The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach

I stayed here in room 608 (a "Classic King, Guest room, 1 King, No view") for five nights in December 2024. Rating: 7/10 Positives: • The hotel’s location at Lincoln and Collins is unbeatable, placing you right at the heart of South Beach. • Having stayed here several times, I’ve come to expect the brand’s standards, and once again, the rooms were spotless, the beds supremely comfortable, and the air conditioning perfect for the Miami heat. • The complimentary beach chairs are a highlight — there’s nothing quite like enjoying this stunning stretch of beach and ocean just steps away from the property. • The staff were consistently helpful and pleasant, adding to the overall experience. Negatives: • The room itself was very basic. While spacious, it felt underutilized, lacking essentials like a desk. And as the description warned, the “no view” meant exactly that — not ideal. As a Marriott Bonvoy status member, I had hoped for at least a small upgrade, but unfortunately, none was offered. • The water quality was an unexpected issue. When I ran a bath, the water appeared murky and only cleared after some time, likely due to mineral deposits or sediments. • While the hotel underwent a lengthy closure for renovations a few years ago, my room still felt dated. The most glaring example? A telephone mounted next to the toilet — a curious relic of the past. • Pricing here is highly seasonal, and while I was okay with the value for this stay, I can imagine the steep rates during peak seasons could leave some guests disappointed.

From the moment we arrived, our experience at this hotel has been extremely disappointing. The staff has consistently demonstrated a lack of professionalism and courtesy, leaving us waiting for extended periods without clear communication or updates. When we sought assistance, responses were dismissive or delayed, reflecting a complete disregard for guest comfort and respect. At this moment, I’ve been sitting outside my room for over 40 minutes because the staff has yet to come and fix the low battery issue on the door lock. This situation highlights the lack of urgency and care for guests, further compounding our frustration. What makes this even more disappointing is the apparent indifference to resolving these issues promptly or making any effort to improve the experience. Hospitality should be at the core of any hotel’s service, but unfortunately, that has been absent here. This combination of poor service, unresponsiveness, and neglect has left us with an incredibly negative impression. Regrettably, we will never return to this property, nor would we recommend it to anyone.

This was by far the worst Ritz Carlton we have ever stayed at. The staff is uncaring and unhelpful at every turn. Check in- apparently during one of the busiest weekends of the year they decided to put the trainees on so the wait, even with only one person ahead of us, was 20 minutes. We requested late checkout based on platinum Marriott status and were told that they would but never put it in the computer so keys deactivated. Layout of the hotel is like a hamster habitrail. To get to the room we needed to go across the lobby, up an elevator, down a long hallway and up another elevator. Quite annoying. At the end of the evening we went to our room around 10:30 pm as my husband had an early meeting. The noise in the room was unbearable from the bass of the DJ at the hotel next to ours. We called the front desk and asked to change to a room not facing the pool to get away from the noise and were told a manager would call us back. No one ever called us back. We were also informed that the party would be going until 12 or 1. The Miami noise ordinance is that music needs to be shut down by 11:00. We called the front desk who transferred us to security. They were no help and suggested we call the police as they were not going to do anything which included calling authorities on behalf of their guests. I guess they’d rather be nice neighbors than good hosts paying way too much to stay at their property. (My quick phone call to Miami PD and then code enforcement took care of it very quickly). The restaurant- how overpriced can a place be? $55 per person for the breakfast bar and you need to hope someone brings you one glass of water and a coffee. Refills are no where to be found. I guess with a 20% auto gratuity that can not be removed, they have no incentive to care. Don’t waste your vacation time or money on this place. You will highly regret it.

It's a Marriot with marble bathrooms. From the moment you enter through the doors you expect to see at a McDonald's you know you are not in a real Ritz Carlton. The front desk staff is untrained and has terrible uniforms. 2 of the 3 elevators the hotel has were broken for most of our trip. The rooms smell stale, with poor-quality furniture and cheap ceramic tile floors. The bathrooms are marble. Pool, area is poorly staffed, we couldn't find anyone to make our chairs for us the 2 times we went to the pool, so we just sat on the raw cushions with a towel we grabbed ourselves. The hot tub is for maybe 5 people, and this is for a hotel with hundreds of rooms. Service is not what you would expect, the concierge was seldom at their desk, and the check-in wait times are long because there is only one or maybe two staff on duty. Our room wasn't made up the first day, and when we had to call down at 3 pm to get it made up we waited almost 20 minutes on hold before a very nice lady, who barely spoke English, answered the phone. We travel more than 4 months of the year, and this was the lowest quality experience I have ever had internationally at what is supposed to be a luxury hotel. The icing on the cake was my wife's gold necklace was stolen out of our room.

Carlos B. was great!! Thank you so much! Beautiful hotel. And beach access was gorgeous. Staff was so nice and helpful for the whole stay. Be sure to get their cocktails and a cabana!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!