I have an affinity for Baccarat crystal and I love the way they have incorporated the crystal-inspired design throughout the hotel. The high standards of hospitality make it one of the top choices for those seeking a luxurious stay off 5th Ave. With personalized service and a refined, elegant setting, the hotel ensures a memorable experience. Dining here is also a treat, The Grand Salon, A Parisian-inspired lounge serves a refined breakfast with champagne offerings. The Bar is a stunning space to simply have a cocktail and admire the many opulent chandeliers…the beds are very comfortable and the rooms are a decent size for NYC. My only concern is there’s lights that shine all night coming from the alarms on the ceiling. Which makes the entire side of the room light up.

Once a Guest…ALWAYS a Guest… SUPERB and very good value.

My first ever stay in New York City was in January 1979 which was at the Sherry Netherland on Central Park.

In the intervening 45 years I have visited New York City every so often and the city has improved tremendously. Back in 1979 there is no way I would have ventured into Central Park or used the subway. In those days Los Angeles was wonderful, these days the situation has completely reversed and New York City is probably the most exciting and interesting city in the world. It is sayalso remarkably safe.

As with London, Manhattan is not short of great hotels and I have stayed at many of them. I particularly enjoyed The Mark; The Ritz Carlton Central Park: the 1 Hotel Central Park and the Plaza, where my family and I have holidayed often. Some years ago we had a suite overlooking Central Park at the Trump Hotel. If you read my Tripadvisor review of that hotel you will understand why we never returned!

I had never even heard of the Baccarat Hotel, however one of the most senior hotel executives in the United States, a hospitality professional who I greatly admire (he is right at the top of his game)… told me that I absolutely must try the Baccarat Hotel after I mentioned that I would be visiting NYC with my family for a week just before Christmas. We booked directly with the hotel and from first contact everything was handled in exemplary manner.

Everything about this hotel was so excellent, we were astonished. It is also terrific value… you can actually pay far more at a number top hotels in NYC and end up with nowhere near the perfect service from every member of staff or the stunning quality of just about everything at the Baccarat. Many of the top hotels are living in the past… it is like staying in an antique shop… very upmarket yet old and at times even a little worn. The Baccarat cossets you in style, luxury and comfort in a way I have rarely experienced in NYC. I rate it up there with many of the top hotels in the world. It is also a little different, a feeling of home crossed with that of being in an exclusive club. We particularly admired the detail, I notice everything and the detail at this hotel is off the scale:-

Examples:- Guest slippers are the best we have ever used, they look like wool-knit and ultra comfortable, see photo; the two huge wall mirrors (incorporating hidden TVs) in our one-bed suite do not detract from the elegance that of the accommodation; the dressing gowns are perfect; as for the lamps/glasses throughout… all Baccarat of course… these are tasteful and beautiful and that is how I would describe the entire hotel. The woodwork (doors/panelling etc) in the rooms and suites is gorgeous… it is all white lacquered. Everything in this hotel down to the tiniest detail is highest quality. For example… the sliding doors into the bathroom and from bedroom to sitting room are masterpieces of functional yet luxury design. Unusually, the room automation/drapes are user friendly.

The thermostats controlling both the overhead shower and bath water temperatures are calibrated to perfection which is almost unheard of in any hotel. Nothing is ordinary, for instance the hairdryer is best in class. Bath salts, bath foam…everything…are lovely. Rarely does a suite anywhere feel like home… let alone in New York City. Also, don't forget to bring your bathing suit.

Guest services is as good as it gets. One button on the suite’s telephone gets you whatever you want… really fast. The telephone is always answered within two rings and whoever you want to be put through to also answers quickly, for example the concierge. We used the concierge in advance of arrival to make various reservations and they were excellent and also replied to emails swiftly.

Hotel security at ground floor main entrance is most satisfying. I have seen them politely challenging so many non-residents who thought they could just walk in.

Housekeeping are way ahead of the curve. Clothes left out were expertly folded. Shoes were packed with tissue paper to maintain shape. The housekeeping service was not only first class, it was also intuitive.

All of the staff were lovely, ultra welcoming and always polite even to those guests who don't know the words ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ and think just because they can afford a top hotel that they are something special. You get those at all top hotels. I noticed just very few who were so snotty that their tone ‘could freeze the entrails off a rabbit!’ For example, the female hotel guests who rushed past us and into the Baccarat’s Maybach complimentary house car without being invited, which was just after 10 am on December 22. My wife and I and our son were just about to get in having been waiting outside. This was astonishing rudeness. The doormen at the Baccarat are absolutely terrific. Kelvin (one of the best ever) had just told us that the house car was ready for us… and then in rushed these women, uninvited. They were politely told by Kelvin that we were first and that the car was for us. We had a 10.15am table booked for breakfast at the Carnegie Diner. The women refused to disembark. An embarrassed Kelvin asked the chauffeur to wait while he found a manager. The Maybach waited…and around 6 minutes later Kelvin returned with Anthony, a senior manager. By then, concerned at losing our table on one of the busiest few days for restaurants in NYC, when most are packed out…we had immediately called an UBER. As I was speaking to Anthony and Kelvin, one of the women got out of the House Car and came up to us…her behaviour was dreadful. They had no intention of complying with the previous polite request from Kelvin to wait their turn. They had already been impolite to the chauffeur. Not wishing to cause a problem for Anthony or Kelvin, I explained that we were late for our reservation and had called an Uber at which point our Uber arrived. The woman got back into the Maybach but as she did so, she paused and pointedly smirked at us. Yes

The point of all of this is that hotel management and staff cannot always be expected to control obnoxious guests. The Baccarat hotel were blameless, caught between a rock and a hard place.…the women who took the Maybach were shameless…and rude. The only Uber that we could obtain quickly in the crazy traffic around the hotel was a most basic vehicle and the one that turned up was unusually dirty and small however we just wanted to get to our table at the Carnegie Diner. Due to heavy Christmas traffic in the vicinity of the hotel, we arrived 20 minutes late for our table …which was no longer available. We waited for a while in the hope of being given a table…then we gave up and the three of us walked back to the Baccarat for breakfast. By then it was around 11.00am. We were supposed to be meeting two other members of our family at 11.30am a few blocks away and we had a busy pre-arranged schedule for the day. Also, for medical reasons, two of us had needed to have eaten by then. Breakfast service at the Baccarat this was almost non-existent… it took them ages to take our order and I had to ask three times after we had ordered if they could hurry up with the breakfast. By mid-day our breakfast had still not arrived. It turned out that the hotel’s main computer system (which also handled kitchen orders…and even the issuing room keys to newly arriving guests) had failed. All of the staff managed admirably including at reception although they were all working exceptionally hard to keep up and I believe the system was off for a few hours. I can't fault or blame the hotel for this even though our entire day was messed up. That is the problem with computers. We all travel by air and I am sure we are all used to air-traffic control systems crashing, airport check-in systems failing and airline’s computers being unreliable at times … leading to travel disruption…we certainly are and we still always fly British Airways from Heathrow.

Most of the guests I ended up chatting with were returning guests, always a good sign.

Earlier in the year we stayed at two hotels in the South of France and another in Monte Carlo which were all absolutely wonderful. I have reviewed all three. We enjoyed easily the same standards at the Baccarat in NYC and such standards don’t really get much better. Chris at the hotel bar managed to tell our family that we were three hours late for our reserved table. He blamed the concierge. However the concierge had got it right, meanwhile I wasn't bothered, they have kept the table for us. As for the bar… not only do they have a lovely comfort food menu but the entire room is exquisite, the art is brilliant, the lighting is a masterpiece of design… and some of the cocktails are to die for. This is a bar to fall in love with…and we did. For my first cocktail I asked for a penicillin… this usually causes a problem as bars tend not to admit that they don't have the correct ingredients… it is very difficult to get a great one anywhere. Debbie (see photo) at the Baccarat bar is the ultimate professional bartender… as indeed are her colleagues. Her penicillin cocktail was ‘historic.’ Easily the best served in New York City. This is a fairly complex cocktail which has to be just right. It was on a par with the penicillin mixed for me a few weeks earlier at one of the most serious bars in Spain…the famous Hemmingway bar in Pamplona.

My family and I loved the Baccarat and we will definitely be returning. I am already recommending it to friends. As for the house Maybach…both it and the chauffeur are lovely. I would expect no less from this most exceptional luxury hotel.