Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, FL
 

Has anyone atayed at the above hotel? Impressions?

ttt

Beautiful place in a great location if you're not looking for the beach.
One story, however. Although I've not stayed there, we frequent it for drinks before theatre at the Asolo. Last time, four of us, dressed up (overdressed for the place, actually) sat in the bar and ordered drinks. Before the waitress would get them, she abruptly said "And how will you be settling your bill?" I responded, "with a credit card". She then said she'd need to hold the credit card until we were finished, which we did. At first, I took personal offence at this, but soon noticed she was saying the same to everyone. There's something about going to such a place and having to fork over a credit card to show you can afford the place that really turned me off! Never happened at any other Ritz that I've visited.

How un-Ritz-like, and declasse. Better to lose a few $$ on skipped tabs than to do imply one's guest might be a cheat, IMHO!

<i>Those</i> are the sort of things that would irk me enough to gripe...to the GM. It is possible, though unlikely, that's the waitperson's rule, not the hotel's--just doesn't seem like something Ritz would consider appropriate.

Patrick...I relayed your tale to my DH and his immediate reaction was what mine had been: &quot;Ritz wouldn't do that any more than we would, that was an individual waitstaff decision.&quot; I thought it was a possible, though unlikely scenario only because there would have been complaints immediately, but perhaps you were served soon after that person started with Ritz.

Give them a 2nd chance and see if that policy hasn't changed. If someone asks to hold your card again...get right up and head on over to the Hyatt instead. :D

Make us jealous now...tell us where you are!

Yes, I find that strange as well. I'm decorating there for a wedding in the fall and they are very rigid about the rules for service personnel. We must bring ALL items in through their main loading dock and they have told the bride's wedding planner that she cannot sit at a table with the guests. These policies certainly aren't consistent with what amounts to dunning a guest.

Can anyone suggest an explanation as to why CherokeeRose would have resurrected a 2 year old unanswered query?

maybe she is going there shortly and wanted to hear some thoughts.

Hi

I haven't stayed there but I did host a &quot;High Tea at the Ritz&quot; for some of my friends and they requested a credit card imprint when I made the reservation but nothing was charged at that time and after the high tea was over a bill was presented which I took care of.

The place is lovely and the service is excellent but I don't find myself impressed at the location.

Sorry to hear that happened Patrick -

OO, we've been to that Ritz many times and this was the only time we were given that &quot;pay now&quot; scenario. A friend also mentioned that it might have been the waitstaff's decision since she would be changing shift soon and would want to close out her account (tip included) first, which seems like a likely thought.

About reporting where we are now, sorry I haven't posted yet from Europe -- after two weeks in London and a week in Wales. Some may have noticed on another post, my mention of our wrecking our rental car in a big roundabout yesterday in Wales -- not a happy day! I'll be posting more about it, but the important thing is no one was injured at all. It means we'll be taking the train tomorrow from Cardiff to Stansted for our flight to Naples (Italy) rather than driving!

Patrick,

I just searched out your account of the wreck--what a nightmare! The only saving grace is that no one was injured and that you weren't hit again--miraculous in those circumstances--it could have been much worse! Hopefully the rest of your journey will be far less hair raising!!

I'll follow your travels a bit enviously as we'd rather be anyplace but Dodge this time of year. You are not missing a thing at home as you well know. Hot and humid is here with a vengeance.

We too damaged a rental car in Wales. Had parked on a shoulder to get a picture and the wind whipped the door open and into the stone outcropping we were parked by. It put a terrific dent in the door, but as the car got dirtier and dirtier in the rain, it stood out less and less. We made sure it continued to get filthy, then held our breathes back in Oxford when we turned it in, and for several months thereafter. No one came after us, thank goodness. Driving it was like riding around in a piece of aluminum foil, and I'd have hated to have seen what would happen in a full blown wreck such as yours!

Stay safe.

If it happens again, Partick, simply hand her a Home Depot card. And tell her to make it a double, and how about some nuts!

The Ritz is indeed a very nice place. They are just finishing work on their beach club (on the gulf) since it is a non-beachside hotel.
I live in the area and have had dinner and drinks on several occasions there and have never experienced the &quot;credit card&quot; upfront policy and can't imagine that it is management policy.
I most definitely recommend that you come and stay here. The hotel is great and Sarasota is an absolutely wonderful city.

JUst realized the original post was from 2 yrs ago.
Assuming you visited Sarasota back then your probably now a resident.

You're right, tom42, and it worked! Thanks.

I live in Sarasota, and believe me, I do appreciate the finer things in life.
That said, I have to admit that the RC in SRQ has not lived up to it's expectations just yet. The managment company brought a very succesful (according to the press releases, anyway..) manager from the RC in Montreal. It is a beautiful place, but it has many problems, still!!!!!!! It has been few years now. I'm not buying it any more. It is a managment problem. I do understand that it's very hard to get good help, especially for high end places in Sarasota. It has always been a problem here and it still is, but if you are the Ritz, you import if you need to. The hotel is like flying a domestic airline in first class. One day you get exceptional service, next day you think you are at the local fast food/bar joint. That is simply unacceptable for place like this. The RC in Naples has been making the country's tops list in every major travel magazine every year and rightly so, while the Ritz here has not cracked the top 100 list for FLORIDA!!! (maybe a slight exaggeration, but I'm trying to make a point here).

Unless you get an exceptional deal on the regular rooms, spend your money elsewhere for now. The regular rooms are nice and RC quality, but IMHO are not worth the $$$$, especially with the service that you may end up with. After all, any star rating is not just about the rooms, it is also about service. The regular rooms get about 4.5* out of 5 in my book, but the service gets about 3* average. 1* on some nights and 5* on other nights.

On the other hand, it's prbably the best we have in Sarasota. It is also true for our restaurants. We do have some very good ones, but none are exceptional. It still puzzles me as to why? We do have a very rich cultural life, impressive galleries, a semi-impressive movie festival, etc... and yet the restaurants/hotels are 4* at best, on the scale of 1-5.

Ouch AA--if you think there are no exceptional restaurants in Sarasota, then you've never eaten in Bradenton. We ate at Selva Grill a few weeks ago and I'd have to say that it was exceptional. I'd give the Silver Cricket the same rating--but again--I live in Bradenton! We do have Beach Bistro and the Mangrove Grill.

Jayne

Might I ask where Selva grill and Silver Cricket are?

I'll need to check them out on my next trip south.

Jayne,

With all due respect, but if you think that Silver Cricket is an exceptional restaurant, then I will have to guess you have never been to one before.

Can't speak for Selva Grill, but have been to Silver Cricket many times. It's a very good restaurant but it's definitely not exceptional. There are other great restaurants in town, but none, not one, would make or did make any &quot;best in the country&quot; list that I ever saw, or better yet, would not make the &quot;top 50 in the country&quot; on my personal list. The food is almost there, but once again the service leaves something to be desired on many levels. And that's what I meant, we have very nice restaurants and hotels, but I think Sarasota is ready for the exceptional, and it still lacks that. With the wealth and sophistication of the community we should have better.


LN,

Silver Cricket - 1923 Ringling Blvd. (downtown Sarasota)

AA, we'll just have to agree to disagree on the Silver Cricket. Check out Sarasota Magazine's review of Selva Grill. I believe it was in a 2002 or 03 issue. As of eight weeks ago, the review stands.

LN, Selva Grill is on Clark Road in a small shopping plaza (what we refer to as a &quot;strip mall&quot; in Bradenton). It's a Peruvian Grill, so if you like ceviche it's a treat. The food is exceptional, the atmosphere is congenial and the service is excellent. If you want stuffy and formal, this is not the restaurant you want to visit. AA has provided the address of the Silver Cricket(downtown Sarasota). It has an infusion menu if you like that type of cuisine. I also considered Mediterraneo (on Main St) exceptional the last of many times I've eaten there.