offerendum

Sounds underwhelming.....

mrmbenz1

Not sure if this reply will be helpful as you've likely already booked your stay for November; nevertheless, I thought I'd share my thoughts on recent stays at both the Four Seasons New York (Midtown) and Four Seasons New York Downtown. Long story short, unless you absolutely need/want to be in midtown, FS Downtown in my opinion is the best hotel in the city, and easily surpasses the midtown location in almost every category. I stayed at both properties back to back during one of my NY trips this year, starting at Downtown for a few days, then switching over to Midtown. The experiences could not have been more different and I almost found it difficult to believe these two properties belonged to the same hotel company. I've been back to NY twice since and would not consider staying anywhere other than FS Downtown.

While both properties are modern in design, the FS Downtown has more character and is a fantastic execution of the Yabu-Pushelberg design aesthetic (FS Toronto, Park Hyatt New York). Although the Downtown lobby is not nearly as large or grand as in Midtown, it nevertheless feels much more inviting and does have a few nice sitting areas.

I don't normally spend much time in the lobby, particularly in NY, so it's more or less a push on that front, but things get significantly more interesting when you move upstairs to the rooms. Midtown's competitive advantage is the fact that the rooms are absolutely HUGE by NY standards, highlighted by the fact that post-renovation, the hotel has re-categorized all of their normal guestrooms as junior suites. The rooms themselves are fine--very spacious, nice materials, but somewhat sterile, and to some extent, underwhelming considering they've just come out of a major revamp. Even the bedding appears anemic as for some strange reason the Midtown property does not follow the new FS brand standard. I believe they offer the customized mattress in Midtown, but the big pillows and fluffy duvets, etc. are nowhere to be found. The bathrooms have not been touched and still feel a bit dated to me. Thankfully the hotel continues to supply Bvlgari Green Tea toiletries (my personal favorite), but good luck getting them replenished! As far as technology is concerned, the rooms now have giant, curved Samsung LED TVs, but no iPad for hotel services, or bedside controls for lights/DND/curtains. The hotel wiring has apparently not been updated as the lights and TV flicker frequently and I was told this issue was not unique to my room. Service in general was spotty, particularly with regard to housekeeping, but there were a few standouts at the front desk. Breakfasts at The Garden were excellent, although service was on the slow side. The one thing that stood out most to me, and which I found truly distasteful for a hotel that routinely charges well of $1,000 a night, is the fact that they do not provide guests with complimentary bottled water in the room. This is the first Four Seasons I can recall that does this, and when I inquired at the front desk, I was told that it was the owner's decision and I was not the first guest to bring it up. I realize that it's not the end of the world, but it's just the principle. Fortunately, the fitness center still believes in hydrating its guests, and large bottles of water were in ample supply.

In contrast to Midtown, the rooms Downtown are gorgeous and designed within an inch of their lives--they truly feel luxurious from the moment you walk through the door. The materials, design, lighting, and technology are all executed at a much higher level. While the views from the Downtown property can be lackluster, the interior design more than makes up for this. The star of the show here is the bathrooms which features contemporary, floor to ceiling marble mosaic tile, separate shower and free standing tub, and private water closets. Bedding is plush and extremely comfortable, and the sound proofing is excellent, both from the street as well as interior hallways. The nightstand features an iPad which provides access to all hotel services and room controls. There is also a separate panel next to each side of the bed that controls lighting, curtains, DND/Service, etc. USB ports are everywhere! The TV allows you to stream your own content and also includes a DVR should you wish to record a television show during your stay to watch later. All rooms also come with an excellent sound bar and bass unit. Thankfully, noise from other rooms did not carry into mine on any of my stays. I only experienced breakfasts at CUT, but it was excellent and priced much more reasonably than The Garden in Midtown. The restaurant is not run by the hotel, but service was great and the hostesses and waitstaff are very attentive and even remember your special requests and orders if you are there over several days. I also had room service twice--one breakfast, and one late night snack, all very good and served promptly.

It is worth noting that room category selection is much more important Downtown than it is in Midtown as the layouts vary greatly between categories at the Downtown location, whereas only the view/floor changes in Midtown. I booked a different category for each of my stays, my first being a Deluxe* room. On my subsequent trips I tried a Corner (highest non-suite category) followed by a Premier (2nd highest non-suite category). *[The hotel shuffled around its room categorizations subsequent to my first stay, and I believe my Deluxe room was actually an entry level Superior based on the layout on the website, but considered Deluxe for being on a higher floor. It is my understanding that the current Deluxe category overlaps with Premier in terms of layout and is perhaps slightly smaller or has a less desirable view.] While I enjoyed all 3 rooms, I would be totally content in a Superior and will likely book that category on my next trip. The Superior is extremely well designed and maximizes every inch of space. This is not to suggest that it feels small by any means, rather it just feels "right." The Premier, on the other hand, is certainly larger, but has A LOT of dead space which makes the room somewhat less attractive in my opinion. Fortunately, some of that dead space is given to the bathroom which features 2 windows and an absolutely HUGE shower. My least favorite, despite being the most visually impressive, was the Corner room. The two walls of windows make for a very bright and inviting space; however, the room's layout is such that a large chunk of the square footage is dedicated to a useless entry foyer and hallway and the bedroom itself is a small square that requires the couch and table to be placed at the foot of the bed directly in front of the television--not exactly conducive to using as a true sitting area. I much prefer the lower categories that allow for the couch to be placed to the side and even opt'd to decline an upgrade to a corner on my 3rd stay as the room just wasn't as comfortable for me.

Service was excellent across the board and very personable. Bellman and lobby attendants greet you by name and housekeeping goes so far as to leave thank you notes should you leave a gratuity for them! Oh, and the hotel will provide you with as much complimentary bottled water as you would like!

As far as location, again, this is a matter of personal preference and will likely be dictated by your reason for visiting the city. I found the Tribeca area to be perfectly situated away from the hustle and bustle, but in close proximity to the action in the West Village/SoHo/Chelsea. If the weather permits, a walk up West Broadway to SoHo is lovely. There are plenty of subway lines surrounding the hotel making travel to almost anywhere in midtown a breeze. Taxis and Ubers are also readily available. If you're used to the energy of midtown, but open to trying something new, do not let the downtown location deter you. The area is really is quite charming and feels like a completely different city with many new things to explore.

Hopefully this wasn't too long-winded, and please feel free to ask any questions!

obscure2k

Thank you, mrmbenz1 for this comprehensive and very informative review.

Kagehitokiri

mrmbenz1, good to hear! have you stayed at the mark hotel?

has anyone looked at renting residences at FS downtown?

timbers resorts picked up management of fractionals/residences at st regis NY

JohnRain

Amazing post mrmbenz1, thanks so much for your insights...

DSI

bhrubin

Well, I've been enjoying 600-800 square feet suites for free at the StR and Chatwal--and still have amazing hotel restaurants and bars to enjoy.

I would love to try out the Crosby or Gramercy Park. Maybe even the Mercer.

I do agree that you can get quite a nice deal with Airbnb. But the StR and Chatwal still are cheaper for me when I want them to be.

DSI

bhrubin

I won't take it personally.

Aventine

I'm with the King of Aircon. I like full service properties and just heard too many AirBnB horror stories. I'll happily take my Jr. Suite at the Chatwal in the city.

op487062

My first, and probably last, experience with Airbnb in NY was suddenly canceled this past week for a Midtown stay. The owner said they had to cancel because the neighbors complained to management.

Back when I was booking the property in April/May an issue arose where I had to call Customer Service to fix a technical glitch. I understand CS has some hits or misses, but after 5 or 6 calls, I'm convinced their CS needs a lot more training.

DSI

Kagehitokiri

no local property management companies / realtors in NYC ?

odd FS and essex have rental management but not hotel inventory, maybe some kind of US regulation

st regis fractionals/residences not in inventory, managed by timbers resorts (st regis aspen = in inventory)

callmedtop

I had an excellent one-night stay in the Milano Suite at the St. Regis, which I posted on in the Marriott forum:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/30315689-post230.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/30317001-post233.html (pictures)

beta1607

Does anybody have recent experience with The Mark? I stayed there several years ago and loved it but it appears the newest reviews in this thread are from 2012?