RSS Email

Ritz-Carlton, Central Park #NYC #weekendgetaway

A couple of weeks back we were invited into NYC for Mr. Peabody and Sherman screening and press day. This post isn’t about that. This is about our time walking and experiencing the city and hotel and food. I love staying in hotels. I love messing up both beds, leaving my shoes in the middle of the floor and channel surfing like my life depended on it. We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park. Did you just OOOOH? I did when I saw the accommodations the first time. I was excited to stay at a “fancy” hotel. I expected cream of the crop, top- notch customer service from the second I walked up to the moment I checked out.

That didn’t happen. I will start off with saying that the hotel was booked solid for the press junket. The enormous trunks of camera equipment were taking up space in the small lobby, doormen weren’t paying attention to guests but instead truck drivers uploading MORE enormous trunks of media equipment, guestz were standing around waiting for their rooms.

Ritz Carlton Central Park NYC

image courtesy of Ritz-Carlton

Ritz Carlton Central Park NYC

image courtesy of Ritz-Carlton

This was problem number one. We arrived at 3:00, check in time and were told our room wasn’t ready. The story started about being super busy, rooms booked solid, production company being very demanding, blah blah. Rob and I are pretty easy going so we decided to take to Central Park while it was still sunny. There was snow and ice on the ground but walking through the park was nice. We held hands, which we never do and even managed to snap this pic of ourselves.Strolling Central Park #nyc #centralparkselfie

Strolling Central Park, NYC

We walked and walked and ended up walking through the Upper West Side looking at gorgeous architecture and crazy cute French Bulldogs (are French Bulldogs the dog of rich New Yorkers). We ventured to Amsterdam to Broadway and back to the hotel only to find out our room was still not ready.

At this point we were freezing and annoyed. After some complaining we were let into the 2nd floor Club Lounge to warm up and grab a drink and some food. This was right up Rob’s alley. He’s loves perks and in his book shrimp cocktail, cookies and Mary Janes for free is a HUGE perk. This made up for delay in our room being ready. We are easy to please. I made a bit of an ass of myself though. We were seated next to a window overlooking Central Park and I leaned on the window sill to look at something passing by and somehow dislodged a panel on the wall. The staff comes rushing over and I’m clueless as to what’s going on and why they are touching me and scooting my legs over trying to fix it.

We got message about a 1/2 hour later that our room was ready and we headed up. At this point I sit on the beds and chairs checking for comfort, examine the bathroom for cleanliness and see all the goodies I can’t consume in the mini fridge.Ritz Carlton Central Park, NYC #nyc

One look at the massive, luxurious tub and I knew it needed to be filled with bubbles, hot water and me. I looked around for bubble bath and could find any. A quick trip to Duane Reade fixed that problem. Robes are my weakness. Even if it’s just for a few minutes I must wear it. I have a plush robe at home but hotel room robes are special.Ritz Carlton Central Park Tub #review

Ritz Carlton Central Park BathRobes

The room had a terrible view but was furnished beautifully. The beds were very cozy and covered in silky-smooth crisp white sheets. Rob claims it was more comfortable than our Sleep Number. I think we should invest in a feather bed at home.

Ritz Carlton Central Park, NYC #nyc

Ritz Carlton Central Park, NYC #nyc

The bathroom was spacious, spotless and brightly lit. I did end up finding body wash in the shower that could’ve doubled as bubble bath, DUH.Ritz Carlton Cetnral Park Bathroom #review

ritz carlton bathroom

Rob ventured out for ice only to find out we had to get it delivered from someone in the kitchen. It took way too long to arrive for something not being cooked.

Rob wanted to take advantage of beautiful Auden Bistro and Bar for dinner. The staff was very attentive. Our server must’ve noticed my face when I looked at the menu because he came over and said the kitchen will make whatever I wanted even if it wasn’t on the menu. It was late and I really just wanted a good burger, that’s what we both ordered. I also ordered their signature AUDEN FRITES WITH TRUFFLE AND PECORINO. YUM. I love truffle fries and I wish I had more room in my belly to eat them all. The burger was AH-MAZ-ING. It’s so hard to mess up a burger but this was perfect. Juicy, seasoned, hot and with great bread. The restaurant was very dimly lit otherwise I’d have 13 pictures of just my burger to share.Auden Burger Ritz Carlton Central Park #food

Staying at the Ritz Carlton New York, Central Park wasn’t everything I expected. That name suggests a taste of grandeur and sophistication from the top to the bottom. It fell flat on some levels  of attentiveness and communication but the accommodations felt like an oasis full of comfort and luxury.

This is NOT a sponsored post. We were not required nor compensated to share our experience about the hotel.




Experience with Radisson Warwick Philadelphia

I’ve been debating whether write this review or not. I don’t’ typically like to write bad reviews but this experience really left a bad taste in my mouth.

A couple weeks back I attended Bloggy Boot Camp in Philadelphia and to truly take advantage of the full experience I wanted to spend the night at the conference hotel. I got a room at the Radisson Warwick Hotel for one night and shared it with a fellow blogger.

I called the night before arrival to add my roommate’s name so she could check into the room since she was getting into the city before me. The person that was supposed to be assisting me on the phone was giving me a hard time because my name was spelled wrong in their system. I finally got to the point of giving her the name of my roommate, asked for her to be added to the room and was told it would be fine. I also asked about the parking fees and she was clueless, telling me to ask the front desk. I was transferred and was finally given the answer I was looking for.

The next day as I was riding the train into the city I got a text from my roommate saying they wouldn’t allow her to check in; her name couldn’t be found on the room. Luckily she was able to hang out at the Bloggy Boot Camp cocktail hour till I got there.

I checked in, headed up to the room and was looking forward to a little quiet time before the nighttime festivities. I plopped down on the bed and instantly regretted my decision to stay overnight. The bed was miserably hard and uncomfortable. I remembered later that night that I should’ve asked for a Sleep Number room, by that time it was late and we needed to get some sleep.

The bathroom had a strange set up. The window sill was dirty and had an old rusty looking window but they kept extra toiletries there. I know they were going for a boutique look with a beautiful bathroom vanity but the counter tops were so high I couldn’t reach my face into the sink to wash up. I’m short but by no means a little person. The hot water for the shower took almost 10 minutes to reach temperature and there were piles of dust/hair in the corners and under the vanity.

The room itself was dimly light and lacked outlets to charge our phones. The hotel did bring up a microwave at my roommate’s request and that took up the outlet that I needed to use.

I really expected more from a Radisson at a discounted rate of $217/night. The exterior and lobby was beautiful, the in-house staff were friendly but the room accommodations left a lot to be desired for such a swanky area of Philadelphia.




A Girl’s Getaway with Hampton Hotels and Suites

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hampton Hotels. All opinions are 100% mine.
A girl’s getaway weekend has been on my mind for quite some time. My best friend and I have known each other for over 20 years and have never taken a vacation together. Life has always gotten in the way and now that we are married with children, extended families, jobs, hobbies and responsibilities a weekend away isn’t a top priority.

The Hampton Chain of Friends Sweepstakes has got me thinking about planning that perfect girl’s weekend getaway. This summer Hampton is offering a really cool way to get together with friends and family that you might need to reconnect with. Enter to win the grand prize of an entire hotel (100 rooms) for an entire weekend (2 nights). Imagine a weekend long slumber party with the people you love best. 100 first prizes are available too; weekend stays for the winner and three of their friends, given away daily.

Click Here
I would use my win in NYC Times Square for all my best girlfriends; some I haven’t seen in years. We’d visit all the usual tourist spots plus take advantage of the prime location for some really fun people watching, tasty food and excellent shopping.

Entering the Hampton Chain of Friends Sweepstakes is easy. Just complete a quick form and wait for your prize. The contest started 6/1/10 and ends 9/4/10 so you have plenty of time to enter. Visit Hampton Hotels for complete details, rules and restrictions.