The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland

Assuming a typical Four Seasons or Mandarin Oriental sets the standard for what five-star hotels should look like, the Ritz Carlton Cleveland is a solid 4.5. In its favor, the property is lovely, the food is good, and the rooms are well-appointed and modern. The staff were all friendly and the Club Lounge is a must-add upgrade. The fitness center is also great. This does feel like a property that should have a pool, though. Keeping the Ritz Cleveland out of the conversation of the true five-star properties are small issues like the valet not asking if he could help with our luggage, waiting for a few minutes at the front desk unacknowledged while three employees were working on their computers, and a general lack of anticipating wants and needs and going above and beyond to make our stay memorable. For example, when learning that my family and I were going to a Guardians game, asking "how was the game?" when we returned would have been a nice touch. These are not huge negatives by any means, nor would they preclude me from staying at the Ritz again, but with some small and thoughtful tweaks, this could be a special place. As it is, the Ritz is by leaps and bounds the best hotel in Cleveland.

Jasmine made my multiple night stay at The Ritz-Carlton Cleveland amazing. She truly went above and beyond for me in every way possible to ensure my stay was amazing. She provided excellent customer service. Ritz-Carlton is my absolute favorite property to stay during my visits to Cleveland. The rooms are so spacious, beds are very comfortable, the property is immaculate and the staff truly goes above and beyond to ensure their guests have the best experience. Thank you Jasmine for an amazing stay!

Stay here only if you understand that this is not a true Ritz-Carlton experience. At best, it meets a good Marriott standard, with all the typical pros and cons of that tier. It’s disheartening to witness the deterioration of the Ritz-Carlton brand, and the Cleveland property is a prime example. There is no service culture, no sense of hospitality, no warmth, no anticipation, and certainly no refinement. Does anyone even remember The Ten Golden Rules? I once used them to train my own staff, yet nothing from that philosophy seems to have survived here. In my experience, spending $1,400 for a night here was an absolute waste. Save your money—this property is in desperate need of new management.

We stayed at this Ritz-Carlton pre-Covid, and loved it. Sadly, service has deteriorated notably. It’s still a physically luxurious hotel and in a good location, extremely convenient for events at Progressive Field or Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, which are connected via internal walkway from Tower City Center. The room itself (Premier Deluxe) was large, comfortable and well-furnished with an actual 6-drawer dresser, so plenty of space to put our clothes. Plus drawers and electrical outlets at each bedside, good lighting, 6 pillows, lots of counter space in the spacious dual-vanity bath, though minimal amenities, no cotton swabs or pads or makeup remover cloths. And some of the staff still try very hard to provide a luxury hotel experience. There were just too many missteps marring the overall impression. These are mostly minor annoyances, and if we were staying at a mid-market hotel, I would more easily overlook them. But they are charging Four Seasons prices, without delivering Four Seasons service. 1. I extended my reservation, and had to book the additional two days separately to keep existing pricing on the other two. I asked the agent if she could link the two, and mentioned it again in my prearrival questionnaire. But when I checked in, she said it was for 2 nights – then she noted the other reservation and spent some time “linking” them, but said our keys would stop working on the third day and we would need to come to the desk to get them reactivated that morning, she couldn’t do it now. I’ve never seen a hotel so unable to cope with extending a reservation. 2. I had also made a room location request in my prearrival questionnaire, which was not mentioned at check-in. When I remembered after getting to our room and called to ask about it, she said no Premier Deluxe rooms were available on the floor I requested (where our friends were). It would have been nice if she’d at least acknowledged the request and apologized for not being able to fulfill it, and given me an opportunity to make a choice between room type and location. 3. No recognition of us as returning guests, just a rote “thank you for your loyalty” after she asked if we’d been there before. 4. The room was full of warning signs…don’t take the big bottles of shampoo, they will charge you $68 a bottle; don’t touch the minibar items or you’ll be charged, don’t put anything of your own in the fridge or you’ll be charged $50! Also a cryptic warning on the in-room safe referring to state liability laws. No restaurant or room service menus, just a QR code. It gave Holiday Inn vibes. 5. The room had only one bathrobe. I called to request a second robe and half a dozen hangers. When I called a bit later to report that the battery on the safe was dead, he asked if I’d received those items. Nope. He said he’d follow up, and a few minutes later someone delivered the robe and four hangers – I guess six was too much? 6. The next day, we reminded them at midday about the safe batter

Very poor communication with hotel front desk staff prior to arrival.

Absolutely INCREDIBLE!! I messaged the hotel prior to the stay asking for an upgrade because I was going to be proposing to my boyfriend. I had no idea what extent was being taken until we checked in. Melinda at the front desk surprised us by upgrading us to their PRESIDENTIAL suite with a strawberry/sparkled wine amenity in the room! We were blown away on the size of the room, the amenities of the room, and the comfort of the bed! The room was spacious (a vast understatement), modern, clean, and very comfortable! The bed was amazing and it made for a picture perfect moment on our lives. The gym was modern, with many different exercise styles to choose from, and was quite enjoyable too. THANK YOU to Melinda and the staff for their amazing hospitality and incredible experience. - Mike and Luke