Side-by-side
The Mark Hotel vs Four Seasons Hotel New York
The Mark Hotel: The 1927 building and Jacques Grange interiors still read chic. Four Seasons Hotel New York: Doormen, bellmen and concierge get named and praised constantly.
Can't split them? Tell us the trip and we'll say which one we'd book — then book it at the same rate as direct, our perks attached.
Independent
Fat ApprovedThe Mark Hotel
A 1927 landmark building on Madison Avenue with 106 rooms and a Jean-Georges restaurant, steps from Central Park.
Four Seasons
Four Seasons Hotel New York
An I.M. Pei-designed limestone tower on East 57th Street, steps from Central Park, reopened in late 2024 after an extended closure.
Strengths & trade-offs
The Mark Hotel
Strengths
- Staff who remember guests by name across multiple stays and years
- Unbeatable Upper East Side location minutes from Central Park and the Met
- Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant and room service, including breakfast in bed
- Old-school touches: loaner bikes, winter sleds, John Lobb shoe care, hot dog cart
Trade-offs
- Base rooms can show real wear: stains, dated furniture, occasional maintenance failures
- Outdoor dining and lost-item resolution are inconsistent when something goes wrong
- Dining room and lobby atmosphere read as dated or dim to some recent guests
Four Seasons Hotel New York
Strengths
- Staff repeatedly singled out by name across unconnected stays
- I.M. Pei lobby remains one of the most striking hotel interiors in the city
- Large rooms by Manhattan standards, many with Central Park or skyline views
- Concierge team gets guests into fully booked restaurants
- Unmatched Midtown location steps from Central Park and Fifth Avenue
Trade-offs
- Guest rooms and bathrooms feel dated despite the recent reopening
- Room service and restaurant execution inconsistent
- Spa still limited pending a planned refresh
- Occasional front-desk and housekeeping missteps at this price point
Scoreboard
| Dimension | The Mark Hotel/ 20 | Four Seasons Hotel New York/ 20 |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | Fat Approved | — |
| Overall Fat Score | 16 | Not in collection |
| Service | 15.5 Regulars name the same concierge and front-desk staff, like Suzana and Mia, but other guests describe rude doormen and lost belongings that went unanswered. | 16+0.5 Doormen, bellmen and concierge get named and praised constantly, though a few guests describe a rude phone call or restroom encounter that never got resolved. |
| Design | 17+3.5 The 1927 building and Jacques Grange interiors still read chic, though several guests flag rooms with worn furniture and dated details. | 13.5 Reports since the reopening keep calling the rooms beige and dated for the price, with one sink centered oddly in an otherwise long counter. |
| Location | 18.5Even Steps from Central Park and the Met on Madison Avenue, a location almost nobody who's stayed here complains about. | 18.5Even Steps from Central Park and Madison Avenue in Midtown, which almost nobody disputes even when they're complaining about everything else. |
| Dining | 14.5Even Jean-Georges breakfast and the hot dog stand draw real fans, but brunch and room service have drawn complaints about slow, careless staff for the price. | 14.5Even The Garden and the TY Bar draw real praise, but room service has landed as a sad club sandwich and the Red Lounge as tiny portions for the price. |
| Wellness | 13.5+0.5 Barely mentioned in the reports beyond the Frederic Fekkai salon, so there's little to go on here. | 13 The spa and pool exist but barely come up next to the rooms and restaurants in what people actually write about. |
The Verdicts
The Mark Hotel
The case for The Mark is the people at the desk, not the building. Mia greets a returning guest by name at checkout years after her last stay; Suzana builds itineraries with real warmth; Tim the bellman and Henry at the hot dog cart get singled out on their own. That kind of continuity is what people actually come back for, along with the 1927 landmark building, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's kitchen, and a location blocks from Central Park and the Met.
Book a base room and you're gambling. One Christmas-week guest paid around $5,000 for three nights in a Madison King with stains and burn marks on the furniture, got moved to a Park Studio with mold in the corners, and lost refrigerated gifts in the shuffle. Outdoor dining draws real complaints: flimsy furniture, a party left sitting in the rain with no one checking on them, food arriving without silverware. One guest's coat, sent out for cleaning after a spill, took four calls and thirteen people to track down over ten days, and still landed at the wrong address. None of this is universal: plenty of guests describe spotless rooms and easy weeks, and the dining room and lobby read as dated to some recent visitors rather than others. But it's recent enough and specific enough to price in rather than wave off.
Book it for the location, the doormen, and Jean-Georges breakfast in bed, and go in expecting a base room that might be tired rather than perfect. Ask for a renovated category if that matters to you, and don't count on outdoor dining or lost-item follow-up if something goes wrong. For an Upper East Side address with staff who remember you and a view of Madison Avenue, nothing nearby matches it.
Four Seasons Hotel New York
The I.M. Pei tower and that 52-storey lobby still stop people mid-step, and on Central Park South that alone buys a lot of goodwill. Guests write in about a bellman named Eddie who made a birthday stay feel personal, and a bartender named Olga who quietly remade an over-salted appetizer and remembered a returning guest years later. The staff is what people come back talking about, and it's the strongest, most consistent thing this hotel has going for it: the concierge team in particular gets singled out for landing reservations at restaurants that were supposedly full.
The rooms are the catch. This reopened in late 2024 after years closed, and plenty of longtime Four Seasons guests expected a full overhaul that didn't arrive: furniture, fixtures and even the artificial flowers read closer to a 1990s hotel than a 2020s Four Seasons, and more than one regular has called it a step down from the brand's other flagships. The bathrooms and finishes are the specific complaint that won't go away, and it sits alongside occasional housekeeping slips (hair left in a bathroom, a room service club sandwich one guest compared unfavorably to a child's cooking) and a front desk that isn't always as gracious as the doormen. The spa is also still limited while a refresh is pending, so don't book this one for wellness.
Book it for the location, the lobby, and a team that still performs like it's the 1990s in the best sense: walking distance to the park, Fifth Avenue, and Midtown's best tables, with people who go out of their way for you. Anyone chasing the newest rooms in this category has other options in the city (the Carlyle comes up often in comparison), but anyone who wants the classic New York hotel experience, run by people who still care, should book a higher floor, ask for a Central Park view, and not worry about the decor.
Still torn between The Mark Hotel and Four Seasons Hotel New York?
We're Sofie and Nicolas, the two of us behind Fat Voyage — and we've stayed in hotels like these ourselves. Tell us what the trip is and we'll tell you which one we'd book, and why. We're not a booking service, but a few times a year we plan one properly for someone; if that's what you're after, say so.
You'll be dealing with the two of us the whole way through, which is why we only take on a handful of trips at a time — if we're full, we'll say so. We reply by email, usually within one working day. The hotel pays us, not you: your rate is the same as booking direct, and the perks come on top.
Common questions
Which should I book — The Mark Hotel or Four Seasons Hotel New York?
The Mark Hotel: The 1927 building and Jacques Grange interiors still read chic. Four Seasons Hotel New York: Doormen, bellmen and concierge get named and praised constantly.
What's the difference between The Mark Hotel and Four Seasons Hotel New York?
Both are Urban, Heritage and Architecture. The Mark Hotel adds Culinary and Design; Four Seasons Hotel New York adds Romantic. The Mark Hotel is ahead on the rooms. Four Seasons Hotel New York is ahead on how you're looked after.
Which is better for design, The Mark Hotel or Four Seasons Hotel New York?
The Mark Hotel leads on this. The Mark Hotel: The 1927 building and Jacques Grange interiors still read chic, though several guests flag rooms with worn furniture and dated details. Four Seasons Hotel New York: Reports since the reopening keep calling the rooms beige and dated for the price, with one sink centered oddly in an otherwise long counter.
Which is better for service, The Mark Hotel or Four Seasons Hotel New York?
Four Seasons Hotel New York leads on this. The Mark Hotel: Regulars name the same concierge and front-desk staff, like Suzana and Mia, but other guests describe rude doormen and lost belongings that went unanswered. Four Seasons Hotel New York: Doormen, bellmen and concierge get named and praised constantly, though a few guests describe a rude phone call or restroom encounter that never got resolved.
Where are The Mark Hotel and Four Seasons Hotel New York?
Both are in New York, about 1.6 km apart — close enough that the choice is the hotel, not the neighbourhood.
How does Fat Voyage compare The Mark Hotel and Four Seasons Hotel New York?
Fat Voyage scores every hotel out of 20 across five dimensions — service, design, location, dining and wellness — from independent signals: the most active luxury travel communities, major editorial publications, and verified guest reviews, weighted by source credibility, depth and recency. Nothing is paid for, and no hotel can buy a place.