The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay

Such a special property, we immediately feel at ease when we arrive. The calming sounds of the pacific and the spectacular views are always mesmerizing as I take endless photos to capture the beauty! But even the photos don’t do it complete justice! The staff are all so warm and friendly and we always feel right “at home” considering it’s our 4th stay within a year! And we will return again soon!

Mandatory parking fee of $35 whether you are dining or golfing there. No transparency on their website about this. Ritz is definitely taking advantage of their customers. This fee is new. Have been there several times. This is a great example of pure greed of a company. The location and the course are amazing but you will probably remember most that they are not interested in your overall experience. They literally just want every dollar you got. If they washed your car then it probably would be worth $35. But to pay that to have a teenager move my car 100-200ft is outrageous. Rooms are $1000/night. Golf is $200/person. Food is $100/person. Ritz you need to do better and not try a gouge your customers. Poor form.

We recently stayed at The Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay for a family celebration and had a mixed experience. The positives first: the property itself is stunning, with breathtaking ocean views and one of the most beautiful settings on the California coast. We received excellent service at both the Ocean Terrace and the Conservatory for breakfast, where the staff was attentive, friendly, and professional. Housekeeping was also outstanding throughout our stay and consistently delivered the level of service one would expect from a luxury property. Unfortunately, several aspects of our experience fell well short of the Ritz-Carlton standard, particularly given that our two-room stay exceeded $10,000. Prior to arrival, we communicated with the hotel regarding room assignments and were assured that our rooms would be located next to one another. Upon arriving around noon, we were told by the front desk that our rooms would be ready "momentarily." More than two hours later, we received a message indicating that the rooms were still not ready. The issue was not the wait itself but rather the inaccurate communication. Had we been given realistic expectations, we could have planned our afternoon accordingly. We were also assigned an ADA room without any prior discussion or acknowledgment. While I fully appreciate the importance of accessible accommodations, the room configuration was not ideal for our family and came as a surprise. My son is 6'1" and had to duck significantly to use the shower, and the bathroom setup differed substantially from a standard room. Another frustrating aspect of the arrival experience involved the discussion around room upgrades. During check-in, the front desk agent offered us a paid upgrade to a suite located immediately next to our assigned room. When I asked about the American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts upgrade benefit, I was told that the suite was several categories above our reservation and therefore not eligible. However, after checking the hotel's booking site, it appeared that the next room category above our Ocean House Oceanfront Fire Pit Terrace room was in fact a suite, and that suite remained available for booking. I fully understand that upgrades are subject to availability and are never guaranteed, but the explanation provided at check-in did not appear consistent with what was being offered for sale. In addition, one of our rooms had a noticeable musty odor throughout the stay. We also felt that a special birthday celebration that had been communicated well in advance was not recognized with the level of thoughtfulness and attention to detail that we have come to expect from luxury properties. While a birthday cake was delivered, the overall experience lacked the personalized touches that Ritz-Carlton is known for. Most disappointing has been the lack of meaningful follow-up after these concerns were raised directly with hotel management. We are still currently staying at the property and will be checking out tomorrow. Despite communicating these concerns while still in-house and providing hotel leadership with an opportunity to address them during our stay, nobody has reached out to us personally to discuss the issues or offer any meaningful resolution. For a property that prides itself on service recovery and guest care, that has been particularly disappointing. While we received responses explaining hotel policies, many of the specific concerns raised were either not addressed or were dismissed without a meaningful solution. The Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay has an incredible location, beautiful grounds, excellent dining venues, and a hardworking housekeeping team. However, luxury hospitality is about more than scenery. It is about communication, attention to detail, guest recognition, and proactive service. Unfortunately, those were the areas where this stay fell short. Based on this experience, I would have difficulty justifying a return stay at the current price point.

For years I have been remiss in thinking that the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay was too close to home to be worth a stay. BOY WAS I WRONG! Just one week before my birthday I decided to check the website to see how much a one night stay would cost. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they also allow dogs and a basic room was much less than I thought. When we checked into our upgraded fire pit room it was decked out with birthday balloons & a birthday cake as well as balloons for our golden retriever Ellie, a dog bed, bowls & even a menu for the dog. 🤭 They will even deliver a smores kit to your room. They thought of everything! The room was gorgeous with a comfy bed and extremely quiet ac unit (which I SO appreciated after our last trip to DC & Philly- where we had to yell to hear each other over the ac). We ordered room service for breakfast since we couldn’t (& wouldn’t) bring our dog to the restaurant & they were knocking at the door in exactly 30 minutes. They arrived with a beautiful silver tray holding both plates of food, bread & croissant, coffee, etc. Everything tasted great & was the perfect temp. Each night just before sunset, a bag piper plays on the cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. We will definitely be heading back to this resort & I will forever sing its praises.

This was a quick 2-night stop to enjoy the beautiful views and get a quick round of golf. It is swanky and expensive, with excellent service, as expected of a Ritz Carlton. We had a beautiful ground-level room with a firepit on the patio, which was lovely on a chilly spring night, and we were able to watch the bagpiper performing at sundown. Although it was billed as “ocean view” it’s somewhat limited by the low elevation; more ocean would be visible from the second floor. The room itself was large and luxurious, lots of drawer and closet space, a great functional nightstand, and complimentary beverages in the fridge. They provided a little birthday cake to welcome us, and brought us blankets to use on the patio at night. The bathroom has an obnoxiously bright night light on a motion sensor under the counter, which coupled with a glass panel in the door was disturbing when one person got up during the night. I asked if it could be turned off, not really expecting anything, but housekeeping actually did turn it off so the second night was much better! Breakfast was good, and we had a good dinner at the Conservatory one night, went into town the second night. Downtown Half Moon Bay is a few minutes’ drive; there’s not much there, you can spend an hour or two poking around the shops and there are a few restaurants (Pasta Moon was great). I took a walk on the beach, which is reachable by walking along the cliff and then down a big staircase. Overall a very relaxing, peaceful stay with gorgeous views.