The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale

The biggest issue with our stay was not that the hotel was bad—it was that very little about the overall experience felt like what I would expect from a Ritz-Carlton. From the moment we arrived, the entrance was surprisingly underwhelming. Pulling in, I actually questioned whether we were at the correct hotel because the arrival experience simply did not look or feel like a Ritz-Carlton. There was no real sense of occasion or luxury. The hotel was also extremely quiet during our stay, yet valet service somehow felt understaffed. On one evening after dinner, we pulled up to a nearly empty property and waited at least five minutes before anyone came outside to take the vehicle. At a luxury hotel—particularly one operating at what appeared to be very low occupancy—that level of attentiveness should be effortless. The property dates back nearly 20 years, and unfortunately it shows. The lobby, common areas, décor and overall design are ready for a meaningful refresh. Check-in itself was easy and pleasant, and I want to be clear that the employees we interacted with were friendly, helpful and professional. The shortcomings seemed much more related to the physical property, upkeep and overall resort experience than to the people working there. The pool area was another disappointment. It felt surprisingly small and ordinary for a resort of this size and caliber. The elevated ocean view is easily its strongest feature, but the pool deck itself lacked the design, landscaping and sense of exclusivity I would expect at this level. Even the beach chairs looked old and tired and overdue for replacement. There also appeared to be very limited dining. The downstairs restaurant doubles as more of a marketplace and has an extremely casual atmosphere. The bar and surrounding seating area similarly felt generic rather than sophisticated or inviting. Nothing about the food-and-beverage spaces made us want to linger or gave us the feeling of being somewhere special. Attention to landscaping and grounds was also below expectations. Palm beds had noticeable weeds throughout them. That may sound like a small detail, but at a true luxury property, those details matter. Meticulous maintenance is part of what distinguishes a five-star experience from an ordinary hotel stay. The room was actually one of the stronger aspects of the property. The bed was very comfortable, the bathroom was spacious, the shower was genuinely good, the air-conditioning was quiet, and our balcony and view were very nice. The room still felt somewhat dated, but considerably less disappointing than the hotel’s common areas. One unusual point was being told that the property is cashless. While understandable operationally, it does make tipping staff less convenient unless guests arrive already prepared with cash. Overall, the Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale did not deliver the level of refinement, design, atmosphere or attention to detail that I associate with the Ritz-Carlton name. It felt much closer to a good conventional beachfront resort than a true luxury hotel. That is ultimately why I felt compelled to leave the review: the property has a great location, good views, comfortable rooms and genuinely pleasant staff, and it feels as though it could be considerably better than it currently is. A substantial refresh of the arrival experience, lobby, landscaping, pool deck, beach equipment and food-and-beverage spaces could dramatically change the experience. We would not choose to return before trying the Four Seasons or Conrad nearby to see whether either delivers more of the special, elevated hotel experience we were hoping to find in Fort Lauderdale. When paying Ritz-Carlton rates, I don’t expect perfection, but I do expect something noticeably above ordinary. Unfortunately, on this stay, that distinction was largely missing.

Our stay at the Ritz Carlton Ft. Lauderdale was a mixed bag; there were some really great parts that got marred by some serious service misses. Considering the many options to stay on Ft Lauderdale Beach I doubt we'll return here. Pros: - The location of this resort can't be beat, you are in the middle of Central Beach. There's easy access to the beach and plenty of bars, restaurants, shops, and a Starbucks all with in walking distance. - Our room was spacious, clean, and comfortable, with an AC that worked like a champ. We had a wonderful ocean view from our room and a large, if not particularly private, balcony. - The pool staff was a highlight of our stay. The attendants who set up the chairs and umbrellas were incredibly friendly and the food waitstaff were top notch, always checking in without being intrusive. Cons: - I hate resort fees to begin with, just increase the room rate instead of making me pay for a bunch of "amenities" I don't want. But if you are going to go the resort fee route at least make sure to actually offer all these amenities that you are charging me for. Among the amenities are bike rentals, but there are only 6 bikes for a resort with several hundred rooms. One the day we could grab two of them we couldn't get the system to work, even the valet who tried to help us had no success. The gelato that is included is rum flavored only, is only available right at 4pm and calling it a scoop would be too generous. Lastly, for Elite guests, two free drinks per day at Burlock Coast are supposed to be included, but it's actually two drink per your entire stay. So the failure to provide the amenities was disappointing and came across as little more than a cash grab. - The food is not great. At Burlock Coast everything was incredibly over salted, to the point of almost being inedible. The food from Sea La Vie was only slightly better but we ended up ordering it because we didn't want to leave the pool. - The biggest fail of our trip was the Concierge service. A week before our arrival I received an email from the property asking me to fill out multipage questionnaire about our trip. I noted in this questionnaire that this was an Anniversary trip. The concierge responded that they had noted the occasion and that it would be celebrated during our stay. They even helped me book an anniversary dinner at Burlock Coast, the hotel restaurant. So it was incredibly shocking that no one said one word about it during our entire stay. No one at check in, no one at the dinner at Burlock Coast, no one at the meals we had at the pool, no one at check out. What's the point of asking all these pre-arrival questions if you're just going to ignore them. When I compare this experience to our Anniversary stay at the Four Seasons down the street it's like night and day. At the Four Seasons everyone we interacted with wished us a Happy Anniversary. Our room had a personal note from the hotel's GM along with champagne and a fruit plate and our meal at their hotel restaurant, Evelyn's was truly made into a special occasion. So to go from that to being ignored by the Ritz staff was a bit rough. It's not so much about he free stuff (though that is nice), as it is about promising a level of service to celebrate an event and then not even making an attempt to meet that service promise. It's hard to figure out where this hotel sees itself on the luxury scale. For the same level of service you might as well save a few dollars and stay at the W down the street or if you want an actual luxury experience head to the Four Seasons.

What an amazing property and a perfect place to celebrate the Fourth of July! Everything about our stay was fantastic and exactly what you would expect from the Ritz-Carlton brand. From the easy and welcoming check-in process to the seamless experience selecting chairs at the pool or beach, every detail was handled beautifully. The resort also offered wonderful activities for children, including a festive candy station in the lobby filled with red, white, and blue treats, as well as an incredible reptile and bird show that our family thoroughly enjoyed. The property, service, amenities, and holiday activities all made our stay truly memorable. The Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale created a wonderful Fourth of July experience for our entire family, and we would absolutely return.

As Loyalty member we used to travel and stay on different luxury brand from Bonvoy as ritz , st Regis , edition and keeping return around the world . But is totally unrecognizable this ritz Carlton Fort Lauderdale beach We have stayed 7 nights + 1 night to be checked 1 door bell - majority not polity and very terrible manners to approach clients 2 not good conditions the room ( outdated) 3 restaurant is old and dark ( we haven’t get any breakfast there ) 4 very hard to have upgrading 5 the management as Mrs Maurell Martinez just image and false to listen the complain but no actions has Been taken. 6 Arrogant and no appreciation for be loyalty or sub manager for the check in on the 15 of July 9 pm Me and my family felt that we are doing Favor to be there People make difference for us !! And we just came back from ritz nomad NyC and totally differ. Appreciate there !!

Checked in for one night (2 days) on July 7 for our anniversary and also my daughters birthday. I am a RC platinum elite lifetime member and let me just say that I judge all RC properties by the RC in Grand Cayman and also the RC Naples Beach and this property has service issues. You are not going to find the RC level of service here. Lots of service failures at this property. CHECK IN: Check in was fairly smooth and Ronica checked us in. She upgraded our room from partial ocean view to ocean front which was nice and it was room 1419. She offered us another upgrade for $300 to be on the club level and since I never saw the club lounge at this property she had the bellman take us to the club lounge for a tour. After we saw the club lounge I decided it was not worth it since we would only be here a short time. When we returned to the front desk after the club lounge tour our luggage was still on the luggage rack (since we were considering the club level room upgrade) but when it came time to go up to our room the valet parking stand had other guests checking in so they called the bellman to the valet stand. After waiting 10 minutes for the bellman I took the baggage cart myself and took our own luggage to the room. Every RC I ever stayed at in my life always had some sort complimentary fruit tray, cheese tray, or champagne in our room to celebrate our anniversary and or my daughters birthday but not here! I will say that our room was beautiful, clean neat, and tidy and it was quite a large room. Note my status was not recognized at check in. POOL SERVICE: After we got in our room we put on our swim trunks and headed straight to the pool for lunch. We decided to sit at the pool bar but after 10 minutes of waiting we left due to non existent bar service. Turns out Constantine the bar tender was also doubling as the pool boy and he was helping other guests with lounge chairs and towels at the pool instead of tending to his bar. DURING THE STAY: In the course of our stay we used the chat system for requesting extra towels and such and for the most part that was okay but on the second day chat response times were very long and mostly unresponsive. The next morning we went for along walk and when we got back to the hotel we missed the breakfast serving hours by 20 minutes at Burlock Coast. After speaking with hostess Kashel she went out of her way to talk to the chef and ask him if he can make an exception and cook up a few more breakfast orders and he did. Big shout out to Kashel. INCIDENTALS: It should be noted that valet parking at this property is $59 per day and if you want to use the spa facility it is also $59 per day unless you book a service like a massage. In the mornings there is complimentary coffee in the lobby near the elevators and that is very nice. CHECKOUT: We took advantage of the 4PM late check out as a perk for my status and the hotel did honor the request which was nice. I told the front desk person at check out that we were not offered our points or welcome gift at check in and the clerk took took our $35 breakfast off the bill which was also very nice and duly noted. CONCLUSION: You will not find RC level service at this hotel and this property has more of a Marriott feel to it more than a RC experience. In fact I have stayed at some Marriott and JW properties that had better service and amenities than this property offers. It should be noted the pool and pool deck are very small here. My wife being the in the travel industry for decades we tend to notice the very little details which are the most important details at any hotel. Most people don't notice the major details at a property because those are expected right, but they sure do notice the little details that make any stay most enjoyable. I don't believe I would stay at this property again and if I were in Fort Lauderdale again I would opt for the Four Season.