The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes

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.

I have attended business events and dinners at this hotel at least a dozen times over the years, and this is the first time I've been charged $66 for two hours of parking, despite informing the staff that I was attending a business dinner. Until now, I would have given this hotel 5 stars, but this experience has changed my opinion. My dinner guest was charged the same fee, and it was embarrassing to suggest my guest wait while I see validation so I did not delay us in leaving. My family are Marriott Platinum/Ambassador members, and we've made business dinners at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes a long-standing tradition. Unfortunately, the inconsistency in how parking is handled has left a very poor impression. My dining companion commented that Hyatt typically provides complimentary parking for elite members, even at many resort properties, and suggested we consider meeting there in the future. If not, we'll likely start looking for an off-site location instead. The issue isn't simply the parking fee—it's the lack of consistency. After so many previous visits without this charge, there was no reason to expect a different experience tonight. It's disappointing that a valued tradition may come to an end over something that could have been handled much more reasonably with proper notice and consistency in application.

We recently stayed at the Ritz Carlton Grande Lakes for a family 4 night stay, and had a terrific time. Here are my thoughts on each aspect of the hotel: ROOM: We had the standard room, but were upgraded to a lake view at check-in. The room was a good size, and had plenty of space for the four of us, plus our luggage. The bathroom was nice with dual vanity sinks. The shower was a little small, but had great pressure with two heads. While the room doesn't come with an empty mini-fridge, we asked for one to hold various drinks and food items. The beds were very comfortable, and I really appreciated the high quality Frette slippers (we almost considered taking them home!). GROUNDS: We love to walk the grounds at any resort we stay at, and the Grande Lakes area is really nice. There are plenty of walking trails along the lake. They even have free bikes, but we didn't get to take advantage of that. POOL: The Ritz pool wasn't huge, but it felt serene and luxurious. All of the pool chairs had comfortable cushions, and there was no need for the "pool game" (where you need to get there early to reserve chairs). They also had staff bringing out free treats, such as frozen fruit. There is free sunscreen as well. ACTIVITIES: They have a gaming area with some fun games, including table tennis and foosball. There is also a full shuffleboard table. There's an outdoor lawn area where they set up cornhole and soccer nets, and there's even a bocce ball court. The Grande Lakes also does some fun weekend activities, such as a big fireworks show. We also attended the Drew Thomas Magic Show while we were here. Though the tickets are not cheap, my family loved the show. SERVICE: Service was great everywhere we went. Employees were quite helpful when we needed it. You do have to valet your car, but the valet service was quick. DINING/DRINKS: We typically eat off-resort when on vacation, but I did enjoy many tasty drinks at the lobby bar and at Highball & Harvest. The lobby bartender makes a terrific espresso martini (not too sweet). And Highball & Harvest has some fantastic fancy cocktails. I tried almost all of them. They had a live singer on two nights, which was entertaining. The Ritz also had a complimentary champagne and mimosa bar in the lobby a few days, which was a nice treat. They also had plenty of free candy for the kids. I will say we were disappointed by the breakfast buffet. I tend to really enjoy breakfast buffets at upscale hotels, but this one was lacking. The selection was not huge, and it was quite expensive. We also spent a bunch of time at the JW Marriott next door, especially to enjoy their huge waterpark area. They have 3 slides and a lazy river, plus multiple pools. They also have this really fun aquatic ropes course, which my kids absolutely loved. Keep in mind the JW pool chairs do not have cushions like the Ritz does. Overall, we had a really fun time and made great family memories during our vacation.