The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island

Our family departed today after a wonderful long weekend at the Ritz Carlton in Amelia Island. The resort itself was beautiful, but the staff was the reason our trip felt truly special. We started our first morning with a Nature Walk with Eric who was informative, kind and so great with my kids! He continued to be a friendly face throughout our stay, leading craft time and giving helpful recommendations. Mikey was another standout who was great with our kids and told us about cool local spots! The Pirate and Princess tuck in was a highlight of our stay too - big thanks to Princess Amelia and Captain Macgregor. The ladies at the coffee shop were patient and friendly faces to start our days off right. Finally, Michelle was beyond kind and helpful with some special finds in the shops! The beach was beautiful and we enjoyed the pool too. Overall, we had such a lovely stay and can’t wait to come back.

We received Ritz-Carlton gift certificates and chose to stay at the Amelia Island location for some R&R. As expected, our $5K didn’t stretch very far. We stayed four nights with a Bed and Breakfast package, which was over $1K per night. For a Ritz, we expected better service. The only standout was Lauren our server at Coast, who greeted us every morning even when she was not serving us. Watch out for dingy bathroom floors, mold and rusting bathroom features. The pool deck was a mess with leftover food, drinks and towels strewn all over the place. We had an issue with the valet team throughout the stay - they were indifferent and caught up in their own world. They ignored my husband to the point that we recommended unconscious bias training. TIP: Ensure your room is not an adjoining room because you will hear everything from the room you adjoin. For us, this was four days of four children under the age of six.

We had professional photos taken by Donna at Photography Concierge. They have an appointment desk in the Ritz Carlton on Amelia Island. Donna was so nice. She paid attention to the different shots and groups we wanted (there were 10 of us including grandparents, parents/siblings, and grandchildren). The wind that night was a huge challenge and she was willing to try some different spots suggested to cut down on that plus promised we’d still get those beach pics we really wanted. We were so pleased with all the photographs.

It’s a lovely hotel about 1 hour north of Jacksonville. Valet car service. Excellent greeting and met with a glass of champagne upon checkin. We had a king size room with partial ocean view. 2 patio chairs on the balcony. Onsite stores such as Lily Pulitzer and other high end palm beach type of apparels. A couple restaurants onsite. Beach side umbrellas, chairs and towels at your disposal. Loved being able to walk out to the beach! Also enjoyed the pool and hot tub.

First With over 50 + people on the beach , how is there zero beach service ? Theres even a bar ….but closed Have to walk 500 yards to the pool to get a drink Rooms are small , decent condition , but avg Good service , friendly people . Baffling no beach service If you have the $$ budget ….go 30 min North to cloister at sea island