The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach

Overall, I enjoyed my stay at the Ritz Carlton South Beach. The property was very nice and well maintained, my room was modern and clean, and the staff throughout were very courteous, gracious and helpful. There were some issues (nothing major) during my stay but they were all addressed promptly, efficiently and to my satisfaction. In fact, most any request I had, the staff made every effort to accommodate me, including delivering a mini-fridge to my room so I could keep bottled water cold, as there was no room for water in the mini-bar fridge just as one example. I definitely felt welcomed as a hotel guest. I booked the hotel with American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts and requested an early check in. It was 4th of July Weekend and unfortunately this was not honored and I was kept waiting for about 3 hours until I checked in which was a tiring and frustrating experience. I would have been more upset but ultimately I was upgraded from a city view room to what was called a partial view room by the pool. I didn't consider this to be a significant upgrade as it wasn't a suite and there wasn't much of a view, but the room was decent enough and I frankly didn't have the energy to go back to the lobby and ask for something better after a tiring day of travel. Note, during the day, the pool has a DJ and you can definitely hear it in your room if you are staying in this section so if you are planning on taking a nap in the afternoon, then think again. I enjoy electronic music and thought the DJ was pretty good so it didn't bother me. You are close to the restaurant for breakfast and to the beach from this section of the hotel but farther away from the main building. Like many other things at this hotel, it's a matter of preference. There was no loud music or parties at night and it was very peaceful. The hotel is well situated in South Beach and close to a lot of excellent restaurants and is right on Lincoln Road. The plus is that it is conveniently located however the one potential downside is that it is a more crowded area of the beach as opposed to staying further north where it is quieter. Again just a matter of preference. I mainly ate breakfast at the buffet (Zaytina) which had a great variety of food and was excellent overall. Wait staff was friendly, ( Libby the hostess in particular deserves a shout out), but could improve in terms of anticipating your needs and checking in with you during the meal. I had to flag someone down a few times over several days to ask for something and wait times to get what was requested seemed quite long. The beach was very nice and the loungers are very comfortable. Similar to the restaurant staff, the wait staff on the beach can be more efficient and need to check in with guests more often than they did. One day I was kept waiting for over 45 minutes for a menu that I requested. Note that there will be a lot of the general public who will access the beach area and set up near the front of where the Ritz Carlton cabanas and umbrellas/loungers are. So it doesn't feel totally exclusive or private at all and I did notice some people going around soliciting the Ritz Carlton guests selling T-shirts similar to what you would see in the Caribbean islands which was a bit off-putting. I would have preferred a little more exclusivity/privacy but it is a public beach. Important to note as well is that this hotel seems to cater to a lot of families with kids, so if you are thinking of having a quiet relaxing time at the pool, think again because it will be filled with loud and boisterous kids. The same goes for the restaurants. So if you have kids, it will be great. If you are looking for a more adult oriented experience, or something trendier, I would try the W or the Edition as just two examples. It didn't spoil my stay by any means as the children were generally well behaved, but it wasn't fun to have to occasionally have to listen to screaming or crying kids at the pool from the balcony when I would have preferred a bit more quiet especially in the morning. Perhaps it was just because it was the holiday weekend.... Gym is decent and has most everything that you would need including a Peloton and good amount of cardio and strength training machines and free weights. Spa was very nice and has sauna and steam room included if you get a spa service which I did. Thoroughly enjoyed my massage and had a relaxing appointment. John the attendant at the spa did a great job and was very helpful. In summary, I am glad I had the opportunity to stay at the property and despite a few issues, it was a very pleasant visit and I would consider staying here again in the future. Read less

Wonderful experience at this hotel! The location is fantastic and the lobby is beautiful. Our room was comfortable and we had a great ocean view. Gustavo at the front door provided us with such wonderful, friendly service throughout our whole stay. Gym was equipped well enough and we also enjoyed the beach service. Would definitely return to this property! Read less

I was traveling with two other couples (all live in South Florida) and we all checked into the Ritz-Carlton South Beach for a Saturday night stay rather than drive home after dinner. We all had issues, albeit slightly different, but all consistent with the fact that this hotel does a disservice to the Ritz-Carlton brand name. We booked our rooms via American Express Fine Hotels. I valeted my electric car and asked that my car be charged. I was assured that was a service provided and that it would be no problem. Staff was attentive, maybe to attentive and grabbed our small bags after we told them we'd handle them ourselves. Attendant wouldn't let my wife hold her small bag and then after walking us about five feet to the desk, stood next to us essentially demanding a tip. I tipped him and the bellhop who bought up our two bags five minutes later. Standard check-in (approximately 6:00PM) and we got a slight upgrade. During check-in I confirmed that my car would be charged as my battery was nearly dead, and we were leaving after breakfast. Clearly it was important to me to make sure my car was charged (I'm sure you can see where this is going). We had been on a boat all day and immediately showered upon getting to the room. Unfortunately, there was a drainage issue in our shower (about two inches of standing water - after we turned on the shower) that took maintenance about 45 minutes to fix. Not exactly how we wanted to spend 45 minutes but we had to get ready for dinner. We booked a basic room, and a basic room is what we got. Not bad - just not Ritz-Carlton brand worthy. More low-level Marriott. Outside of the drainage issue, the bathroom was large and nice. Our upgrade included a slight pool/beach view. Room was fine for the night and bed was comfortable. Buffet breakfast at Zaytina was nice. Best part of the stay. We checked out and my car comes to the valet. I tip the valet driver and put my small bags in the trunk. I walk to the driver side door and see the car had not been charged. That's game over. The apologies and taking the $60 valet charge off my bill was not worth the inconvenience and me being late to my next appointment ruined the stay. I was given every excuse from the valet manager about why my car wasn't charged. First it was my fault, I didn't ask to charge the car... then it was because it was busy yesterday and I was only staying one night and they can't promise everyone gets there cars charged, then I was told there where only two chargers and maybe one wasn't working... I videoed the exchange because it was unbelievable. My friends who checked in had different issues (one had to switch rooms because lack of cleanliness and the other simply didn't want to complain about a view of air conditioning units).... Moral of the story - this is an average hotel with below average service. The lobby and lobby bar are nice, but this is not what one expects when they stay at a Ritz-Carlton. This is a mid-grade hotel at best. Read less