"You've just arrived, what's the first thing to catch your eye? The top-hatted men holding the door for you are an appropriate prelude as you first walk into this iconic New York building. The lobby and the adjoining lounge are some of the only areas not to receive totally new looks in what the Ritz called its 2019 "reawakening." Instead the first impression you get is the Ritz of old: rich dark woods, original marble floors and chandeliers and chairs that look like they'd be at home in the great room of a Rockefeller or a Morgan. What's the backstory? The Central Park Ritz underwent a refresh in the first half of 2019 (folks there seem loath to call it an "update," perhaps because the goal was to preserve much of the character of the hotel if not the old design) and the hotel has indeed transformed. New layouts in the rooms, new furniture on the floor, new art everywhere; this is not your grandfather's Ritz. It's very easy for hotels of a certain vintage and a certain price point to feel so stuffy that you think if you breathe too loudly in the elevator you'll get tut tutted for a breach of etiquette. But the new Ritz is genuinely cool, and not just by Midtown Manhattan standards. Most importantly: Tell us about the rooms? New York is known for its tight hotel rooms and from a strictly inches and feet standpoint, that reputation fits here, but you wouldn't know it. A little interior design trick makes even the standard accommodations feel big enough to pass for comfortably sized NYC apartments. Patterns in the carpet divide the space in two, creating a convincing illusion of both a living room and a bedroom, the living area punctuated by a custom made couch and coffee table, and the bedroom by dreamy wall coverings. It's not just tricks like that though that push the suave, hip vibe that pervades this refreshed Ritz. Everything, from the bespoke, and sometimes surprising furniture (my boring old desk chair was replaced with a massive mid-century style lounger) to the honor bar full of bottles from New York's distilling boom, to the photos on every wall featuring images of powerful women all over Manhattan, makes the experience here current in a way that hotels in Midtown often are not. And I'd be remiss not to mention the views, which will always be a defining feature. The Central Park canopy from the windows at the Ritz is one of the most peaceful sights in all of New York. And for holiday travelers, several of the suites, particularly the two huge Legendary suites, offer some of the best places to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. How's the Wi-Fi? Is it complimentary? If you're a Marriott Bonvoy member it's free, if you're not it'll cost you $14.95 a day. It's fast enough, but you may not want to try to have an hour-long video chat. Drinking and dining—what are we looking at? Though the Ritz redid its food offerings, now anchored by the Contour lounge, the hotel is not trying to duke it out with the heavy hitters of the New York food scene. The clientele here is probably going to have dinner at Le Bernardin or Per Se and everyone seems OK with that. But if you need a quick bite before a show, Contour has solid small plates. Where the Ritz really excels is with its bar offerings. The cocktail program has smart riffs on classics (a Last Word made with jalapeño-infused tequila) and reserve recipes made with rare ingredients. Speaking of rare, the bar also pours Teeling 24-year-old single malt Irish whiskey, named the best single malt in the world in 2019 (take that Scotland) and also a particularly hard to find bottle. And the service? One thing that has not changed is the warm and knowledgeable service here. Do not be surprised if, after check-in, most of the employees you encounter refer to you by name (using mister or miss of course, this is a Ritz, not a summer camp) and quickly ask if there is anything you might be missing, be it a bottle of water or directions to the A train. What type of travelers will we find here? Older couples mysteriously wearing golf attire, in town to see some theater and well-to-do families dominate the halls (the Ritz Kids program makes this one of the more family friendly luxury hotels). That said, there are some older millennials as well, likely the third generation of their families to book here. What about the neighborhood? What else will we find here? You're right on the park, which means a lot of high priced restaurants with white tablecloths and most of New York's high culture touchstones—you're perhaps a 10-minute walk from Lincoln center, and a 5-minute train ride from museum row. Any other hotel features worth noting? The meeting rooms have been replaced by an idealized version of a hotel gym: treadmills that will simulate a run through Yosemite National Park, sparkling water on tap for when you're done. But the best part is a studio, that, in addition to providing a couple Peloton bikes, has a wall-sized flat screen that offers on-demand classes from intense yoga to hip-hop dance. Outside the subterranean gym the focus on wellness continues upstairs with the only La Prairie spa in the Northeast. Bottom line: Worth it? Why? The new Ritz provides all the classic luxury of the old one, and it is a great example of how to smartly modern up a hotel that's been around for nine decades." - Noah Kaufman
