The Peninsula is one of several luxury hotel chains well represented by their New York properties--the Four Seasons, St. Regis, Ritz Carlton and Mandarin Oriental are others. All are located midtown--a rather touristy area, but filled with well regarded restaurants, shops and the Museum of Modern Art. It was a pleasant shock when the Pen appeared on my favourite private sale website as part of a package that was an amped of version of their own Summer Splendour package--it included a room upgrade, hotel credit and a yoga or personal training session (usually you choose one), plus breakfast. And the Pen ended up being a none too shabby place to be "stuck" while riding out Hurricane Irene, which extended our stay from 3 to 5 nights (the last 2 nights on the traditional Summer Splendour package)--we were fortunate the hotel had rooms available. The staff, which overall handled the situation with calm and grace, were also fortunate the hotel had rooms available, as some staff spent the night, with staff either unable to get home or come to work, as all public transportation was closed for awhile. Alas, there were some regrettable deficiencies concerning the front desk both pre and post hurricane--far from five-star--which I will address last.
Upon entering the hotel, you are greeted by a doorman, page (in their signature Pen uniform), bellman and/or security person. The 3 story entry has a grand staircase and chandelier, with an exquisitely detailed ceiling and mouldings. The lobby is a series of jewel box-sized spaces. At entry level is a sitting room and a bell desk with a sitting area, as well as the entry hall to the Salon de Ning rooftop lounge elevator. Up the stairs to one side is the Fives restaurant and lounge (breakfast, lunch, dinner). To the other side is the Gotham Lounge (cocktails, light fare, afternoon tea) and then the reception area, concierge desk, small but well-equipped (and free) business center, another sitting area, and the guest elevators. There is free Wifi throughout the hotel. We lunched at Fives once, taking advantage of the Restaurant Week menu, and it was a tasty and hushed experience with great service.
Our room on the 17th floor (20 floors with rooms) faced 55th St. It was categorized as a Grand Luxe, the largest of the regular rooms, but seemed smaller than the Grand Luxe room we had on a prior stay. That room faced 5th Ave. The rooms are pretty large by New York standards and elegantly appointed with high quality hard and soft furnishings. There is a very functional upholstered luggage bench in the entryway. The desk housed a fax machine and some office supplies. The bed was exquisite, with a bedside panel to control lights, temperature, TV, radio, etc. The television console also housed the minibar, fridge, and DVD player. The TV was not HD, and 3 remotes were needed to use it and the DVD--the in-room operating instructions were not accurate, so I had to call for help. The tech staff wear white lab coats. There was no iPod dock. There was a photo memory card reader to look at your photos on the TV screen, but it was old and could not read newer memory cards. The bathroom was large and all marble, with a separate tub and shower, TV over the tub, enclosed WC. Only one sink, but lots of counter space. We always had room service breakfasts and were particularly fond of the Chinese breakfast ($42). Room service ranged from outstanding (with every conceivable food item, utensil or seasoning on the tray) to good. Housekeeping was uniformly excellent day and night.
The Pen is crowned, literally and figuratively, by the Spa on the 21st floor and the pool/fitness centre on the 22nd, with a newly opened Sun Terrace on the mezzanine between. The rooftop lounge the Salon de Ning is on the 23rd floor, reached by separate elevator. All of these spaces were closed for renovation during our last visit. The Spa, Sun Terrace and pool/fitness centre are outstanding in every way--design, decor, service, amenities, concept. Very Zen. They are all not too common features for New York hotels. The Spa was so serene and tranquil (and quite large)--I enjoyed a 2 hour Peninsula Ceremony involving hot jade stones the day before the night Irene hit, and also tried the relaxation lounge and steam room. The only drawback--no jacuzzi in either the spa or by the pool. The glass-enclosed pool is of decent size and functional for laps--it is not the large bathtub in the middle of a frenetic bar scene that one sees on "hipper" New York hotel rooftops. The adjacent fitness centre is well-equipped and fairly large, with a glass-enclosed studio for classes. Service everywhere was very attentive, and when the rain from Irene sprouted leaks and water buildup, the hotel staff was very quick to respond and address. The new-this-summer Sun Terrace is also beautiful. It wraps around 3 sides of the hotel and has fabulous open air views to the north, east and south, up and down 5th Ave. including Central Park. Wonderful teak chaises and tables with umbrellas done in shades of saffron and russet fill the terrace. Food and nonalcoholic drinks are available here or poolside ($39 bento boxes).
We wanted to love the rooftop Salon de Ning lounge (formerly the PenTop Bar), but it was just okay. The space is meant to evoke a lounge in 1930's Shanghai, with some western touches. The small indoor bar area, with a smattering of tables, is lovely, but the 2 outdoor terraces just did not look as nice as the photos on the Pen's website, pre or post Irene. The glass walls look onto the same views that can be better seen from the Sun Terrace. The service was lackluster here, and the drinks, while yummy (tried the Ning Sling), are a pricey $22, with light fare in the $20-$30 range.
The front desk was by far the biggest, really the only, disappointment to an otherwise wonderful stay. For 4 major interactions with reception, 3 were sub par.
1) Check-in. A stark contrast to check-in at our last visit, an idyllic memory of perfection: Car arrives, doorman retrieves luggage from trunk, looks at name on luggage tag and announces it into headset. Upstairs at front desk, receptionist greets me by name and with a smile, says room is not ready. Receive phone call that room is ready, return to desk, same smiling gentleman escorts me to room and points out features.
For this visit, it went: Taxi arrives, doorman retrieves luggage and asks my name, which he announces into headset. At reception, one staff member is with a guest, the second one looks at me without smiling or greeting me by name, actually without speaking, until I say I am checking in and give her my name. Check in then proceeds rather zombie-like, with minimal oral interaction, like someone in the 10th hour of an 8 hour shift, as if speaking was a source of great discomfort. The room is not ready. Later, a different staffer phones me that the room is ready and gives me the keys (with a smile!) but does not escort me. To be fair, I never saw a front desk person escort any guest to their room.
2) Extending the stay. Once we discovered our flight was canceled, I went to the front desk to try to extend the stay. This was a positive experience--Sheron was very patient and thorough and was able to keep us in the same room using the Summer Splendour room upgrade. She said I would need to check out and check in again, as the 2nd stay would be a separate folio.
3) Check-out/check-in. Another unsmiling staffer who was rather ruffled by the somewhat unique situation and required assistance. The interaction was perfunctory and formal, straight out of a training manual.
4) Check out. Yet another unsmiling staffer. A charge from the first settled folio somehow ended up on the 2nd bill, but receipts etc. that I had for proof were packed away. Settling this involved help and a phone call. The charge was eventually dropped "as a one time courtesy", a politically correct way of saying "I don't believe you, but we'll drop the charge so you'll go away"--not the nicest way or impression with which to leave the Pen or New York.
Unpleasantries such as this have kept me away from other hotels (the Four Seasons Chicago specifically), but I don't think this will be the case with the Pen, not when everything else about the stay was so enjoyable. We'll just try to arrive later and avoid hurricanes next time.
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