The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes

While the Ritz-Carlton Orlando mah not be the newest Ritz, the renovated rooms feel fresh and well done. The updates do a great job of modernizing the space while keeping the classic Ritz feel. What really stands out, though, is the service. The team is friendly, attentive, and genuinely makes you feel welcome from the moment you arrive. It’s a great reminder of why the Ritz-Carlton brand has such a strong reputation. I’d happily stay here again.

Regular visitors to Orlando, usually staying at the Grand Floridian but decided to give the Ritz Carlton a try for 14 nights. Initial check-in experience - for my wife and daughters as I travel later to join them - was positive as a small issue needed resolving, and was by two very helpful ladies on the front desk. Experience since has been incredibly poor as 5pm and still not got a room and fobbed off in a very dismissive and arrogant way. Early experience is far from five star and expected much better from a chain like the Ritz Carlton. If hotel management read this, you should be ashamed to treat a mother and her daughters that way.

This is the worst hotel I’ve ever been to the rooms are absolutely disgusting. We paid to have a guaranteed Lakeview room at 12 o’clock. We showed up at the hotel at 1 PM to be told. It would be three hours till our room was ready. I had to find the reservation to show them that we had paid for 12 o’clock and then they had the nerve to put us in a sub bar room with no view and then moved us to a room that was disgustingly filthy dirty so we are sitting in the lobby right now. We’ve already been moved to two rooms while all of these people have lied to us and we still don’t have a room. By the way, this hotel does not deserve to be called a Ritz Carlton and I have no idea how they got that distinction.

Wife and I booked a 3 night 4 day stay for relaxation / spa getaway. Dining: Food and service at Highball and Harvest was excellent. Food at Primo (JW Marriott) and Knife Spoon was exceptional, but service was slow to the extent that both restaurants comped a portion of the bill without us complaining or requesting any adjustment. Neither of the two restaurants were full so it was difficult to understand the delays. Spa: We go to many spa resorts and this spa fell well short. We did an 80 minute couples massage and while mine was ok (have had much better), my wife's therapist did not adjust pressure (too hard) despite being asked. After advising reception, they comped her massage. The spa pool area was nice and a good spot to relax and have some lunch. The 3rd floor relaxation area was far from relaxing with many noisy conversations amongst parties. In addition, the transition of service times (end of prior service / beginning of next) was loud and busy. Excursions: This was a highlight. We did a kayak eco-tour with Andrew and it was exceptional. We had voiced some concern ahead of time due to my inexperience and some flexibility issues and Andrew and team did an exceptional job. Do not miss this experience. Hard to believe you're in central Florida. Andrew, a Florida Master Naturalist was a wealth of knowledge. Pool and Lazy River: we arrived early on a Saturday and the Ritz team quickly checked bags until our room was ready so that we could begin relaxing at the pool. There were 2 large conventions in house and the lazy River was VERY busy. This is one of the times that we felt the "convention hotel" size some others mention. The pool area and lazy River were more relaxing later in our stay. Pool service was as you would expect. Net: Overall an enjoyable stay, with some dining room service issues. However, if the spa is the main draw, you may want to consider alternatives.

Amazing experience. Beautiful room and fantastic service. The food in the steakhouse is phenomenal. We had a cancelled flight and stayed here at the last minute. It was also my birthday, which the staff made so special.