Nothing is ever the same.
Nothing is what it once was and nothing is ever what it is supposed to be....especially hotels. I have found this to be true, especially about the Ritz Carlton chain around the world and New York is probably not the place to test the theory.
When the price of a room is often triple one's monthly mortgage payment, what you get for that kind of extortion is usually not what you would expect.
What few hotels seem to have learned in this time of great demand and limited supply is that when you charge three or four times what the room is really worth, some guests are going to expect a whole lot more than a rack and a few towels. I think that most Ritz customers expect quite a bit. I do, but I am often disappointed because the chain isn't what it was originally established to be and each time another property opens, it seems like the standard has been dropped a bit lower.
By every standard, this should be a great hotel, but it's not.
It is in a fabulous location, with classic views of the New York Harbor. It is next to historic Battery Park and near the financial district and downtown Manhattan. It is a relatively new building built for this purpose, (not renovated from something else), and it has the Ritz brand to attract the high rollers.
So, what's lacking here?
Part of my disenchantment came from the feeling that when you pay these prices, everything must be perfect. My baseline for comparison was the ancient Ritz in Boston where staff had a pocket guide card for dealing with guest and guest issues and nearly every response included the words, "It is my pleasure to serve you." Okay, so that's a bit out for today's grossly overpaid business execs, especially in New York, but a lot more is missing here.
From my arrival in a cab during a cab driver "job action," (meaning slowdown/strike), to the room service response to a request for a coffee machine, the hotel staff responded very well. A bit slowly, but well.
Check-in was breezy and very quick. I was a guest of a guest, so they had my name at the top of their "arrivals expected" list and whisked me to the elevator with nothing but courtesy and good wishes.
The corner suite on floor three has great views of Ellis Island and Statute of Liberty….like no other in the city, and reminded me of the wonderful views from much higher up at the Windows on the World Restaurant in the now lost World Trade Center.
Hotel staff was visible, courteous and responsive.
But......the carpet in the suite was beaten up, stained and had several poorly done patches in it.
The furniture was contemporary Rooms to Go and certainly not the classic modern or well simulated antique one finds in other top properties.
There was a kitchen alcove with separate entrance, but no coffee maker or coffee, but lots of snacks to buy, which seemed a bit off center when one is paying over a thousand dollars a night.
Bath rooms (2) were adequate and well appointed, but the doors squeaked and the toilet wheezed and whined and the shower door leaked all over the floor, requiring use of some of the great fluffy towels to keep the floor safe.
Is this nit-picking? Maybe, but other top hotels would have addressed these maintenance and quality issues at once.
No doubt the corner suite on this lower floor was always in demand and well used, but that does not mitigate the poor maintenance, even in New York, where a maintenance person gets paid more than a physician in Middle America.
The "kicker" came when we went to open the sofa bed and found out, despite hotel assurances for a made up sofa bed, made during booking, long before arrival, and at the check in, that this was not a sofa bed at all, but just a well-used conventional couch.
When we made the discovery, it was very late and we were tired, so I ended up sleeping on the floor on couch and chair cushions, using the spare blanket and pillow in the Thousand Dollar Suite at the Ritz!!!!! Just what I needed to prepare for my flight to Frankfurt the next day,
This is one of those things that hotel management always responds to by saying something like: "you should have called and we would have taken care of it." At two AM, when one has traveled all day, attended a tiresome business function and is ready for bed and worn out, the prospect of having hotel personnel scurrying around bringing in a new bed or some squeaky roll-away, was more trouble than just crashing on the floor.
Would I go back? No.
Would I recommend it? Not at those prices and not unless hotel management is able to show clearly that they know what the Ritz is supposed to be and begin to deliver it.
Next time, even if I'm paying the bill, I'll go back up town to the Four Seasons and pay even more!
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