The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota

Crowded and tired hotel. If you are looking for a respite, look elsewhere. Place is packed, wait times are very long, and the poor staff look tired and worn down. We did our best to tip well and overlook issues to not pile on their stress, but it’s clearly an understaffed property. Hopefully the management sees this and institutes some changes.

The Ritz in Sarasota was nice but for the price you pay you would think that they could afford to spruce up their games in the kids areas. They pool table area had three pool cues and they were all broken. I understand that kids break them but pool cues aren't that expensive and we are paying over $1k per night. A similar situation occurred at the beach. They provide corn hole boards but the bags were so cheap and light that you couldn't even think about throwing them into a slight wind. This Ritz definitely needs to step up their game when it comes to the kids.

Misleading Experience at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota $2,600 for ONE annoying day! I recently stayed at The Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota, Florida, with expectations of a luxurious beachside vacation, only to be profoundly disappointed by misleading advertising. The hotel's website prominently features photographs suggesting a beachfront location, which is not the reality. The hotel is, in fact, a 15-minute shuttle ride away from the beach, a service that runs only once per hour. This arrangement is far from ideal, especially for families, as it requires organizing around a shuttle schedule and sharing the ride with strangers. This experience falls short of the luxury and convenience one would anticipate from a Ritz-Carlton stay. To complicate matters, when we decided to relocate to another Ritz-Carlton in Naples for an authentic beach experience, the Sarasota location refused to cancel our reservation and insisted on charging us for a day we would not be present. This lack of flexibility and understanding is disappointing, given the misleading nature of their advertising. While the service met the basic expectations of the Ritz-Carlton brand, the lack of effort to resolve our concerns was disheartening. It’s astonishing that they wouldn’t even consider featuring the shuttle bus on their website to provide a more accurate representation of their location and logistics. For those planning a beach vacation, I strongly recommend bypassing this hotel and heading directly to Naples, where you can truly enjoy the beach without unnecessary inconvenience. Additionally, the club level amenities at the Sarasota location do not accommodate the extended travel time to and from the beach, further diminishing the value of the stay. Though financially recoverable, the time lost and the frustration experienced were significant. It is bewildering that a hotel bearing the Ritz-Carlton name could operate in this manner, which raises questions about the authenticity of this location. Despite offering a 20% discount for the day we won't use, the gesture does little to compensate for the overall disappointment. I urge potential guests to reconsider and choose a location where the promise of luxury and convenience is genuinely fulfilled. Unfortunately, my in-laws, who intended to join us, fell 5 days before our trip, yet the hotel charged a cancellation fee due to their strict seven-day notice requirement. In today's travel climate, a 48-hour notice would be more reasonable. The hotel's lack of flexibility was evident, though they eventually comped our dinner after multiple complaints about the inconvenience caused by the closed club level upon returning from the beach.

We only stayed at this hotel for one night and had a fantastic experience. Kavanaugh checked us in and he really set the tone for an all round wonderful stay. He was welcoming, friendly, professional and a first class representative of the Ritz brand. We were ungraded to a beautiful room overlooking the marina and bay. Our room was spotlessly clean and it was so pleasant to sit on the balcony overlooking the water. We didn’t use the pool or beach club with a quick one night stay, but did enjoy sitting in the pool/garden area. Staff was happy to open up the complimentary ice cream cart . There’s a fun bell ringing and grog tasting at 5pm which we waited for, but it never materialized. On asking, a staff member was so nice in offering us a private bell ringing session, brief history talk and a glass of tasty grog. We ate dinner on the patio at Jack Dusky . Again, staff were friendly and helpful. The bbq tofu was excellent. Had a nice spicy kick to it. This was a wonderful break in the beautiful city of Sarasota.

OVERALL RATING 9.7/10 For context, we are lifetime platinum elite members who average about 40-50 nights a year as both business and leisure travelers. The property and staff at the Ritz SRQ is all absolutely top notch. The helpfulness and friendliness of staff, the bayfront location and the Ritz Beach Club property really makes this an exceptional place to stay! STAFF 10/10 I would like to mention and personally thank Operations Director Bayan Sabermanesh for all the help in coordinating a bayfront room and kindness in offering a late checkout (which we didn’t end up needing, but still appreciate the gesture). I also want to thank Food and Bev Manager Jordan Felgate for hooking us up at Jack Dusty. Thank you both! We visited in early March. The hotel was at or near capacity and they still did a phenomenal job. The staff happily brought us more toiletries, extra towels, etc. Clean, spacious bay front room with a nice balcony. The bathroom was exceptional. Oversized soaking tub and nice separate shower. The food was superb. We had room service, food poolside and over at the Beach Club at Lido Key. Everything was perfect. Dinner at Jack Dusty was 10/10! Here’s a little info for first time visitors: the shuttle to Ritz beach club/St Armand Circle (a bus seating maybe 25-30) runs every every hour beginning at 9 am. You get wristbands for the Beach Ritz. It sits out front from about 15 minute before the hour and leaves promptly on the hour. It leaves the beach club on the :30. It also stops in St Armand Circle. On Saturday when it was busy they had a 2nd bus. Well done. The beach infinity pool is great, but there are kids, if that is or isn’t your thing. The pool at the main property is very warm and there is a hot tub by the marina. We loved them both. The beach, the water, the lounging chairs, the sand, the service at the beach. All are perfect. Just the little things like the beach chair covers. Or a picky drink order - the drink came out 100% correct every time. Thank your wonderful staff and we are very grateful. Kudos to the management for running this property so well!!! We will see you again!