A trip down to sleepy Battery Park is the closest to “getting away from it all” you can achieve on the isle of Manhattan, and the Ritz-Carlton provides the perfect escape hatch. The building sits villa-like on the lower tip of Manhattan, steps away from the Staten Island Ferry with a gorgeous view of the Statue of Liberty from many of the bedrooms (take a peek through your in-room telescope to see it up close).
Ritz-Carltons are synonymous with luxury, and for the most part, this location lives up to the hype. A sprawling and inviting lobby, outfitted with friendly staff members to open doors or hand you a water bottle at every turn, gives way to 2West, the hotel’s bistro-style restaurant with illuminating floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the park. Choose your meal from an iPad menu that plays short videos of some of the best choices on the menu. The hearty food—like cheesy French onion soup, pork chop and evenly-cooked steak—is excellent, and the hushed atmosphere is a rare and pleasant find. The bar program, however, leaves something to be desired—a gin gimlet order was met with confusion, and when the drink arrived, it was clearly made with Rose’s Lime.
The well-heeled bedrooms are airy, with bathrooms the size of bodegas and tubs fit for two. But the highlight of my stay was downstairs at the spa, where I had the singular most enjoyable Swedish massage of my life. Luxe still lives here.