A Tale of Two Cities: Uptown and Downtown NYC

May 3, 2011

One of the things we love about New York City  is that a ten minute walk around the city will invariably lead you to experience a plethora of cultures and neighborhoods. One minute you are in the uber-cool Soho neighborhood and the next you are intersecting with NYC’s Asian culture in Chinatown. With this myriad of diversity in mind, we recently made a trip to NYC–making it a point to experience two sides of the city that we fondly love: uptown and downtown.

We began our journey at the Ritz-Carlton on Central Park South, a prime location and close to the heart of NYC.  This location is truly representative of the brand–luxurious, sumptuous and elegant. In addition, it was some of the best views of Central Park in NYC–a fact that was doubly engraved once we eyed our room. We were amazed at the beautiful, sweeping views of Central Park. Peering out of our windows made as realize how big the park really is (a mere 2 miles).For our viewing pleasure, the room included a telescope and for inquiring minds, book describing the various species of birds residing within the park. Other items in the room include separate water closet (toilet), a bathtub and a separate shower.

One of the reasons the Ritz-Carlton has remained an enduring figure in the luxury hotel industry, is partly due to the brand’s  reputation for impeccable service. This rang especially true during our stay as it seemed the staff anticipated our every need before we could even think of them.  One night we were running late and asked the doorman for a taxi. He asked us where we were headed to and when we told him our next locale he offered us the hotel car. Unbeknown to us, this is  a complimentary service, one that could not have come at a better time. Even more impressive:  by our second night the doormen knew our names. These two details made us feel that the staff truly cared about the Ritz-Carlton tradition: the staff is decked with Gentlemen and Ladies serving Gentlemen and Ladies.

Of course we had to try the house restaurant which is the BLT Marketplace, popular in their Miami location for the popovers, which are sadly not offered at the New York locale.  We were a bit disappointed about the lack of the famous popovers…until the wonderful staff  brought out their house Pesto Bread which made us forget about what disappointed us in the first place.

After two nights in the fabulous uptown area,  we moved to the new Mondrian Soho which recently opened their doors. While uptown is all about luxury and opulence, downtown is about all about  trendy boutique hotels that cater to an upscale crowd.

While the exterior of the Mondrian portrays an almost Secret Garden-like setting, the inside of the lobby is quite different. Imagine if you will,  South Beach moving to Soho and bringing with it the color blue. To stay at the Mondrian you have to be a fan of the color because well… it’s simply all over the hotel, from the lobby furniture, to the blue tinted full size mirror in the bedrooms. The trend continues in the bedding as well as the  bedspreads and pillows.

Much like it’s South Beach counterpart, once you enter the hotel on the ground floor the first thing you notice is the buzz and then of course the beautiful people mingling about. The ground floor also contains their house restaurant Imperial No. Nine, which we were told is impossible to get a table at on a busy weekend. However,  the hotel does have access to a few tables each night. The restaurant itself  is divided into two parts:  the first is located indoors and the second is a greenhouse encased in pane glass. At night with the stars twinking above you, it is quite an impressive sight. A fun place to impress a date if you ask us.

The lobby of the hotel is on the second floor, positioned  away from the action below so when you check in, you have  a more peaceful experience. The concierge is also at this level so a quick question or a full-on conversation is easy. The concierge, by the way, is pretty impressive. Although we arrived at the hotel at 5:00 pm, they still managed to find us a reservation in one of the hottest Soho restaurants nearby.

We were glad to have experienced both sides of Manhattan and now we have twice the reasons to return!

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