The Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour, Miami — Hotel in Bal Harbour Village

We recently stayed at the Ritz Carlton Bal Harbour to celebrate my birthday. This was our first time at this property but having stayed at other Ritz Carltons around the world, I was hopeful that this location would be just as amazing. I’d seen other reviews mentioning that this property didn’t compare to other RC’s & sadly now, I’d have to agree. Upon check in we were warmly greeted by the front desk but upon entering our “inlet view” room, realized that it was a handicap accessible room with a walk-in elevated tub and single sink, versus the soaking tub and double vanity that we had booked. The view was lovely, but the room wasn’t going to cut it. Why on earth would they give us this room, seeing 2 able bodied people?? For $700 a night, I’d like two sinks please! They offered to move us to another room but since we had lunch reservations at Artisan Beach House (the hotel restaurant), we told the front desk that we’d change rooms after we’d eaten. Lunch was pretty good. We shared the tuna tartare and then I enjoyed the chicken sandwich, and my husband had fish tacos. Since we were celebrating, we ordered mojitos but they were pretty pathetic. The mint wasn’t even muddled and there was barely any rum in them. Ridiculous for $24 apiece. The server asked how they were and we told her “not that great”. She had them re-made and while there was more alcohol in the second round, still no muddling. A mojito requires the mint to be muddled so evidentially, this bartender needs to review the basics. After lunch we moved to our new room, but it was further west of where we were originally and not only overlooked the inlet but also the Collins Ave overpass with such incredibly loud traffic noise that it could be heard in our room with the sliders closed! It was so loud; we couldn’t even take a nap. By this time our visions of a relaxing weekend were pretty much shot and we debated whether to complain and change rooms for the 3rd time or just deal with it. We chose the latter but the damage was done. The room itself was fine, with a balcony and a very nice spacious bathroom with toiletries from Diptique. I had to laugh as there was a sign posted in the bathroom alerting guests that the toiletries were there for our stay only and that we’d be charged $50 per bottle if they were taken home with us. I’ve never seen that at any hotel and thought that was a little ridiculous given the nightly rate that was being charged. Obviously, they were just filling the full-sized bottles so understanding that, who would want to take it home anyway? The next morning, we utilized the beach with the complimentary chairs and umbrellas which were nice & while we didn’t order any food or beverages, the attendants were constantly around in case we decided to. The hotel pool was nothing special and definitely not worthy of a resort pool. The patio bar was even more sad, so we didn’t spend any time there. The hotel restaurant, Artisan Beach House had been mostly good for the lunch that we had upon arrival and we also enjoyed a nice breakfast there our first morning, but on our last morning, whoever was in the kitchen let down the entire experience. I ordered the pork belly eggs benedict and specifically asked that the egg whites in the poached eggs be cooked as I have a sensitivity to raw egg whites. As a home-cook, I poach mine all the time like this so it’s not that difficult to get right. My breakfast came out with runny egg whites and while I understand pork belly has a lot of fat on it, I was disappointed to see that there was barely any meat on the cuts. I ended up sending my plate back, which they appropriately took off our bill. I also had to have them re-make my café latte (seriously, how does that get screwed up at a 5 star hotel??). Not a great experience and one that overshadowed our first two meals there. Overall, this property felt more like “residences” than a hotel. There are RC Residences in the building next door and the common areas are shared by both the residences and the hotel guests. The hotel seemed empty …there were barely any other guests in the restaurant or common areas and while we weren’t looking for the constant activity that we would have found a few miles south in the heart of Miami Bch, we would have appreciated a little more activity. It also didn’t explain why they couldn’t have gotten our room right the first time. My husband and I compared this experience to a Westin that we frequent quite often in central Florida when we visit family in that area and agreed that the level of service and amenities were pretty similar but that hotel charges $125 per night and this RC was $700 per night. It’s sad to have to equate a Ritz Carlton to that of a Westin, but that’s where we are and honestly, the food at the restaurant in that Westin is more consistent than the Artisan Beach House. It’s sad that paying more for a 5-star hotel doesn’t always mean a better experience. Upon checkout, we were asked by the Front Desk manager how our stay was? I was honest and she apologized & graciously tried to make it right by depositing more points into my Bonvy account. It was a gesture that was very much appreciated but it didn’t make up for the overall experience...

Incredible hotel in a great neighborhood! We booked a one night stay for my girlfriend’s birthday and our entire experience was nothing short of spectacular. For starters, the overall service throughout the property was fantastic. Upon arrival, the valet greeted us with a warm welcome along with a bottle of cold water and once the bags were out of the car, they escorted us into the lobby area to the front desk. We arrived a few hours before the normal arrival time (4pm) so the front desk provided us with key cards that would give us access to the pool and beach areas while we waited for our room to be ready. They also caught wind of it being my girlfriend’s birthday so they graciously upgraded us to a 1 bedroom suite. Naturally we couldn’t wait to get into our room but while our room was being prepared we strolled down to the beach and walked along the water for a while. The beach access was only steps from the pool area and there even looked to be a walking/running path that followed along the beach. You needed a key card to get back onto the property and since we still had a little time to spare, we posted up at the pool. The size of the pool was fairly generous and there was a variety of seating options all around the pool. The Ritz staff made sure you were properly set up with towels and came around constantly asking if you needed anything. We didn’t order any pool-side cocktails but from what other people were ordering, they looked very refreshing! After a few hours we received a call from the front desk that our room was ready. The overall check in process was hassle-free and after a few minutes we were heading to our designated elevator. There are multiple towers with their own elevator access and you need to scan your room key card before selected your room number. I always like this added security step. Our room was on the 17th floor and there seemed to only be 2 rooms per floor, which was a nice privacy feature as you didn’t constantly hear room doors slamming shut. Our upgraded room was truly unbelievable! The floor plan was huge and had a separate living room with a very large sitting area with couches, a dining room table/chairs, full kitchen with bar stools up at the counter, and a giant wrap-around patio that overlooked the Haulover Inlet. We spent many hours out on the patio! The bedroom was incredibly spacious with a king sized bed (which was insanely comfortable) and another patio that had a partial ocean view. The bathroom was sized perfectly with a double sink, walk-in shower (with the best water pressure I’ve ever experienced), a separate bath tub, and a water closet off to the side. There was even a half bath off the entry! The furnishings throughout the suite were in perfect condition and everything was decorated with impeccable taste. After we enjoyed boat watching from our patio we headed out to dinner. We skipped ordering dessert from the restaurant we ate at because we wanted to come back to the hotel’s restaurant, Artisan Beach House, so we could try on of their made-from-scratch desserts. We posted up at the bar and ordered their Chocolate Brownie with salted caramel sauce and vanilla bean ice cream. Oh man was it delicious...it was served warmed and everything paired so well together! It was the perfect way to end the night. One other note was their wife speed and performance. Their wifi has great connectivity throughout the property and the speed seemed top notch compared to most other hotels I’ve started at. Staying at The Ritz never disappoints and this was easily one of the best hotel experiences we’ve ever had. The service was impeccable and the accommodations were stellar! This is now the only hotel we’ll stay at while in...

First, the positives-this is a beautiful property overlooking Haulover inlet (a treat if you're a fan of boats). Much quieter than South Beach but a close drive to restaurants and shopping. The room and bathroom were great, immaculate, pool was nice, and beach was pretty. Where this property lacks is service. This was our second time here for my birthday. We emailed ahead of time to let them know, hoping there would be some recognition of the special day. Upon check in, nothing was noted. We were also placed on the second floor (we asked for a higher floor when we booked), overlooking a metal roof. We also could not access the Wifi in the room. I went back downstairs to ask for a higher floor and let them know about the wifi. I was told no higher floor was available, but in the lobby using cell service I could see online there was. The person at the front desk said yes, she could see that but it really wasn't available... went back upstairs and still no wifi despite the front desk's instructions. I called down for an engineer, which they did promptly send. Meanwhile, my husband was not happy with the view and wanted to see about an upgrade. I spoke to the engineer who said yes, the wifi is working but perhaps there is a sign in problem and to go back to the front desk. I go back a third time and tell them the wifi is still not working, and to ask about an upgrade. At this point it had been about 45 min of my son and husband just sitting there, not unpacking to see if we were changing rooms, and not able to log on for work because the wifi didn't work. I was told no, they could not upgrade me despite there being higher floors available. I asked even though we're not able to log into work, this is my third visit down here and we've now wasted about an hour of our time? The answer was no. I told them we would pay for an upgrade then, and asked for some kind of dining voucher at least. I was told "we're already getting two complimentary drinks a day". What lousy customer service!!! The wifi problem was also because the front desk attendant kept telling us to put the 0 before our room number. It took 3 people to correct that. I also asked to make sure they knew it was my birthday as my husband had emailed ahead of time and nothing was waiting in the room upon arrival. (At many properties, there would be a welcome card, a bottle of wine, a sweet treat etc). One of the attendants said yes, they had it written down and she would be handling it personally. NOTHING ever arrived in our room, no treat, no nothing the entire stay. Anyway, we finally moved rooms to a higher floor (and paid the price for it despite it now being going on two hours trying to change rooms AND get working wifi). From then on, our stay was nice. The pool service was great. Beach service was inconsistent, ranging from someone promptly helping us one day to the beach guys literally just standing around talking as we waited for chairs and towels (we finally got our own). Check in was abysmal, and the fact they still did nothing to even recognize the birthday we were celebrating, despite many reminders, was really...