxe Salon with fireplace.

The Carlyle is also a possible choice. Their suites have good rates for January right now. Confirmed Upgrades are already possible for Q1

I'm sure some of the hotels already mentioned with also launch Q1 promos sometime in November (3rd night free, confirmed upgrades etc).

I usually stay at FS. Gave the Peninsula a try two weeks ago but FS still better.
I hear the SETAI is quite nice. Seems similar to MO product.

Thanks for the bit of feedback received so far. Curious about a few properties:

1. Four Seasons. It's supposed to be the epitome of the Four Seasons brand in North America (at least with respect to city hotels), but the website makes it seem like the rooms are very bland and boring, while the price point is approaching George V levels. If I am used to the George V / Hualalai / Tented Camp level of service, will I be disappointed at FS NYC?

2. Mandarin Oriental. I've had pleasant stays at MO's in other cities, but I rarely hear anything about the NY property.

3. Peninsula. Really loved my experience at Pen BKK and Tokyo, but I didn't think Chicago was that great. I've heard NY isn't their best property...should it be avoided?

4. Lowell. Andrew Harper seems so overly enthusiastic about this property that it's borderline silly. What's so special about it?

lowell and trump have been most consistent here
new consistent so far are greenwich and mark

The Setai is indeed nice, especially the suites (like in every hotel). But it´s not something special, it´s just a good modern hotel with good service. MO should be their flaggship in North America, I booked it for next year. I don´t know FS but after a look on the room at tripadviser/ oyster I wasn´t really impressed. It looks like a good Intercontinental for me.