The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park

Hotel description

We love small, independent hotels, but you’ve got to hand it to the big chains once in a while. It takes a staggering amount of dedicated effort to build a brand up to the point where “Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park” tells you just about everything you could possibly wish to know about a hotel.

Expect classic bygone-era opulence, with old-school professional service that matches the décor, and a location that’s difficult to top: it’s right on Central Park South, with an unbroken view of the park, within a few blocks of a fair bit of the world’s best shopping and sightseeing.

Inside it’s as splendid as you’d expect one of the Ritz-Carlton’s New York flagships to be, with some of the biggest rooms in town, decorated in an antique Continental style. They’ve got low-tech luxuries as well as high-tech essentials: fine linens, marble baths, Frédéric Fekkai amenities, DVD players as well as technology butlers to keep it all working seamlessly.

There’s a La Prairie spa for all your pampering needs, and the Star Lounge serves cocktails and the trademark Ritz-Carlton afternoon tea. And the restaurant is a step up from the usual luxury-hotel fare — it’s an outpost of Laurent Tourondel’s BLT market.