Four Seasons Hotel New York vs The Mark Hotel

The I.M. Pei limestone tower and the 52-storey lobby still stop people in their tracks, and on Central Park South that setting alone justifies a lot. The staff, over and over, is what guests remember — a bellman named Eddie, a concierge who got someone into every restaurant on their list, a bartender named Olga who adjusted an over-salted appetizer without being asked twice. That kind of consistent, unprompted staff-naming across unrelated stays doesn't happen at a hotel that's coasting.

The rooms are the catch, and travelers who know the brand elsewhere say so plainly: this reopened in late 2024 after a long closure and the guest rooms did not get the full overhaul some expected. Multiple stays describe furniture, fixtures and artificial flowers that read more 1990s hotel than 2020s Four Seasons, and more than one longtime FS guest has called it a noticeable step down from the brand's other flagships. The bathrooms and finishes are the specific complaint that keeps surfacing, alongside occasional housekeeping and room-service misses that feel out of step with the price.

Book it for the location, the lobby, and a staff that still performs like it's 1993 in the best sense — walking distance to the park, Fifth Avenue and Midtown's best restaurants, with a team that will genuinely go out of its way. Anyone chasing the newest rooms in the category has other options in the city; anyone who wants the classic New York hotel experience, done by people who still care, should book the higher floors and not worry about the decor.

The Mark's location opposite Central Park hasn't been matched by any hotel in the city, and Jacques Grange's rooms still photograph like nowhere else on the Upper East Side. But the real case for booking is the concierge desk. Guest after guest names Suzana specifically, unprompted, months apart, along with a bellman, a bar host, even the hot dog cart operator outside. That kind of staff loyalty doesn't happen by accident, and it's the thing regulars keep coming back for.

The trouble is what happens once you leave the lobby. Recent room complaints are specific: worn furniture in a Madison King, mold in the room offered as the fix after a complaint. Dining is the clearer miss — Jean-Georges service drew a lost-coat saga that took ten days and thirteen phone calls to resolve — though plenty of guests report none of these problems at all.

Book The Mark for the address and for the people who work the desk, not for a guaranteed room or a dinner reservation you're counting on. Travellers wanting round-the-clock consistency over Met Gala glamour tend to look toward NoMad instead. This one's a swing, priced like it shouldn't be, but the good version of it is very good.