It’s possible that my experiences are an outlier, but I’ve never had a good stay at a Ritz-Carlton property. I really do not understand the brand, or why it has a reputation for luxury.
I was at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman when I first coined the term “resort factory.” There were about several rows of beach chairs, and if you didn’t place a book on a chair by 8 a.m. you’d find yourself four rows back from the beach.
Staff turned my table at breakfast, seating someone else, while I was up at the buffet. And housekeeping entered the room without knocking while the Do Not Disturb sign was on my door.
Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman
That was probably my… best Ritz-Carlton stay.
How about the Ritz-Carlton Naples many years ago assigning a room with an unmade bed, and a used condom in it? And taking over 45 minutes to retrieve a car from valet.
The Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey where I’ve stayed three times is just a run down slum of a hotel, in rough shape. It’s not actively awful, however.
Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey
Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey
I always thought that the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City was the ‘worst Ritz’ from the era of building them attached to malls. But Tysons Corner, Virginia is surely worse.
I checked in recently at 7 p.m. and there was food trash in the hall – that was still there the next morning. And how on earth does this hotel not make coffee available before 6:30 a.m.? “That’s when breakfast starts.” This is supposedly a luxury hotel but there’s no overnight service. What about people just in from Europe, who are going to get up early? There are coffee machines in the room, sure, but no fresh creamer (and I don’t trust the cleanliness of in-room coffee machines).
Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner
Now, I actually appreciated my stay at Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour despite poor room upkeep and being way overpriced because it was a place to go when so many hotels were still closed and at limited service during the pandemic.
Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour
I don’t have beefs with any of these hotels as such – they’re perfectly ok properties I suppose. They just illustrate the disconnect, I think, between any sense of “luxury” and the on-property reality I’ve experienced with the brand.
When Marriott acquired Starwood I preferred St. Regis over Ritz-Carlton because Marriott exempted Ritz properties from suite upgrades and breakfast. Now Ritz-Carltons are supposed to upgrade Titaniums (but not Platinums) to suites. I didn’t realize St. Regises were actually better even if they weren’t all truly luxury hotels themselves.
Why do people like these hotels?
