The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota

We always love staying at the Ritz Carlton in Sarasota. Great staff, beach club is great, close to everything. Definitely recommend for a great relaxing stay

My husband and I were in Sarasota for a quick overnight to look at some properties for a 2025 winter rental. Although our stay was one night, we chose the Ritz due to the wonderful experience we had there over a Thanksgiving holiday before the pandemic. We fell in love with this location, the main property being in a downtown area with so much to do (museums, theatre, shopping and dining). They also had a bus shuttle to their Lido Beach Club, just down the road, minutes away. Lido Beach by far is one of my top 5 beaches ever visited and the Ladies and Gentlemen at Lido Beach gave above and beyond service which provided a most memorable stay...we couldn't wait to get back! We arrived late Tuesday after a long day/night in Naples where we were warmly greeted in valet, again at the door and they also rolled out the carpetat the front desk! Everyone was so genuine and really did want us there, making sure we knew they valued us and were available to help in any way! We went to our room, a beautifully appointed Bay Suite and were welcomed by this artfully prepared seascape chocolate shadow box, it was incredible and everything was handmade...and delicious! Then we made our way to the Club Lounge just in time for a drink and a snack, again were warmly greeted and the team could not have been nicer and offered to make any drink of our choice. LOL, I can't recall what I had although I recall it was very good and hit the spot after a very long day! We sat outside on the deck overlooking the canal, watching a dolphin come in and make it's way out. It was such a perfect setting! It was well after 7PM and we had a special visitor! Mr. Sherwin, Hotel GM made his way to our table to introduce himself and welcome us back! We were so impressed and had a wonderful conversation about this special property and several other Ritz Carlton's that we have visited throughout the years! It meant a lot that he would take the time to visit and truly made us feel that we were important to him...and it showed throughout our stay - the Ladies and Gentlemen at RC Sarasota are indeed special! We made our way back to our room to watch the magnificent sunset, talking non-stop about how wonderful E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E was here...and enjoyed our special treat (although didn't want to touch it as it was so beautiful!). The next day we went to the Ritz Carlton Beach Club on Lido Key, was just as beautiful as we remembered...the pool, the beach set-up, the tiki bar and overall service! Sadly we didn't have time to dine at the restaurant, had to get back and get ready for our flight home...which we almost missed as we just didn't want to leave (squeezed in 45 minutes at the hotel pool, perfect size and setting! I wanted to give our special thanks to Mr. Sherwin and the Ladies and Gentlemen of the Ritz Carlton Sarasota and Beach Club properties for going above and beyond to help make our short visit such a special one...and we will be sure to return again very soon!

Everything was great regarding the stay but they don't keep their promises for inroom arrangements. when I called to arrange for an in room service they didn't keep the timing or provide the amenities as requested

Excellent service. Our very short stay was too short

We had a 3 night stay the first week of May for a girls’ trip & it was great! It was the start of the off season and wasn’t busy at all. The staff was very friendly and accommodating….. especially Curtis who helped us with everything! He was the best! Ask for him!! :) The property is not on the beach but offers hourly shuttles to their private beach club that has pools, restaurants, bars, & beach access. The shuttle stops at St. Armand’s Circle so you can use it to go to dinner/ lunch/shopping. We did not need to rent a car. Very close to the airport, family friendly, great location, can walk/bike to places. Would return!

Overall very good. Beach House and shuttle were great. Beach was beautiful. Beach and pool service very good. Jack Dusty for breakfast was good. Andrea at breakfast very good. Breakfast music on Sunday was blaring and awful until manager fixed. System must be antiquated if manager had to turn 12 screws to turn down volume. Carlo who repaired our shower was wonderful. A few things not so great. Housekeeping was so late in the day that it was irritating. Dirty plates and cups left in room 3 days. Pillows need replacing. No recycling program. Technology in rooms needs updated. Ownership needs to invest not just collect profits. Very nice hotel, but not real Ritz experience if that exists anymore.

Quick three night stay on Marriott Bonvoy points. Very pleasant check in, no acknowledgment of Bonvoy Ambassador status but I did not care. My Ambassador was going to ask about a suite upgrade, but upgraded to a marina-view room from standard room only. Still nice. Asked about any suites and was told the only ones available were on “small, on low floors, with no view”, or I could upgrade to a VP suite for $1200 a night, LOL. I love a good water view so kept original room. Offered us a welcome mimosa or glass of champagne. Club level upgrade offered at special discount price of $250 a day but knew we wouldn’t be around enough to take advantage of its benefits. Room not very large but very nice, typical Ritz decor, double sinks which I love. Bed very comfortable, AC and water pressure and temp worked well, lovely view. Large balcony where we enjoyed our morning coffee. Room showing some age: brown water came out of tub first time, floor stains around toilet, tp holder broken so roll kept popping off, toilet handle broken. Also something wrong with phone system so phones rang once time after time, at all hours like 3 am. Very annoying. All maintenance did was unplug and plug phones back in when I complained. Excellent housekeeping included turndown service. Several free water bottles provided in the room. Service throughout our stay was excellent. Dinner on property at Jack Dustys was “meh”. Service top notch but the food was strange, only okay. Nice table with beautiful view on the porch, though. Expensive, as expected. Beach club gorgeous. Excellent service. Drove ourselves instead of being tied to their shuttle service. Lucked out with excellent weather. Pool there full of kids, dry warm, very shallow. Very nice, huge spa tub. Spa still partially closed, for those who need this info. Not told until checking in but I knew from a previous post. Only issue is, when I checked in on-line the hotel put a hold on my cc for almost $2000, quite a chunk of change considering this was a pure points stay, not even cash + points, and we were unlikely to spend that much in just two full days there. FDA even said they usually place a hold of only $250 a day, so $750 total, and gave no explanation for the $2000. Now that I’ve checked out I am still waiting for the hold to be taken off my card, for which they told me can take up to five business days. So my $2000 is somewhere for almost two weeks while I wait. Called Ambassador line to complain, told again it could take up to five days to fall off. Just not right so annoyed. Also waiting for a valet park Ing fee to be removed for a day we did not use the service. Other than that, an overall excellent stay.

It was secluded which I liked.