The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes

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.

How this hotel does not have a 5 star rating is totally beyond me. I’d give it 6 stars if that was an option. From the check in experience with Austin, which was absolutely first class, to every encounter with every single employee, the hotel’s customer service was exceptional. The grounds are immaculate and the structure is gorgeous. We stayed on the club level and our king room was perfect. The bedding is superb. The food in the club lounge was so fantastic we never went to a restaurant. The entire place is fantastic.

The Ritz Orlando is a very large luxury hotel on a large campus shared with a JW Marriott. If traveling with kids who love pools and a water park, this hotel is for you. There are a couple water slides, a lazy river, and a few pool options (you may use either Ritz or JW Marriott grounds during the stay, and it is easily walkable between the two). I found the hotel very pleasant, superbly clean, and with many dining options between the two properties. The gym (shared between the two hotels) is like a medium sized athletic club, with lots of equipment and many people there using it. The lake has a number of birds and wildlife around it, making for lovely morning and evening strolls. I could however feel how large the hotel is, and that the staff is strained to treat every guest at the Ritz Carlton level, simply because there are so many guests. I think it is also a sign of the times that it sometimes feels like a snub to only get what you payed for, when staying at a brand at which you have garnered many years of loyalty and have elite status. I also think it is a reach to charge a $600 per night premium for club level rooms - and so I did not - but perhaps this is how to get that smaller hotel within a hotel feel here. And although it is only a minor issue, I arrived to a room (3 hours after getting notified that it was ready - so there was no rush here) to find that the room had no shampoo, conditioner, or body wash and also no tissues, which was an odd oversight for a Ritz. I also noticed the absence of any complementary early morning coffee in the lobby, despite the $55 daily resort fee. Yes, the Nespresso machines in each room are great - but it's still not the same. To end on a positive: the renovated rooms are lovely, with a soothing white/off white palate balanced very nicely with wood and leather. Overall an enjoyable stay. Add in a little extra attention to detail and to guest individualization, and it will be exceptional.

We stayed at the Ritz for one night before going on a cruise. We traveled from out of town and chose this hotel for predictability, as the Ritz Carlton hotels have always been a hotel of good standard. The night vibe was spectacular with live music offered in the lounge. The musician was interactive and chatted with us on his breaks. The food at lounge was delicious…. I had the steak and fritas. Getting right to the point, the room was fairly appointed in size, comfortable bed with crisp and what appeared to be brand new linens. However, the bathroom was dated and lackluster. It appeared the shower and sink areas were renovated in the past but the caulk was dated and washing off as the water hit it. In particular the shower tile was grungy and showed wear with black lines in between the cracks. The caulk peeling in the shower was simply disgusting. This was extremely disappointing since my primary reason for choosing this hotel was for predictability. I predicted at this price point of $700 a night, the shower experience would at minimum be comfortable. Wow, I was wrong. In this day and age where work and family life balance are important, I want to spend my money for the total package and this significantly failed short. I know the hotel has quality control staff who are paid to pay attention to things like this. I guess they overlooked this room. We didn’t mention it to management because in reading other reviews they want to apologize and promise to do better in the future. For reference, we stayed in room 251. If you visit the Ritz Carlton in Orlando, enjoy the hotel’s ambience, and nightlife but beware you can find cleaner, more updated bathrooms at much lower price points.

I stayed at the Ritz-Carlton earlier this month for a business trip. My room was spacious and the bed was very comfortable. I appreciated the soaking tub in the bathroom and utilized it a few times to soak after a long day of meetings. The shower was a bit small given the overall bathroom size, however. My room was cleaned daily and the turndown service was a nice touch. There was always plenty of water provided. The conference center was well appointed and the staff throughout the property were very attentive and eager to assist. My only complaint is that I was charged an astronomical amount of money to my room from the HonorBar, the in room mini bar. I did not utilize the mini bar at all during my stay and the majority of my food and drink (including alcohol) was catered by my company during our meeting. I had no need for it. I have been trying to no avail for almost 2 weeks to get this charge removed from my account. When I call the hotel directly, they send me to a customer service call center and the call center can't remove charges directly and needs to send me back to the hotel, and again they won't help me. My last resort is disputing the charge with my corporate credit card account provider, which is my next step if this situation isn't resolved soon. I'd expect better from such a highly rated brand, in this regard.