The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota

Luxury hotel, phenomenal service, delicious food! Room is a getaway sanctuary with comfortable bed, inviting décor, complimentary water bottles, coffee machine and stunning bathroom with excellent toiletries. Turndown service nice touch with chocolates, refreshed bathroom and next days weather forecast. Free shuttle hourly to St Armands Circle for shopping and dining. Great place to come for long visit or just an overnight getaway!

Impeccable service and wonderful food. The only bad thing about this hotel is having to leave.

I guess they renovated rooms?! Room was very pretty. Bed was so comfortable that we didn’t want to get out the bed. We had a nice view from the room.
Hotel was doing Memorial weekend events.
My boyfriend liked the bartender Jeff at Jack Dusty. We couldn’t make a reservation ourselves at Crab & Fin for the dinner where the bartender had recommended but Ritz Carlton was able to hook us up there!
The restaurant was very good! Fresh oysters, huge lobster etc.
We all loved the beach club. Service on the beach was phenomenal. Fish tacos that I had on the beach was actually the best fish tacos I have ever had! My son’s buffalo chicken tenders were so hot that he could only eat one. I believe it didn’t have an option for mild nor it didn’t say it was hot.
We wanted to pick up Ritz Carlton hat however they were out of stock. I would think they would have overstocked for the holiday weekend…
Overall very satisfied as always!

I was not impressed with my stay at The Ritz. The walls are super thin, especially along the door that joins two rooms together. We heard everything going on in the room next door, from ice cubes being dropped in a glass to a woman slapping her husband in the face — no joke.
It was also not obvious at time of booking that there is a $ 26 overnight fee for leaving your car there and a $ 26 resort fee.
The beach resort was overcrowded and they put us on the back row, which was on a decline and we were sliding off the chairs and our stuff off the tables.
The food at the resort was also mediocre. The in-​hotel bar was nice, but was out of the drink we wanted two nights in a row.
The staff at the hotel, resort, and shuttles were extremely pleasant, though.
We will not be coming back to The Ritz-​Carlton Sarasota.

If I need a hotel in Sarasota, this is where I stay. My last visit was over Easter and we has Easter brunch. We go to this Ritz several times a year for holiday brunches. They host the MOST BEAUTIFUL brunch I have ever seen!
I mean that. Picture large ice sculptures, perfectly manucured grounds, food stations overflowing with divine food, and the most perfect artistic deserts EVER!
They just renovated their dining area and it looks fabulous. Now it is more modern with a classical twist.
Location is perfect in Sarasota. It is overlooks the bay. It’s everything you would expect from the Ritz!

I’ve been fortunate enough to stay here several times for both business and pleasure. It seems as if «off peak» travel times, as with any resort, are the best times to stay. Spring break coupled with Easter weekend, kept the staff spread thin at times. But, it seemed as if they added quite a bit of help toward the end of the weekend.
Poolside service is exceptional. You can’t move without being helped. The service and food at Jack Dusty was great. An eclectic group of bartenders make some really unique and carefully thought of craft cocktails. The seafood was fresh and prepared in an imaginative way.
Our room was upto date. Cleanly freshened each day with nice «Ritz» touches.
The beach club is nice. Really nice. But, as expected because of the Holiday, was packed. Service was good-​not great. They could have used 10 more servers to handle the mass of people.
Overall, I’ll be back but, probably not during spring break or a major holiday weekend.

Revenge of the Demolished John Ringling Towers.
This Ritz Carlton is so close to being great that it hurts.
The location is almost waterfront.
(Love the unadvertised Voyeur Balconies that feature adjacent condominiums.)
The furnishings are topnotch and the color palette of Selby Garden Verdure and muted gold is gorgeous.
(Any reason why price tags are still glued to décor objects? Discovered when emptying ice bucket each night.)
Housekeeping staff thorough.
(And apparently psychic since every morning their loud chatter in the room next door woke me 15 minutes before my alarm was set.)
Room service: food quality great but not used to the cart being wheeled in and dumped in front of the balcony with no set up. (The Ritz Carlton in Naples sets up foot rests, plates and silverware and came dangerously close to tucking napkins into collars for the underage diners.)
Ambience: Love coming back in the evening and finding David Sanborn in the room.
Lobby Elevators: Nifty trick always finding doors opening as I turn the corner to go up to the room.
Major complaint: insulation. You read it correctly. Insulation. More precisely, lack of.
When the room is quiet, you can hear everything that happens in the adjacent room’s bathroom.
No matter where you are in your room. It’s disconcerting at the best of times and horrifying at others.
So if you’re traveling alone, keep the remote handy to quickly add ambient noise as needed.
These are such strange complaints to report from a Ritz Carlton; that’s where the reference to the old JRT comes from. I just can’t imagine any other explanation.
But this is still the best property in the area if it fits your plans and pocketbook.
So enjoy.
Quietly.

Everything you expect from the Ritz-​Carton will happen. I went for a spa treatment and from valet, deep tissue massage, access to all the amenities, to the workers in the ladies quarters were top notch. If I looked like I needed something, the workers were at my beckon call.
Ann provided me the best deep tissue massage to date without making me sore or bruised, so I’ll be specifically asking for her again.
My three favorite things were there — a steam room, sauna, and jacuzzi…
When it’s shower time, everything you ever need is there and if you need something else, just ask they’ll have it for your. The showers were clean plus all the supplies (body shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, disposal razors, q-​tips, combs, lotion, hair dryers, etc.
All you need to do is come and everything else is provided for you. You’ll get a locker with your own locker key, plush robe, towels, water, beverages (including wine/​champagne if you desire), flip flops/​slides, etc. Don’t worry there are men and women sides — so clothing are optional. All of the ladies wore their bathing suits in the jacuzzi, some will just have a towel for the sauna and steam room. All of the seating areas were nice.

This hotel was by far the best one we stayed at while we were in the Sarasota/​Tampa/​st. Pete area. The service is top notch. Everyone is engaging, happy and smiling from the moment the valet opens your car door. Check-​in is easy and the front desk staff are fantastic. Shout out to Jacqueline. Our room was newly renovated and comfortable. Love that they put a lot of outlets and ports for your devices, all over the room. Bathrooms were big and luxurious.
They Also they got rid of movies on demand and added smart tv’s so that you can access your own net flix account.
Located on the bay, you are not at the beach, but they do offer 15 minute shuttle rides to their beach club.

What’s not to love about Ritz? service is always impeccable. This Sarasota location is perfect.

I mean, who doesn’t like the Ritz?
I was there for a week for a conference, and my experience was perfection from the beginning to the end. Granted, it could’ve been the fact that there was nearly 200 of us staying for a conference with programming going from 7 am to 10 pm ish every night. and probably the large chunk of change that it cost to put on such a production. but regardless, I loved every moment at the Ritz. The beds and the views from my room were probably my favorite part. The bed felt like I was sleeping on clouds. the pillows were of all different materials and varied in firmness, so that each sleeper had multiple options. I had a king room and it came with a desk/​chairs for working, a chaise for lounging, and additional seating and tables on the balcony, making it a dream to work from my room no matter what kind of mood I was in, or what I needed to get done. Room service was always prompt regardless of the hour, and checkout was a breeze. You get access to the other beach Ritz with your stay at this location, and I definitely recommend taking the complimentary shuttle to check out their beach, ESPECIALLY at sunrise or sunset. The shuttle also takes you into town at the top of every hour, making it a convenient option to explore the area.
I loved my stay at the Ritz, and would definitely come back.

I don’t even know where to start… from the moment we pulled up to valet, the experience was incredible. Our bellman, Hans, made our weekend much easier by explaining everything about the hotel as we went to our room. Seriously, he spent at least 20 minutes going over all the details of our stay and remembered everything about us as he saw us throughout our stay. It was amazing!
The bed. Ooh! So comfortable and an array of pillows in case you like soft, medium, hard… feather or foam. great views of the water — or if you’re not as lucky… views of the new construction next door, I guess.
I haven’t been here in about 10 years and it used to look like a fancy library with all dark wood. Now, it’s a light, beach look that is elegant and bright.
The Grand ballroom (we were there for a wedding reception) has a breath-​taking chandelier and apparently the person that did the flowers for the hotel also did the flowers for the wedding — they were stunning.
The restaurant in the main area is where we ate lunch and the food was wonderful. Sure, it was a bit pricey for a sandwich, but it’s the Ritz!
Lastly, they have an onsite pool, but down the street they have their Beach Club that is included in your stay with a shuttle that takes you. We didn’t bring swimsuits, but Hans explained that the gift shop had some and directly across the street was a suit shop, too! The Beach Club is fully connected to the hotel electronically, so all you have to do is room charge anything you purchase: drinks, food, etc. They also have free wind-​surfing!

Met some business associates at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Sarasota yesterday for coffee. Directly behind the lobby there is a restaurants with outdoor seating. We sat outside, enjoying the coffee and conversation for about an hour. View and the atmosphere at the restaurant is amazing. I only had coffee but in the hour that I was there the server came over 4 times to ensure that my coffee was full. I would’ve loved to have stayed for lunch, but I had another meeting at noon. The lunch menu looked amazing and I heard that they had a really great grouper sandwich. Parking is not available, you must valet at a cost of $ 10.

Had a nice relaxing time! It’s a smaller resort but they have shuttles to take you to the beach etc. We stayed on site to relax and enjoy the marina with paddleboarding and kayaking. We were only there one night so we just wanted to hang out! Poolside service was not as great as the rest of the hotel but it didn’t ruin our time at all! Nice getaway and the upgraded room with marina view was a plus!

Everyone knows the Ritz Carlton has spectacular service! We have friends that are residents there and we dine and use the pool quite frequently, Lori and her pool staff are amazing! If ever we need anything they are quick to service and provide us with what we need or forgot for kids and ect, such as goggles or toys for my son. Lori even knows my son loves fruit and always brings us a plate or a unique design of watermelon without us even asking! We spent or 4^th of July there and they made it so fun! Hands down best pool service I’ve ever had, blows beach club and longboat key club away!

Haven’t stayed here so this is just for the on-​site restaurants and general hospitality. Both were great. It has beautiful views on the water. It’s bright and open spaces with super friendly and accommodating staff. Also recommend going for lunch/​dinner. Great cocktail selection at the on-​site restaurant.

great beach and service.
unbelieveable place and great family resort
a touch pricey, but its the Ritz!
I will say the rooms were a bit dated but this place is great.

Ehh I was expecting better. The online pictures are deceiving. The pool is tiny, they must have been using a wide angle lens for the website. We couldn’t check into our room until 5pm, which was well after the given check in time. We also switched rooms bc we didn’t get the high floor or view I had paid for.
On the positives, hotel lobby was very nice and room were clean. We also managed to park for free.

The wife and I stayed here for an entire week for vacation. This is what we thought…
I’ve stayed at other Ritz hotels and this one needs help. Certainly not worth the full cost of a five star hotel; not yet at least.
Pros:
Architecture and aesthetics are second to none; typical for a Ritz. Shuttle to the beach with a private beach is very nice. Customer service is good; kudos to Dean from valet; the guy is good! Knew our names immediately, great recommendations for food, just a solid personality for hospitality. Lori (I think her name is) was also friendly and down to earth.
Opportunities for Ritz Management:
The beach club restaurant staff is in dire need of training. I ordered a drink and never got it, but I kept my cool, stuff happens. I just asked someone else and finally got it. The second time around got frustrating as I had to get up to ask for refills and then got up again for the check. Both times I never found my waitress and asked another person to check us out. This is an elementary problem and shouldn’t be an issue for a five star; this is low hanging fruit that goes a long way Ritz.
Our room also had plumbing problems, sinks and tub wouldn’t drain and would build water level. We asked the front desk for the maintenance guy and he showed up immediately. Upon our return that afternoon the problem wasn’t fixed. Bummer. Recommend following up with customers when a fundamental hospitality requirement is non-​functional. Anyway, we managed to use the drowning tub and sink.
The electrical switch to the bathroom pops and the light doesn’t shut off. The desk lamp also didn’t work. I had to open the curtain to use the outside light while sitting at the desk when reading. My plan didn’t work very well at night though, so I had to use my iPhone light. I’d get an electrician to check out the room.
Lastly, the rooms technology requires some serious updating from 20^th century technology. The TV channels have snow on them, and the channel selection stinks. All the TVs are analog with no HDTV; this is a silly problem. I mean, even my 85 year old barber has HDTV. C’mon man!
Also, all phones have USB cables to charge, so I recommend USB charging stations on the night stands. I had to pull the night stand forward to disconnect the clock so I could plug in my own charger. Not everyone has an old iPhone to plug into the clock, making this setup useless.
I don’t like to bash businesses, but I I like the Ritz and this feedback is important if they want to compete and maintain market share in the luxury hotels niche. Maybe the club level gets the majority of the attention and the others not so much. However, it’s important to look at customers lifetime worth to the business. Customers who utilize the regular rooms are more likely to become club level consumers in the future as their disposable incomes rise and their perception of value is positively influenced based on the quality they witness in regular rooms. Do not hinder the value proposition of your business.
Anyway, I wonder how the Ritz management will follow up this time…

This review is a no-​brainer. It’s the Ritz-​Carlton! The staff here provide excellent service to their clientele consistently.
In fact, one night I needed change from the front desk. While I approached the front desk, some drunk guest was belligerent to the staff. She was using expletives and throwing things at them. I asked her what the problem was and she proceed to scream more expletives. She had left her purse in her room and was too lazy to go upstairs and retrieve it! That certainly was NOT the front desk’s responsibility. The staff was doing the best they could to be of service but the woman was too intoxicated. I politely looked at her and told her «Clean it up!“and proceeded to defend the front desk staff. I then chose to walk away in order to prevent causing a scene with this woman, who started yelling expletives at me.
I let some time pass, and went back to the front desk to check on the staff and see how they were doing. They proceeded to profusely apologize to me about her behavior! I assured them that it definitely wasn’t their fault the hotel guest was a train wreck and they still continued to apologize!
The room was a bit outdated, but the view from the balcony was breathtaking. The bathroom was made in marble and was gorgeous with plenty of room.
The only drawback to the Ritz was that there was only restaurant located in the hotel, Jack Dusty’s. Albeit, the food was consistently very good, I felt that there should be more choices for restaurants.
The grounds were breathtaking and the pool was gorgeous.
Upon my departure, the valet guys were even kind of enough to offer me a bottle of water for my ride home!
I definitely would stay here again without any hesitation!