The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas

We just returned from our second stay at The Ritz Carlton, St. Thomas, and unfortunately, it will be our last. Our first visit was in 2012 and a lot has changed since then. We stayed in an oceanfront Club Level room, and while there were some positives, the overall experience fell far short of what we expected from a Ritz Carlton. We adore their Grand Cayman and Aruba properties. The biggest disappointment was the beach. The shoreline was extremely rocky all the way from the hotel side to the residences and covered with seaweed. We came to St. Thomas for a beach vacation, yet the ocean in front of the resort was essentially unusable for us. For a Caribbean resort, that was a major disappointment. Our room also had a surprising number of maintenance issues. The bathroom outlets didn’t work, the bathroom lights were strobing, the Wi-Fi and TV were so inconsistent they were practically unusable, and the air conditioning worked intermittently. These aren’t things we would expect in an oceanfront Club Level room at a property of this caliber. Pool service was another major issue. The pool staff were frequently absent and, when we did interact with them, not particularly friendly. On multiple occasions we had to set up our own chairs. At one point, my husband actually had to go behind the towel counter himself because no one was there. We also regularly got up and went to the bar ourselves to order drinks because there was no one around taking orders. Dirty towels and linens also sat inside the elevator right outside club lounge for almost 24 hours. Again, this simply isn’t the level of service we expect from the Ritz Carlton. To be fair, service elsewhere throughout the resort was friendly, and the Club Lounge was excellent. It’s a beautiful space, the service there was very good, and we felt the Club Level experience itself was worth the additional cost. One thing outside the hotel’s control but worth mentioning for anyone planning a trip: transportation around St. Thomas was very hit or miss. We encountered some unsafe driving, and several taxis we used did not have functioning seat belts. Ironically, the two best days of our vacation were the days we left the resort. We booked a private boat charter to island-hop and had an incredible day, and another highlight was visiting Lime Out. Those experiences reminded us of what we had hoped this Caribbean vacation would feel like. We wanted to love it, but between the condition of the beach, the maintenance problems in our room, and the lack of poolside service, we can’t justify returning. At this price point and under the Ritz Carlton name, we expected considerably better.

AWFUL MEAN STAFF: During check in, I wanted to make dinner reservations which is handled by the woman working directly across the check in desk, she is also the excursion booking person. I politely smile and say hi. She immediately gets aggressive, yells in my face and goes “WHAT DO YOU WANT?” with the dirtiest look on her face. I felt extremely degraded by her immediately upon my arrival. SHE NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE. Since I didn’t want to cause a scene, I laughed in her face when she did that and she suddenly went quiet and was embarrassed. I will never forget how rude she was. - Room had no shampoo and several mosquitoes. -BEACH WAS AWFUL AND NOT SWIMMABLE. Murky water filled with rocks -Service was rude and slow, extra slow even though the hotel was at 30% capacity. - Good food, pool was nice -Hospitality was the worst I’ve ever experienced, don’t waste your money. The staff needs serious training and to fix the incredibly bad attitudes. It’s not hard to be a kind person.

An absolute dream resort. The service was impeccable. The staff, especially Karen, Bruce, Gladys were all exceptional. We had an incredible experience. We took the sunset cruise, had dinner at each of the restaurants and the concierge coordinated some private tours for us. First class all the way!

Awesome location and property. Staff was the best I have seen anywhere. Amenities were outstanding. The beach was perfectly clear. We were in need of water shoes for all the water activities that we had planned. And when we approached the staff at the pool and towel space, one of the managers there (I think her name was Alicia) went out of her way to purchase a pair of water shoes for us to use during our stay without any additional charge. It’s the details like that that make a resort experience that much more memorable. I recommend this property to anyone staying in the Virgin Islands.

Have been coming to the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas for 3 years now as part of a work-sponsored trip. Overall, the experience continues to get worse each year. First thing to note is the food is terrible - worst I have ever experienced at a Ritz property. The ladies at coffee shop consistently make a great morning latte but that's where the positives end. Italian restaurant was out of pizza and several other menu items one evening and it was clear that guests were waiting an extraordinary amount of time for their food (everyone was annoyed). Beach/pool food is overpriced while being mediocre at best. Pool is overcrowded and the loungers are outdated. The rooms are fine, nothing special. Lounge access is paid-for only, no access based on status. We largely spent our time off property this trip and our recommendation to the organizer was to move the event to a different property next year.