The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel

My daughters and I were traveling in California from Los Angeles to San Diego and we stopped for some rest and relaxation here. The hotel and spa were wonderful and I would recommend this hotel to anyone.

Your staff went over board to make our stay a complete success. It was a 70th birthday for one of our friends. We had a package and it was wonderful.The Ritz upgraded us four to the concierge level and made this trip an excellent stay. The hotel and staff couldn't do enough for us. They were excellent in every way.

We were at this hotel with a group of several hundred others. There were at least two groups there at the same time, however, they failed to staff the smaller quiet pool area. The staff from the main pool would periodically/rarely run from the larger pool to see if guests wanted food or drink even though there is a bar at the small pool that remained closed. We often had to go in search of towels. With the number of guests there, I found this unacceptable. Our room was small and housekeeping duties were not on standard with a Ritz. (I left a comment card with my name and have yet to hear from them a month later). From the crud in the corners of the bathroom to to fuzzy dust layer on the toliet room doors, broken vanity mirror, stingy offering of towels and a daily offering of (for example...) 3 conditioners, no shampoos or shower gel one day to no conditioner, no shampoo and 1 shower gel the next, this hotel is in great need of housekeeping training! In speaking to others in our group this was the norm, from one building to the next with no matter to floor. It is sad to say, but this is yet another luxury hotel that seems to be riding on its name alone, oh, and the location. The sunsets are stunning. The food fantastic. But at this price point attention to detail shouldn't be a bonus.....it should be the norm.

My girlfriend and I had just gotten engaged earlier that day and I planned in advance to surprise her with a stay at the Ritz. Our experience at the hotel was outstanding and they even offered a few extras to make our experience even better to mark the occasion.

We spent the weekend of July 14 to 16 here. For a 5 star resort, maybe I expected too much and was disappointed. The setting of the hotel was amazing, up on a cliff in a curved bay with potential of fabulous views but the Raya Bar was essentially closed in and had only 2 small windows; whoever designed the hotel did not take advantage of the views from the bar. I also expect some kind of music in the bar on weekend nights and there was none. They told us that there was music in the outdoor bar area but not only was there no seats (people were eating dinner there) but at 8 PM on Friday , there was NO music. The Raya restaurant had fabulous views but the food was not fabulous to match. The smoked swordfish dip had no smokey flavor. Although it was tasty when you mixed the jalapenos into it, it was not as described. I had the seafood on black rice for an entree. It looked beautiful but lacked flavor and the lobster and prawns on it were tough & over cooked. Perhaps I should have pointed this out and it could have been corrected but I did not. Husband had the halibut and he was happy with it. Another design flaw I thought was the location of the pools. They were behind the hotel and therefore the sea breeze and sea view were not "happening." One other "issue" is the cappuccino in the Market Place. We went there for Sunday breakfast. I wanted a cappuccino and was told it was sort of a blended drink, I expected sort of a latte but got something that was COLD, coffee on the bottom and white cold "something" 3/4 top part of the cup. If you cannot make a cappucino, do not offer it, call it something else. They did seem to have the machine that would make the frothed milk but apparently did not know how to use it. That all being said there were nice things too. We had a room that faced the quiet pool and it was fine. Not as large as I expected but nicely appointed. Comfortable bed. Marble bathroom with 2 sinks. Nice balcony. We did not go to the beach but it looked wonderful. The quiet pool was a nice place to sit. Looked at the larger pool, looked nice but did not sit there as we prefer quiet . The people in the hotel were all wonderful. The service was top notch and everyone "knew our name". For a 5 star hotel with excellent ratings, I was disappointed