We recently had to be in New York for a couple of nights, and decided to stay at the 250-room Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad. This property opened in 2022, so it’s one of the newer luxury options in the city.
I’ve gotta be honest, I had fairly low expectations going in — I find Ritz-Carlton to sort of be a “cookie cutter” luxury brand that’s having a bit of an identity crisis with modernizing, and I also have fairly low expectations of service in the United States.
With that in mind, this property exceeded my expectations, and we had an excellent stay. The hotel is modern, with exceptional food and beverage outlets in partnership with José Andrés, beautiful views of the city, and responsive service. While the hotel isn’t perfect, it’s definitely one of the better city hotels I’ve stayed at in the United States in quite some time, and I’d gladly return.
Bigger picture, I think this property is a great prototype for how the Ritz-Carlton brand can be modernized. It feels like on the luxury side, Marriott is leaning heavily into the EDITION brand for growth, and to pursue younger guests. The problem is that EDITION has luxury pricing and a heavy emphasis on dining outlets, but that’s about it. This property almost felt like a hybrid between a Ritz-Carlton and EDITION, in a good way.
In this post:
Booking the Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad
I redeemed Bonvoy points for our stay at the Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad, at the rate of 103,000 points per night. For what it’s worth, I value Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each, so that was the equivalent of paying a little over $700 per night, based on my valuation.
Nowadays Bonvoy has dynamic award pricing, and looking at the current calendar, I see rates ranging anywhere from 94,000 to 156,000 Bonvoy points per night for a standard room. If you’re staying longer, keep in mind that you get a fifth night free on award redemptions.
If paying cash at the Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad, rates typically range anywhere from $750 to $1,500 per night for a standard room, depending on the time of year, what’s going on in the city, etc. The pricing is of course steep, but definitely one tier below the city’s top properties, which now regularly retail for over $1,500 per night.
If you are going to book a cash stay here, I’d recommend doing so through the Marriott STARS program, which offers extra perks, like complimentary breakfast, a room upgrade subject to availability, a $100 property credit, and more. I find that booking through Marriott STARS is especially useful for Ritz-Carlton properties, where Marriott Bonvoy elite status doesn’t offer complimentary breakfast.
Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad location
The Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad is located in the North of Madison neighborhood, as the name suggests. Specifically, it’s at 25 W 28th Street, so it’s on 28th Street, right near Broadway, between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue.
People will have differing opinions on the North of Madison neighborhood, and everyone has different preferences as to where they like to stay. Personally, I quite like this area, simply because it gives you pretty easy access to the rest of the city, whether you’re looking to go uptown or downtown. Given that the weather was beautiful, we were able to walk just about everywhere. There’s also a subway stop literally next to the entrance to the hotel, so public transport is excellent.
The Ritz-Carlton is in a newly constructed 40-floor high rise — the 250 guest rooms and suites are on levels 14 through 37, while there are 16 penthouse residences on levels 40 through 43 (as you can tell, some floors are skipped).
There were some barriers set up in front of the hotel during our stay. That’s because the Boston Celtics were staying at the hotel, so some fans lined up before they’d get on their bus to the games. I’m not into organized sports, so I had no clue about this until someone mentioned it to us. I had wondered why we were the only people staying here who weren’t approaching seven feet in height!
Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad lobby & check-in
The Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad has a modern and stylish lobby, though it’s definitely on the small side (since most of the public spaces are food & beverage outlets). As you enter the hotel, there are some nice plants, a cart with flowers, and then a large couch straight ahead.
Then when you turn left, you’ll find four podiums, which is where the front desk staff and concierge stand, and assist guests.
A couple of other things to note. For one, there was a ton of security in the lobby at all hours, though that might’ve partly been a function of the Boston Celtics staying at the hotel. Second of all, the lobby definitely gets crowded in the afternoons and evenings with non-guests, given the number of outsiders visiting the hotel’s food and beverage outlets.
Anyway, we arrived in the early afternoon, and were immediately helped at check-in. We were offered water or prosecco, and went with the former. I was thanked for my Bonvoy Ambassador status, and we were told we had been upgraded to a Manhattan Room (slightly bigger than a standard room, and on a high floor).
I had tried to apply a Nightly Upgrade Award for this stay, but it didn’t clear. In fairness, it’s my understanding that the hotel is usually pretty good with upgrades, but there was nothing better for sale on the nights of our stay. Of course since the elite breakfast benefit doesn’t apply at Ritz-Carlton, elite benefits are more limited than at other brands.
Our room wasn’t quite ready, so the bell staff held onto our bags. About an hour later we received a call that our room was ready, so we headed back and picked up our keys. The elevators are just down the hall from reception.
With this elevator system, you have to select which floor you want to go to before entering the elevator (and you need to swipe a key card, if it’s not a public floor), and then it tells you which elevator to use.
I don’t mind this system, but 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.
Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad guest room
We were assigned room 3006, a Manhattan Room on the 30th floor. The hotel is more vertical than it is horizontal, so each floor has a fairly limited number of rooms. Our room was very close to the elevators.
The Manhattan Rooms at the property are marketed as being 420 square feet (38 square meters). This is slightly larger than the entry level rooms here, which start at 400 square feet (36 square meters). The room was modern and nicely designed, given the limited space.
As you enter the room, there’s a closet to the right, and then the bathroom entrance just behind that, with the rest of the room straight ahead.
The main part of the room consisted of a king size bed, an “L” shaped couch with a table, a wall-mounted TV, and a minibar setup. I thought the room design was quite elegant, from the lighting fixture, to the wall treatments. It’s certainly quite a contrast to the Ritz-Carlton Turks & Caicos room design *shudder*.
The king bed was soft and very comfortable, perfectly in line with my preferences.
The seating area in the room was multi-functional. While I appreciate when hotels have a proper desk in a room, this did the trick, as it was sufficient for working, dining, hanging out, etc.
As you can see, the TV was awkwardly positioned, but it could swivel a bit. This location choice is for good reasons, since you don’t want to obstruct the room’s amazing views.
The minibar is in its own console to the side of the window. It had a Nespresso coffee machine and tea, plus a variety of drinks and snacks for purchase.
The highlight of the room was the views, no doubt. Our room faced downtown, and on a clear day, it was possible to see the Freedom Tower and Statue of Liberty.
The view was even better in the mornings and evenings, and almost didn’t look real. It’s rare to find a luxury New York City hotel with views this nice, so that was a treat.
When it comes to tech in the room, there were outlets (AC and USB-A) next to the bed, as well as light switches. I found it a bit cheap that the curtains and blinds were manual rather than automatic, but I guess I’d rather that they save on costs there than elsewhere.
The bathroom was back near the entrance, and was surprisingly spacious for a non-suite. The bathroom had double sinks, a soaking tub, a toilet, and a walk-in shower. A modern bathroom is a nice feature of a newly built property, since so many of the city’s best hotels are historic, and often bathrooms don’t get a full refresh.
The shower had both a rainforest shower head and a handheld wand. Water pressure was decent, but the stream wasn’t very concentrated.
Toiletries were from Diptyque, and in reusable containers. There was also a box with other amenities, ranging from cotton swabs, to a dental kit. I always appreciate when hotels have that in the room, rather than making it by request only.
A couple of hours after checking in, a welcome amenity was delivered, with two bottles of Saratoga water (that’s really in nowadays, eh?), plus a sweet apple pastry.
The “apple” was delicious, though since they’re presumably handing this out to many guests, they may want to check the “world renown” verbiage. 😉
Anyway, all-in-all I thought the room was great. It was modern, functional, and boasted amazing views. Housekeeping was provided twice daily, and was thorough.
Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad spa & gym
The Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad has a 6,800 square foot full service spa, with eight treatment rooms, a relaxation area, saunas, steam rooms, and more. The spa partners with Augustinus Bader, Dr. Dennis Gross, and ESPA, on treatments. I didn’t get any services here, but you can find all the details and menu here.
There’s also a 24/7 gym located right next to the spa. The gym has solid equipment, with a selection of cardio and weight options. The gym didn’t strike me as being particularly big for a hotel of this size, but it wasn’t crowded during the two times I visited.
My only complaint is that the gym doesn’t have any windows, so there are no views (or natural light) from here.
Note that the Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad doesn’t have a pool, so if that’s an amenity that’s important to you, you’ll want to stay elsewhere.
Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad restaurants & bars
The Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad is a food and beverage powerhouse, with nearly all concepts being in partnership with José Andrés. Having a hotel be a hotspot in this way can be a blessing or a curse:
- Without good restaurants and bars, a hotel can feel kind of dead and soulless
- If the restaurants and bars are too popular, it can detract from the experience of actually being a hotel guest
In that sense, I think the Ritz-Carlton strikes a great balance, because these outlets really up the hotel’s “cool factor,” with guests still being prioritized for access to these venues, and service not really suffering. So, what are the food & beverage outlets?
The Bazaar by José Andrés is the hotel’s signature restaurant, and it’s open for dinner on select evenings. Unfortunately it was closed on the days that we were staying, but suffice it to say that this is a popular restaurant, and a fun dining concept.
The hotel also has the Lobby Lounge, which is open from early in the morning until late at night, serving drinks, snacks, etc. It’s a small space just off the lobby.
Immediately next to the Lobby Lounge (behind the curtain in the above picture) is the Bazaar Bar, which is open in the afternoon and evenings, and a popular place to grab a drink.
Zaytinya is the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant, inspired by Turkish, Greek, and Lebanese cuisines.
Not only is it a gorgeous restaurant, but I love this type of cuisine, so I’m a huge fan. While breakfast isn’t included for elite members (though it is for Marriott STARS guests), we had breakfast here one morning, and you can find the menu below.
We had a cold brew and cappuccino, both of which were good.
To eat, Ford ordered the shakshouka and I had the smoked salmon, and we loved both of the dishes.
Last but not least, the hotel’s most popular outlet is probably Nubeluz, which is the rooftop bar area, featuring 270 degree views of the city. It’s open in the evenings, and on weekends, is also open for afternoon tea. This is popular with locals, and often books out days (or even weeks) in advance.
How cool is this space?!?
There’s even an outdoor rooftop space, which is perhaps what’s most remarkable, as it’s rare to have an open air space this high up.
The restaurant has all kinds of imaginative cocktails with smoke and other Instagram-worthy “tricks,” though I just ordered a classic negroni.
The bar has some unique small bites, and we ordered the grilled cheese and marcona almonds.
By the way, while not a food and beverage outlet, I should mention that the hotel has complimentary coffee and tea in the lobby in the mornings, which is always an appreciated feature.
Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad club lounge
While we didn’t have access to it, I should mention that the Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad has a club lounge, located on the 37th floor, with five food presentations per day, in partnership with José Andrés. Ritz-Carlton Club lounges are known for being high quality, though the pricing for some clubs just blows my mind.
For example, while there’s some variability, rooms with club access generally cost $500 more pre night than comparable rooms without access. I don’t think anyone could argue that’s good value, but I guess if you have the money to spend and want access to these facilities, this is probably as nice as these kinds of lounges get in New York.
Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad service
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.
With that in mind, I found the service at the Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad to be very good. I don’t want to suggest that it was somehow overly attentive or personalized, but all the staff were friendly and quite competent. Every time I made a request through the Marriott chat app, they got back to me within a minute, and took care of the request (like the timing of housekeeping and turndown service, making dinner reservations, etc.).
So yeah, two thumbs up to service at this hotel. Of course it’s not Japan or Thailand, but for the US, this place is good.
Bottom line
The Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad is an impressive city hotel, at least by US standards. The hotel is modern and luxurious, with stunning views, friendly service, and top notch food and beverage outlets. Admittedly Ritz-Carlton isn’t exactly great in terms of Bonvoy perks, and the hotel also doesn’t have a pool, so it’s not for everyone.
While the hotel isn’t cheap, I appreciate how frictionless our stay was. I find that at so many hotels in the US, there are just so many little things that go wrong, while I found this whole stay to be quite seamless. I’d absolutely consider returning to this property.
What’s your take on the Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad?
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 stayed there last week and thought the service could have been better. But it is a very nice hotel.
Had drinks in the lobby there just 2 weeks ago. Great spot!
And agreed on your assessement of Zaytinya, love that restaurant.
"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...
"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.
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...
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...
@ 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...
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.
"...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. :)