The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota

I recently stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota with my wife and 18-month-old, my parents, and some friends while attending a wedding. Beyond just convenience for the wedding, we really enjoyed our stay. We ultimately liked being in Downtown Sarasota on the bay, but also having a nice beach option at the hotel’s separate beach club. Choosing to upgrade to the Club Level also made our stay particularly positive. On the slightly less positive side, the hotel feels a bit dated. It is well-maintained and comfortable, but it’s clear it hasn’t been renovated recently. We were also surprised by poor service from some members of hotel management regarding a guest room issue. Still, our overall impression was favorable, and we would return to this hotel. Pre-Arrival Experience: We were staying for two nights, with the first night booked through a wedding room block, and the second night as a separate normal reservation. Because we also booked a second room for my parents, we had a bit of coordination with the hotel beforehand to make sure things were all set. During the booking process, I connected with Josh, the Group Reservations Coordinator, who was excellent. He took care of linking the reservations and a request for our two rooms to be near each other. His email responses were prompt, professional, and clear, so we knew everything was set before we arrived. I also used online check-in through the Marriott app the day before arrival, which is helpful to receive a notification when your room is ready. Since we had a 5:00 pm wedding to attend, and hoped for early check-in, it was a relief to receive a notification around 11:00 am that both rooms were ready before we even arrived at the property. Arrival Experience: We arrived around 1:30 pm on a Saturday, and the valet and door staff immediately greeted us and handled our luggage. They remained consistently friendly throughout our stay, and the valet service was excellent. Our car was always brought up quickly, and a QR code system to request your car from your phone made it effortless. Every time we requested our car right before leaving our room, it was ready and waiting by the time we were downstairs. Inside, the hotel had what I’d refer to as the classic “Ritz-Carlton” aesthetic: grand, with over-the-top finishes that aren’t the most modern. The lobby features lots of marble, ornate chandeliers, and a showy style of luxury. We generally prefer a more modern or understated look, but this was also exactly what we expected at a Ritz, so we weren’t bothered by it. The lobby was busy, but I was able to check in without a wait. While doing so, the little Ritz Kids coloring area near the desk gave our daughter something to do, which was helpful. At check-in, the front desk agent was friendly, offering a clear overview of the hotel’s services, including the hourly shuttle to St. Armands Circle and the hotel’s beach club. The welcome beverage (a choice of sparkling wine, a mimosa, or water) was a nice touch, and not always something even higher-end hotels provide consistently. My Marriott Gold status was acknowledged, although an upgrade to an “enhanced room”, which is the main benefit at this level of status, wasn’t mentioned or provided. I also asked about adding club lounge access for my parents’ room, since they’d be watching our daughter and friends’ son that evening while we attended the wedding. We thought the club lounge would be an easy place to take them. When I’d inquired about it the day before we arrived via the Marriott app, I was told that club lounge access was $300 per night to add, but at check-in, they offered it for less at $250. We accepted that and added access for one room. Overall, our arrival experience was very positive and had us feeling good about the hotel initially. Although we’ve recently gravitated toward slightly higher-end brands like Four Seasons, Belmond, and Rosewood, where the experience tends to be a notch above Ritz-Carltons, the initial experience here felt comparable to those brands. Unfortunately, some poor service shortly afterward took off a bit of the shine. Room: We had reserved two marina view rooms (one for us and one for my parents), both on the eighth floor, which is the club level. The hotel is on the first nine levels of a high-rise, while Ritz-Carlton Residences are on upper levels. One immediate thing we noticed was that the hallways to the rooms were incredibly cold. Everyone we saw in the hallways commented on how oddly freezing the halls were, which was just odd. Upon getting to our room, my first impression was that it was generic, but perfectly fine. The rooms haven’t been renovated since 2015, so the style feels a bit dated, but everything was clean, comfortable, and in good condition. The décor is neutral and unremarkable, but the essentials were all there: comfortable beds and nice linens and robes. Our room was also very quiet at all times, which is important to us. The bathrooms, appointed in gray and white marble, have a timeless look. The dual-sink vanity had good counter space, and the Diptyque bath products were great to have. I was surprised the bathroom had a tub/shower combo rather than a separate tub and shower, which I’ve found to be more common at Ritz-Carltons in the past. However, the set-up worked fine for us, especially with a toddler, since we just like to have some kind of tub for her. The shower curtain on the tub seemed a little basic/lower-end, but the bathroom was functional and nice overall. Every room has a covered balcony with a table and two chairs. When we stepped outside and compared views between our two rooms, we found our only real issue of the stay. My parents’ room (826), on the even-numbered side of the hall, had a true marina view with expansive water views of the marina directly outside the hotel and Sarasota Bay to the left, along with attractive sightlines down to the landscaped hotel grounds and pool. Our room (833), on the odd-numbered side of the hall, looked out over the hotel driveway and entrance and a nearby parking garage, with only a glimpse of distant water visible between buildings that didn’t actually appear to be a marina. It wasn’t a horrific view, but nowhere near comparable to the actual marina view across the hall. Since both rooms were booked and paid for as marina view, the discrepancy was obvious and surprising. Thinking the hotel had mistakenly put us in a lower-category room (which was particularly frustrating, since we were entitled to an “enhanced” room as elite Bonvoy members), I called the front desk. I was transferred to someone who I believe was an assistant manager of one of the departments, and the interaction quickly became difficult. Although he initially acknowledged the view wasn’t what it should be (and at one point said “I know the room view we gave you is misleading”), he later insisted we had a true marina view, when it clearly wasn’t. Rather than empathizing or simply accepting the feedback and trying to make things better, he argued with me about why I should be satisfied when I clearly was not. He first offered to move us to a room with the better view, which was reasonable in theory, but as I explained to him, not really workable. Our daughter was already napping with a bunch of her things unpacked, and we had limited time trying to get ready before a wedding. I explained our impediments to moving, and that we mostly cared about having paid for an upgraded view that we didn’t feel we received as promised. Compensation to cover the difference in cost between the room types is all we really wanted, not as much an actual change of rooms. The manager was very defensive and kept shifting to explanations that didn’t make sense, later shifting to saying our room was an “upgrade” because it was on the club floor. I’m not sure how it would possibly be an upgrade of any value to be on a floor with a lounge you can’t access. The rooms themselves are no different on the club floor as compared to anywhere else in the hotel. When I asked if he was offering us club lounge access to make it a true “upgrade,” of course the answer was no. When we discussed compensation, from a quick search on the hotel website, I noted that the price difference between a resort view and marina view was about $150 per night while we were there. In my mind, that would be the minimum appropriate compensation (if not more as a gesture of goodwill for the inconvenience). Even so, the offers were minimal and never reached that requested amount with this first manager. After multiple holds, I was transferred to Stephanie, the Front Office Manager. While she ultimately resolved the issue, the interaction felt hostile, rather than service-oriented. She had a poor attitude and didn’t seem to want to understand what I was frustrated about. She initially insisted on compensating us for the view difference for only one night, even though we were staying for two nights, which made no sense. Finally, she agreed to the $150 per-night credit I had requested, and also offered us club lounge access at a discounted rate of $200 per night if we also had any interest in adding that. We were interested, since my parents had already been in the lounge and found it to be quite nice. This brought our net cost for club lounge access down to $50 per night. I ultimately felt that the final resolution from this encounter was fair, but the process to get there, including the dismissive attitude from management, was not what I expect from a Ritz-Carlton. The brand prides itself on exceptional service from staff who are supposedly empowered to do whatever it takes to go above and beyond for guests (e.g., the constant articles online about the supposed Ritz-Carlton “$2000 rule”). However, this interaction felt the opposite: defensive, inflexible, and lacking interest in actually understanding our concern or providing service recovery. Despite being in management, the two people I spoke with did not go out of their way even a little bit to understand why we were frustrated or offer reasonable compensation without a fight. I wasted almost an hour of my time going back and forth on the phone before getting to resolution that felt like it was given very begrudgingly. Kids: Since we were traveling with a toddler, children’s amenities and how our child is treated matter to us. Overall, the hotel felt family-friendly, and we were always comfortable having a young child in tow. The small Ritz Kids coloring area in the lobby was helpful during check-in, though we didn’t notice many other kid-focused offerings. Admittedly, we also didn’t really look into specific kid activities they may have had, since our daughter is young and we didn’t really have time for anything extra. We did appreciate that the club lounge staff gave her a Ritz Kids lion stuffed animal, which was a cute souvenir to take home. The hotel does offer cribs or pack-n-plays to have in your guest room. When we requested a pack-n-play, the staff also proactively offered a mini-fridge for our daughter, which was great since the in-room minibar fridge is full and can’t be used for personal items. I had hoped to see other amenities we’ve had at comparable hotels, like diaper pails or baby bath products, but none were provided. At the beach club, they also had pack-n-plays available to set up at your beach or pool chair, which is an excellent option when traveling with very young children. Beach & Pools: As mentioned earlier, the hotel isn’t on the beach (it’s in Downtown Sarasota), but it has a private beach club about 10 minutes away on Lido Key. I was worried that the separation might feel negative compared to a hotel directly on the beach, but it actually gave us the best of both worlds. The beach club is the main feature covered by the $65 per night mandatory resort fee. The hotel runs an hourly shuttle starting at 9:00 am and going into the evening. It leaves the hotel at the top of each hour and departs the beach club to return to the hotel 15 minutes past each hour, but we chose to drive ourselves to avoid relying on the schedule (it would be nice if it went twice per hour instead of only once). The drive was easy, and valet parking at the beach club is included, with very friendly staff to assist and welcome you. I was genuinely surprised by how extensive the beach club is. I had expected a pool and beach access, but there’s also a full-service restaurant, a grab-and-go market, well outfitted locker rooms with showers (a nice option if you want somewhere to go on your checkout day before a late departure), and a tiki bar (currently only partially operational due to Hurricane Milton in 2024). While we spent our time on the beach, the pool looked nice and family-friendly with a zero-entry section. Our beach experience was very good overall. The staff were quick to set up chairs and umbrellas, and the beach itself is quite nice, with calm Gulf water and lots of shells. We ordered lunch and drinks from our chairs, and the food was unremarkable, but totally fine. As the beach got busier, service slowed a bit (the servers were working hard, but constantly going back and forth to the main building, which is a bit of a hike). Adding more staff or runners would help. Still, the beach club was lovely, and we had a great time there with others from our group. There is also a pool at the main hotel. While we didn’t use it, it looks like a pretty basic hotel pool, and the setting along the bay is pleasant. It’s a convenient option if you want to stay on property and skip the commute to the beach club. Club Lounge: One of the highlights of our stay was the club lounge, and I’m very glad we paid to upgrade for access. This was our first time on a Ritz-Carlton club level, though we’ve stayed in club lounges elsewhere. The offerings here were more impressive and well-executed than most hotels would offer in a similar club. The lounge itself is a pleasant space on the 8th floor, with a variety of tables and couches for seating, as well as a large balcony overlooking the marina, with additional seating for outdoor dining. Food was available nearly all day. Breakfast included standard continental items, fresh fruit, smoked salmon with all the accoutrements, and several hot items like quiche, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and potatoes. It was essentially a slightly smaller version of a standard hotel breakfast buffet, and was mostly good. Lunch was also pretty substantial. The day we were there, they had multiple salads, soup, sandwiches, snacks, and a fun make-your-own pizza station. Between lunch and dinner, there were grab-and-go packaged snacks, and in the evening, hors d’oeuvres were offered. We didn’t make it for hors d’oeuvres, but my parents did, and said it leaned more toward fancier appetizers than a full meal. Late-night desserts were also offered, and included little dessert bites and ice cream, which we enjoyed. I would say the food quality in the club lounge was solidly good. It wasn’t super noteworthy, but it had a nice variety and was always well presented. Drinks were a strong point in the club lounge. The fridge was always stocked with bottled water (still and sparkling), sodas, and beer. There were also multiple wines available at all times, including Nicolas Feuillatte champagne and a machine with eight wines to pour by the glass. Having actual champagne was all we needed to be happy, and the other wines were fine. The lounge also offered a small list of signature cocktails, such as an espresso martini and an old fashioned that the staff could make, and they’d usually have a pre-made cocktail available in a drink dispenser, such as rum punch. The club staff members were excellent. Rachel, who manages the lounge, was particularly professional, helpful, and enthusiastic, and clearly loves hospitality. She provides impeccable service. Beatrix was also especially kind and helpful to us and our daughter at breakfast. The service was extremely attentive (at times almost overly so). The staff truly didn’t want us to lift a finger, which older guests seemed to love, but it occasionally felt over-the-top and borderline embarrassing for us. I’ll take that any day over poor service though. That said, having the club staff available for any stay-related requests was fantastic. Rachel confirmed a 3:00 pm late checkout for us in seconds, sparing me from dealing with the main front desk after our earlier issues. At checkout, I was able to easily review our final room bill directly in the lounge. The staff also act as full concierges. While we didn’t use that service, we saw other guests getting very detailed assistance with dining and activities that sounded in-depth and helpful. We absolutely loved having club access, and I think it’s well worth the upgrade cost if you’ll spend time on property and take advantage of the food and drinks. With a toddler, it was especially great having easy access to snacks and meals just down the hall at all times. Dining: The main hotel restaurant on the lobby level, Jack Dusty, feels like a classic hotel restaurant, with a pleasant indoor dining room and a large outdoor balcony. We stopped by the bar one evening, which was lively on a Saturday night. The bartenders were efficient and drinks were good, so I had no complaints based on that brief visit. I wish we’d made it to Rufa, the hotel’s outdoor lounge and tapas concept along the marina. The seating areas and firepits looked great, and our friends who were hosting their wedding in Sarasota recommended it, but we didn’t make it there on this trip. Additional dining is available at the beach club. Ridley’s Porch, the main restaurant there, is open for dinner on weekends and serves lunch daily. It looked very nice, with lovely Gulf views. Staff Service: Staff service at the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota was generally very strong and aligned with the friendly, attentive standard we expect from Ritz-Carltons. Ritzes aren’t always the most modern hotels, but they usually hit the right chord with service, and that was largely the case here. The valet and door teams were great, the club lounge staff were excellent, and everyone we encountered at the beach club was friendly and helpful. The only negative experience we had with service was tied to our room view issue. The two managers I dealt with during that situation were surprisingly the rudest employees we encountered. They showed little interest in understanding our concern and wanted to do the bare minimum to address it, far below the Ritz-Carlton service we’re used to. Thankfully, everyone else we interacted with after that was wonderful. Location: We don’t know Sarasota all that well, but the Ritz’s location felt very central to everything we visited. Being downtown meant easy access to parks, great water views, and plenty of dining options in walking distance. Most places we went were very close: it was about a 5-minute drive to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens or St. Armands Circle, a 10-minute drive to the private beach club or the Ringling Museum, and around 15 minutes to Siesta Key. Sarasota airport (SRQ) is also just 10 minutes away, which is incredibly convenient. We flew out of Tampa instead, and the 90-minute drive with afternoon traffic at the end of our trip made us wish there had been a suitable flight from SRQ. Overall: Overall, our stay at the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota was positive and enjoyable. While some parts of the hotel, including the rooms, feel a bit dated and unremarkable, everything was nice and comfortable. A disappointing room view and poor service related to that initially put a damper on things, but we quickly bounced back and enjoyed the rest of our stay. The club lounge and beach club were definite highlights. We also loved exploring the area and celebrating our friends’ wedding, and would return to both Sarasota and this hotel.

Upper management was very kind following my negative experience and my departure before my stay even begin. They offered me some Point compensation. Not a lot. So I do not want to shame them excessively. However, it was not the welcome that I would have expected from the Ritz and in fact, it was a very negative experience and so I asked to be released from my reservation and went to another local hotel that was quite lovely. Lower level management seemed very inexperienced and unable to manage their front desk. Staff and Club level staff.

This place is unbelievably mediocre. Nowhere close to the seven other Ritz-Carltons I've stayed in. Bellman was going to "follow us" with luggage. Had to call twice Food in the executive lounge was old. Most of it was soggy. Even the caramel popcorn had been damaged by humidity, and it was in a package. There was a wedding party outside. It could be heard a mile away. It happened to be on our side of the hotel. This made sleeping impossible. The furniture is what you would find in a Marriott. I should have stayed in the Hyatt in downtown St Pete. Much nicer, at 25% of the cost.

Stunning! I happened to spend a night at the property as my first stop on a roadtrip to nowhere — I was upgraded from a club room to a Bay View Suite. The view from the suite couldn't be beat. And the Beach Club is paradise. Right from my booking, to the champagne on check-in, to the lounge, I was cared for, looked after, and pampered right through my stay. Front desk manager Micah deserves a special shout out for sending a lovely welcome gift to the suite, and for giving me an impromptu tour of the property when I went down to thank him. Even as a long time Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite member, service can sometimes be variable, the crew at the Ritz Sarasota definitely brought their A game. I will be back. :)

Terrible. I called specially to add my kids to the reservation. They told me ok and asked for one name, never said an additional word. Waited for my children to arrive and then turned them away. Then lied and said it was only allowed for 1 person, could have said that but didn’t and the. Didn’t even have my son’s name which I literally spelled out for them. Save for $2-3k for one night and go somewhere that respects their guests. If you don’t live there or stay every weekend they don’t give a c*** about you. Dismissive and liars, not a good combo. Save your money and go to the Westin