Review: Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad (Modern, With Great Dining)

"...they may want to check the 'world renown' verbiage."

Yeah, that threw me, too.

“World-renownED." Hopefully they'll read your review and correct it. You should have taken off a star for this. 🙂

I’ve spent some time here. Nice, new build hotel. The issue is the value of the property. When hotels like this cost $400 to $500, it makes sense. Now, at 100,000 Marriott points, or $800 to $1,000 in cash- the value simply isn’t there. What are you getting for your money? A modest size room, and access to a modest gym. The other amenities - restaurants, rooftop bar, spa, etc either cost extra money or are available to the public. So why spend this much?

Honestly - if I am spending $700-$1,000 a night, why not just stay at something like the Equinox Hotel, which is not too far from this property? At least there, you get access to a huge Equinox gym with a pool. You could add on benefits with Virtuoso, Amex FHR, etc.

Or if you just need a room with a bar and restaurant - wouldn’t you be better off with something like the Moxy hotel down the street? It’s far from luxury, but has a nice rooftop bar and probably costs 1/3 of this property in cash.

Ultimately a great property it’s hard to justify the cost versus what you get if you are paying your own way (and most guests probably aren’t)

@ Anthony -- I agree with you that it's hard to justify the value of properties like this. But honestly, that's just true in the US in general nowadays, or for anywhere that's popular with Americans.

Regarding the Equinox Hotel, I've heard good things, and I'd consider staying there in the future. Personally, a pool isn't that appealing to me, and I don't necessarily like "proper" membership gyms, since they're not 24/7, but I think that's probably the most direct competitor to a property like this.

At least Ritz-Carlton has the benefit of being able to earn and redeem points, even if elite perks are limited.

I know you don’t use Amex FHR that much, but it starts to make a lot more sense at these price levels if you are paying cash, especially at independent hotels. You earn 5x Membership Rewards points on the spend, plus you get breakfast, the property credit, late checkout and potentially some kind of upgrade. You have covered how basically all of the loyalty programs are getting rid of upgrades, reducing breakfast, etc. At least for now, FHR actually still delivers some real benefits.

"if you ask me, the hotel should do a bit more to restrict the number of times an elevator stops on one “ride,” given that it has this setup. In one case we made five stops, and the elevator was uncomfortably crowded."

This is unfortunately an issue with every building I have ever been in that has this elevator system. I used to live in Panorama Tower in Miami, and I lived on the 70th floor and the building used this elevator system where you enter your floor at a central screen. That building has 8 elevators, but for some reason they all wouldn't always be operational. As a result, during peak times, the elevator would stop about 10 times if not more on my way down to the lobby (the building has 85 floors for context, with about 800 units). Eventually, the elevator gets too full, and people can't get in. At that point, they then have to scan they key again on the system and wait for another elevator. And your lift will still stop at the stop they entered even though they aren't in the elevator.

I had friends who lived in the Brickell Flatiron, and they had a similar issue but on a less of a scale. I think Panorama Tower just really sucked with this because of the amount of units and floors they have. Frankly, as cool as I thought it was at first, I have to say I prefer the standard elevator buttons. I do wish we had the feature I've seen in Japan where you can double press an elevator floor button to make the light go out so it won't stop there if you already pressed it.

Had drinks in the lobby there just 2 weeks ago. Great spot!
And agreed on your assessement of Zaytinya, love that restaurant.

I stayed there last week and thought the service could have been better. But it is a very nice hotel.

Yeah, I dunno. For a city like NY, where you're hopefully going to be off-property most of the time, I don't really see a substantial advantage between this and say, the Hyatt Place on 24th Street just a short stroll away. Other than the eye-watering price and the view, which is admittedly quite nice.

Jose Andres' restaurants are always high-quality. But it's Manhattan. There are a hundred great restaurants and bars within walking distance.

I'm sorry, but how is this a 5-star luxury hotel?

The decor looks more like a W and even some JW Marriotts than Ritz-Carlton. I agree with you that Ritz-Carlton is, unfortunately, more like faux luxury these days. Edition, in my opinion, has outlived itself as the 20-somethings in the late 2000s and early 2010s that it catered approach their 50s. Same for W. W seems stuck in the postmodern/contemporary decor and design that was population around 2006-2008.

All that aside:
1) No desk. There is plenty of room for a desk in that room. Put the desk to the right of the lamp. You can see the room was designed for a desk in that location. There's an electrical outlet right there.
2) The TV is an awful position. The armoire and the TV should change positions.
3) It's a double sink. So, it's intended for two people. Why only 1 bar of soap? And only 1 set of toiletries, like mouthwash and toothpaste.
4) I don't see any stationary.
5) No clock?
6) No slippers? I don't see slippers in the valet tray nor with the robe that's hanging.
7) I think many people would expect white tablecloths in the restaurant.

Except you aren't going to tell a client, junior associate or the woman you're trying to hook up with, date or marry to meet you at the bar in the Hyatt Place for a cocktail. It's intended to impress. It's "The Ritz-Carlton." Of course, it's all a facade catering to the people who either (a) don't know better or (b) are using other people's money.

"plus you get breakfast"

Except you don't. AmEX's FHR benefit for breakfast is becoming like Marriott. Lots of hotels only giving a $30 credit. $30 doesn't cover breakfast at most of those hotels.

@Ben - out of curiosity what are your thoughts on the decor at the Mark?

They admittedly have their fans, but to me it looks like my grandma with actively bad taste (goes beyond having no taste) was the designer.

Typos.
"... as the 20-somethings in the late 2000s and early 2010s that it catered TO approach their 50s."

"... postmodern/contemporary decor and design that was POPULAR around 2006-2008."

Why are there 5 face cloths but only 2 hand towels and 2 body towels?

No comment about misspelling your name?

Hi Santos, I am sure you would agree, we would not want visitors to Manhattan to get the wrong idea. While we have great restaurants and bars, we have far more mediocre ones and some horrible ones. Ratings on Yelp and Google are no longer reliable. Any individual looking to eat and drink properly in our city must rely on a personal recommendation from knowledgable, unbiased local sources.

As to that Hyatt Place, while it may suffice depending on one's personal standards, Manhattan is all about getting what you pay for. Higher prices at the Ritz confer a higher caliber of service as well as a higher end clientele. The average person in New York, intentionally or otherwise, appears charmless. Our city is infamously unapproachable and inhospitable in a way that only transplants feel, because to natives, this is just how it is. Yet, at the higher end, both the service staff and the fellow customers exhibit more charisma because they have been trained or raised to do so. If it brightens one's day to interact with others in a more friendly manner, then one will experience a more satisfactory stay at a more expensive hotel.

I have low expectations of luxury hotel service in the United States, because I think our country just sort of lacks a service culture, especially in cities.

True, and New York City is particularly deficient in service culture compared to e.g. Chicago or Miami or Los Angeles, but even here in NYC, at the very high end (which sadly Ritz is not) one can indeed experience the finest levels of customer service.

After a stay last year, I concluded that this was the most uncomfortable 5 star ever. Beautiful lobby, but every chair was uncomfortable. The bathroom was form over function. Cool sinks but try to get under the faucet? Almost impossible. The sofa had no legroom because the table in front couldn’t be moved. And so on. But the service was lovely.

I don't know where my comment went. You stay at the Ritz-Carlton over the Hyatt Place because it impresses your client, junior associate or the girl you're trying to get with. It is, after all, "The Ritz-Carlton."

I'd say half the Ritz-Carlton properties are for people who either (a) don't know real luxury or (b) are staying on other people's money.

Hi Rico,

Great catch, and unfortunately, that is a huge oversight by the hotel. Were I the General Manager of this hotel, I would be emailing Ben to apologize profusely. Addressing a guest by name is a paramount form of respect. To mangle the name is to show the height of discourtesy.

Hi FNT Delta Diamond,

You stay at the Ritz-Carlton over the Hyatt Place because it impresses your client

Although this may hold true in lower tier American cities, in NYC any hotel in the Marriott or Hyatt portfolio of brands would be considered firmly "mass affluent" midrange. No one in NYC is impressed by the Ritz. That is not to say these hotels are inappropriate or have no place, but someone with a goal of impressing a client would do well to book a room at The Carlyle.

“You stay at the Ritz-Carlton over the Hyatt Place…”

Don’t bother, it’s “Arps” with another sock puppet account.

Hi sock puppet PoliteNewYotker!”

How many names do you have here, anyway? Did you retire “Arps?”

I can assure you I'm nobody's socket puppet.

Hi TravelinPenis!

It is amusing than an Ambassador ($23k spend pretax) gets an “upgrade” of 20 extra sq ft and a few floors higher.

Ben, I really hope you don’t seek to requalify for this joke of a program this year, esp. with the upgrade language downgrade.

Don’t be so negative about Ritz Carlton properties.. Some have offered me the best stays I have had.. Certainly a step up from Hyatt Places..

I have an 85,000 points FNA I need to use before the end of the month and was thinking of using it here next weekend. How does this compare to the other higher end options like either EDITION (Times Square or Flatiron), Luxury Collection Midtown, or Le Meridien Central Park?
I’m Titanium so the breakfast amenity isn’t applicable at Ritz or EDITION but that’s not a deal breaker since so many great breakfast options in the city.

I agree with UA-NYC in that the Marriott Ambassador program is useless. Spending at least 23k a year plus at least 100 nights a year (yes, Lucky does have his personal and business credit cards with Marriott branded cards but still I think the ones that Lucky have do come with annual fees) but no real elite recognition. Spending so much money and nights a year for Ambassador elite but no breakfast guarantee at certain Marriott brands and a slap in your face guest room upgrades and no club access to certain Marriott brands. Why spend all of that time and money on Marriott’s highest publish elite level? I think even Hyatt, Hilton, and IHG are much better than Marriott.

I thought Zaytinya was awful. I love the original Zaytinya in DC, and was excited to see it come to NYC. But we have so many better mediterranean restaurants than Zaytinya. Even the Greek Salad at Zaytinya is terrible and it's so simple to make

Hilton isn't.
Hyatt's defined benefits and overall value of points are better but you seldom get in-room amenities as a globalist. Plus, most Hyatt Regencies in North America don't have club lounges. Hyatt also has a large gap in its portfolio. The best Hyatt Regencies are somewhere between a Marriott and Sheraton. Park Hyatts are somewhere between JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton. Hyatt lacks an upscale 4-star brand.

IHG's benefits are better-defined than Marriott, but the enforcement of brand standards is worse than Marriott, especially within the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands. And IHG only has Intercontinental, which is somewhere between Sheraton and JW Marriott in quality, and Kimpton at least in large numbers. Crowne Plaza is awful. In the Hilton-Marriott-Sheraton-Hyatt Regency-Westin-Renaissance category, Crowne Plaza is worse than last place.

No needed, because this particular property is 'world renown' for spelling

New York is deficient in service culture compared with Miami? I just laughed out loud.

"Anyway, all-in-all I thought the room was great."

Yeah, looked like a perfectly nice 4-star hotel room in any city of the world, for 150 USD. New York, maybe 300 USD. But what would be the reason to pick this hotel and pay 1000 USD for this room? I cannot understand.

(For reviewing purposes, it's different, and I get that. But for anything else, why...?)

The Manhattan room is not 20SF larger. It is simply a higher floor. Look at the building. It is symmetrical. I have stayed in the Superior room and Manhattan room, they are identical except for Manhattan being higher. This is a lie to offer an "upgrade" but really only a higher floor.

Is it just me, or do breakfast prices ($18 for a eggs Benedict) look downright affordable for a 5-star in NYC?