Inspire50554167481
June 24, 2024
We (family of 5 with 3 teens) just wrapped up a stay at the Ritz in Amelia Island. We had high hopes but honestly things fell a little flat for us. Just overall too many misses for us to celebrate and recommend this property. I don't say this as a bragging chip but I use Marriott virtually everywhere we travel and have stayed at multiple Ritz properties. As a loyal (Titanium) Bonvoy member, I have had great experiences at their properties and some to forget. My review is based upon staying at virtually all of their brands and what most would expect at a Ritz-Carlton. The drive into the property is beautiful and the welcome was both a hit and a miss. They require valet parking which is fine but the entrance was absolutely jam packed at our 3pm arrival. We sat in a line 5-7 cars deep and waited 5-10 min before we could even exit our vehicle. The welcome was less than warm and felt more rushed. Upon arrival inside, the champagne was chilled and appreciated. Sadly, my titanium status was not even acknowledged and although they guarantee connecting rooms, they were unable to accommodate our two rooms (we had reserved a room for our teens and one for the parents). Further, for Bonvoy members you know you get an allocation of free suite night upgrades. I had requested them for our rooms and they were also unable to honor that request. Not that big of a deal as they are based upon availability. They did acknowledge my upgrade request but said they were fully sold out and unable to fulfill. Generally not a big deal however I could have gone directly on the app while I was standing at the front desk and booked an upgraded room for the duration of our stay. Hence, I know rooms were available. We finally got rooms sorted out (they had to put our teens on 1st floor and us on the 8th floor) and very little instruction or overview of the property. Not a big deal, we decided to venture out and explore the property on our own. The overall check in experience was just off point...the individual that checked us in (I think her name was Letitia) just seemed short and perhaps having a bad day. Overall, just didn't feel welcomed or warm. After the initial suboptimal experience, we decided to press on and make it a great trip. That said, there were a handful of things that would occur the next few days that just left me concluding this property is not up to RC standards. A few examples: - We spent our first full day by the pool and got back to our room to clean up for dinner about 6pm. Our room had not been cleaned. Not exactly the end of the world except for when I went down to the first desk to request our room be cleaned, I was met with a response that the crew had left for the day but they could offer a turndown service. When I voiced displeasure, they quickly backtracked and said okay, we will have someone clean it. - Food was decently good but no where near the value for what you pay. For example, the breakfast buffet is $32 per per