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The Battle of The Central Park Hotel Picnic Packages

July 1, 2010 at 9:30 AM | by | Comments (0)

The next few days are going to be those rarest of New York days—lovely. Sunny, temps in the 70s, a cool breeze. And that has us thinking: picnic. Central Park is the most obvious place to head with basket and blanket in tow, and some of the poshest hotels parkside will make the task even easier for you. We put two hotel picnic packages head to head to see which offers the better deal.

On the south side of the park, ladies and gentlemen, is the Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park. And in the Northeast corner, in the 70s, we have the still freshly made-over Surrey. But what's in their respective wicker baskets? Let's take a look...

The Surrey's Picnic In The Park package includes a lovely room and the following goodies:

· a picnic basket filled with gourmet snacks by Dean & Deluca—such as crackers and cheeses including Cashel Blue from Ireland and Delice de Pommard from France just to name two; Gavioli sparkling fruit juice; bottled water, apples and New York mini Black and White cookies
· a Surrey picnic blanket
· advice from a concierge on the best spot in the park for a picnic, flag football or frisbee game

Rates start at $524 for a Deluxe Salon.

Down at the Ritz-Carlton, the Summer In the Park package includes these perks—for two—on top of your room:

· Continental breakfast
· Bicycle rentals
· a picnic basket (like the bikes, you can get this one time per stay)

Rates here start at (wait for it) $800 a night or $900 for a parkview room.

The Verdict: No surprises here—we're going to go with The Surrey, as lovely as a bike ride through Central Park sounds. (A stroll would be just as nice.)

Although, if you're not fussy about your parks, the Ritz-Carlton Battery Park is also offering a Summer in the Park package with bike rental and picnic basket, and it starts at a more reasonable $455 a night.

[Photo: © NYC & Company ]

Hotels mentioned in this story

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