The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami

Heartbreaking Decline: Not the Ritz We Remember I wanted to love this stay. We have years of family memories here, and while the recent remodeling has made the property physically beautiful, the actual experience was a disaster. The staff is genuinely friendly, but they are clearly drowning in systemic failures. At $1,800 a night, "friendly" isn't enough to compensate for a total lack of basic luxury standards. Before you book, be aware of what is currently happening behind the scenes: The Service Breakdown • The Wait Times: Expect to wait over an hour for food service at both the beach and the pool. • Housekeeping Gaffes: Our turndown service actually made things worse. They removed every single towel from our room and simply never replaced them. • Widespread Frustration: You can’t escape the negativity. We watched an elderly couple wait over an hour just for help with a beach umbrella while burning in the sun The "Ritz-Carlton atmosphere" has been replaced by the sound of guests venting their frustrations. Atmosphere & Facilities • Corporate Intrusion: If you’re looking for a peaceful getaway, think again. We spent a full hour at the adult pool listening to "Microphone Check 1, 2... Check, Check" from a corporate event nearby. There is no sound management or respect for the "relaxing" areas. • Elevator Safety: The elevators are experiencing frequent breakdowns. It got to the point where other guests were so nervous they were opting for the stairs rather than risking getting stuck. The Root of the Problem The most telling part of the stay was the constant stream of apologies. The staff is wonderful, but they are constantly apologizing for "new staff" and "back-of-house issues." It’s clear they haven't been given the tools to succeed. Meanwhile, Senior Leadership was nowhere to be seen. When a ship is sinking this badly, you expect the captain to be on deck, not hiding in an office. Bottom Line: The nostalgia of our past vacations here has been scarred. For $1,800 a night (excluding meals) , you are paying for a luxury brand but receiving a chaotic, unmanaged experience. You should think twice before booking until they get their operations under control. It’s as if the GM just hired a bunch of their inexperienced MBA buddies to run the place. And the spa…it’s closed

The Ritz Carlton Key Biscayne is a wonderful place to enjoy relaxing, fun and memorable vibes! The service was amazing, the staff super kind, and the room just fantastic! The beach is beautiful and we had exceptional beach service! The experience is one that was above and beyond and we are excited to go back soon! S. Vesper

We stayed at this hotel recently to celebrate a milestone with extended family. We were all excited to see the hotel after the recent renovations and stayed in upgraded suites on the top floors. Unfortunately, our experience as this hotel was very disappointing. At check-in, the receptionist seemed to rush us through the process, and was dismissive of our questions. Once we were up in our room, we noticed it was very dark. There is almost no overhead lighting in the room and it was apparent that multiple aspects of our room were non-functional (including the ceiling fan and TV in the bedroom). We also were disappointed to find there was very little personalization. Our reservations clearly indicated two kids would be staying in our room and past hotels (even at much lower price points) have had small amenity kits for kids (including kids shampoo, small bath toys, etc.). We did find a very basic metal crib in the room (we've had very similar cribs at budget hotels). It was frustrating to find after showering that only two towels were provided in the room, however (we needed to get additional towels every day for the kids). There was also only one robe (which seemed to be low quality) and it disappeared after the first day (it was never replaced by housekeeping). Waking up the next day, we were pleased to see the wonderful oceanfront view from our balconies. It was beautiful and all of the sunlight helped to brighten the room. We also enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at Luma and appreciated the high quality high chair for our toddler. After breakfast, we had a nice day with a wild animal show near the main courtyard, chocolate fountain, and fun at the beach. Unfortunately, our family dinner at Paralia was disappointing. While the food was delicious, we found the service to be unbearably slow for a restaurant that claims to be family friendly and casual (dinner lasted nearly four hours with huge time gaps between each course). The next few days of our stay were enjoyable. Staff at the beach, pool, and restaurants were very friendly. We enjoyed more delicious food and some family-friendly activities. We were, however, disappointed to find that many amenities were still unavailable. We had called prior to our stay to confirm the kids club was open and we were assured it was fully open. Upon arrival, however, we found this was not the case at all, and the room was clearly under construction. The spa was also not fully open (and only offering limited services in a temporary space). At checkout, we were asked about our stay, and we mentioned a few of the issues we had (especially our frustration about the kids club being completely unavailable despite previous assurances that it would be fully open). The employee at reception seemed to make no attempt at all to apologize and simply responded, "I understand." We were disappointed by such a dismissive response to our concerns. Ultimately, we found this hotel is just not worth the significant financial cost in it's current state. While the hotel is beautiful and offers delicious food and some family-friendly activities, our experience with the lack of customer service at reception (both at check-in and check-out) was extremely disappointing.

The hotel is looking fresh after renovation. Rooms had some improvements but bathrooms still look a bit dated. The lobby is wonderful and the bar at night has live music and a lovely ambiance, Anthony is a great and experienced bar tender that has been there for a while and does the best martinis and Genesis gave us kind efficient service. The Ritz has however lost some of its luster, rooms were serviced twice a day but had no special touches whatsoever, coffee cups in the rooms are made of paper. Toiletries were full sized Dyptique and came with a tasteless note saying you would be charged 50 dollars if you took them! No toiletries beyond the most basic needs. The hair dryer is generic and bad. Nothing felt special. Service and food at Paralia on New Year’s Eve was dismal. Luma for breakfast and dinner was awesome. Dan, the hotel manager, is efficient and present, often seen walking around making sure everything is running properly. We did have an issue with the travel cover of our golf clubs getting mixed up with someone else’s that delayed our travel day. It’s being fixed.

The physical structure is a typical air-conditioned big box on a nice white sand beach in an isolated community. While location is superior, the amenities are not. Upon check-in, front desk staff did not provide an upgrade to oceanfront from oceanview, which we discovered had been promised in a messaging app only after we had checked in. We had issues with the bar, which I have reviewed separately. Most concerning was safety: we encountered a relative minor issue with the lighting in the room, and found it impossible to get help. We attempted to call the operator, the concierge, the front desk, and even dialed from outside to try to get a human being. I held up to four minutes at a time (“your call is very important to us. Please wait for a lady or gentleman to answer.” No one did.), and despite six attempts, was unable to get a person on the line. What if there had been a fire? What if there had been a medical emergency? Finally, here we are for four days over New Year’s, but the spa is not yet open. The resort itself opened on December 8, but the spa doesn’t open until January 5. Really? In summary, this place is just not ready to open.