The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale

For what I would expect is a high quality hotel I am pretty surprised about how poorly the hotel is kept up and generally how lazy the housekeeping staff is. It was apparent that housekeeping hadn’t properly cleaned the room upon check-in - the toilet had toilet paper in it, the bath did not drain (it is also the shower so clearly they hadn’t run any water or they would know that). I found the razor cap on the side of the bathtub and the lamp/mirror in the bathroom was covered in rust. All in all, really disgusting. I spoke to the manager because the housekeeper who cleaned the room the following day left one hand towel and no bathmats. With a young child the last thing I wanted was for her to slip on the marble and get hurt. He was very apologetic and said it would be addressed asap. I came to the room 3 hours later to find that the bathmats had been brought but no hand towels. I don’t know if they were running low at the hotel but very annoying that it required multiple requests to get something so simple.

The pool area is stunning, with luxurious amenities and beautiful surroundings that overlooks the ocean. It has a dining restaurant and a bar, hot tubs and there is also beach access however during our visit it wasn't working. The service is great, and we were offered pool amenities multiple times, including frozen grapes and smoothies, as well as gelato ice cream, which added a luxury vibe to the experience. I would like to mention the excellent service provided by the pool staff, including Keddar our server, Scott and Richard at the bar and Ruben, the pool attendant.

My sister and I just got back from a quick trip to the Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale and we had a great stay. The hotel is beautiful, the location is convenient, and the service really stood out. Every employee we met was wonderful, but these two deserve a special mention. Our first interaction was with Maurell at the front desk, and she set the tone right away. She was very friendly and welcoming . We arrived early and tried to check in a few times but the room wasn't ready until the original check-in time of 4 PM. so it made for a long wait. When we went back up to the desk and were told the room was finally ready, she came out of the office to personally take care of us. She knew we had been waiting a long time and surprised us with an upgrade to a beautiful room with an amazing view of the pool and the ocean. Rodney by the pool also deserves a shout-out. He checked on us every day always with a smile, and made sure we were taken care of. He really did make us feel like VIPs. We really enjoyed our time at this beautiful hotel and we will definitely be back.

We got a day pass for the pool area to wait for our late flight. The pool area and the staff were all very attentive and the pool deck and views are incredible. They passed out some frozen grapes, and later berries. The drinks and the food out by the pool were pretty high so we only ordered 1 drink each. Very nice area though!

This has been (was) my go to hotel in Fort Lauderdale for many years. Unfortunately, that is now over. However, I will only write about the Club Lounge, which has entirely lost it's way for several years. I have written to the management over and over about the inadequecy and lackings of this Club Lounge, in relation to some of the other stellar properties around the Country (World, actually). There are many Club Lounges that strive for excellence; this is far from one of them. My Gold Standard has always been Dallas, where they go out of their way for some amazing presentations. However, Chicago is awesome, NoMad is (pricey to the extreme) awesome, Naples is awesome, Key Biscayne is awesome, Atlanta is awesome, etc .... but what the hell happened to Fort Lauderdale ?? It was TOTALLY awesome 10 years ago. Where did they go WRONG ?? What they put out is low level garbage. Everything looks like it came out of a box and got re-heated in an oven. Nothing looks like it was cooked on property. It wouldn't surprise me if they tried to pass off pigs in blankets, for dinner. The scrambled eggs are so soupy, due to the condensation, that they are inedible, unless you have absolutely no quality standards when it comes to the things you eat. The bacon was hard as a rock; and not flavorful. You don't stay at a Ritz Carlton for lack of quality. The name Ritz Carlton should be synonomous with Quality. They wrote the book, on quality. This property has a long way to go, to get their reputation back. Get rid of the poor excuse for a Chef, and tell the F & B manager that his last day is yesterday, and let's start moving in the right direction with this place. Don't waste your money here on this Lounge, and safe and happy travels !!