The Ray Hotel Delray Beach, Curio Collection by Hilton — Hotel in Delray Beach

Hotel clearly prioritizes non-guests over guests. Checked in Wednesday, checked out Sunday. Asked for rooftop reservations for Fri & Sat on Tuesday and were told it’s first come first serve. Checked in Wednesday, hotel looked amazing- Wednesday was fine. Thursday we went out during the day and housekeeping came when we were gone. Awesome. Thursday day was fine. Thursday PM we went to the rooftop and every single table had a gold reserved placard on it. So much for first come first served… we finally got a place and had some drinks, our server, Madison, was great. Asked the hostess about Friday and Saturday PM since we were here on a golf tournament, and we’re told they were already booked up. I asked how since they were first come first served and she said “oh the bar itself (all 6 seats…) is FCFS but the rest is reservation only. So we were turned down originally but after we paid our (large) tab Thursday, a spot magically opened up for Friday night. Friday, housekeeping never came, despite the “service room” light being left on all day. It was pouring so I stayed in, I walked to the rooftop to order lunch and got drenched, nobody was there, so I went to order room service, which, turns out they don’t even offer, so I used Uber eats, and then, being soaked and cold went to take a shower and had to call down to ask for towels and for more water in the room. Towels were brought, water never was. Friday night, we went with our group to the roof top then came back to our room around 11. I was woken at 7 Saturday by extreme hallway noise. The beach access was cool- they gave two towels and a tote bag and reserved 2 chairs - it was nice- BUT there is nowhere to order food or drinks so bring your own. So I went to the beach while my husband played in his golf tournament. I came back around 4, and again, no housekeeping, despite the sign being left on for them to make up the room. I called for towels, again. And water. Again. Towels came, no water did. So I showered and then went downstairs and asked for water- was told they’d be up later but I said no I need water now, I haven’t had any in 2 days so finally the front desk gave me 2 bottles of the water they give you when you when you check in. Saturday PM we finally asked the desk about why housekeeping had never bothered to show and was told “oh you have to ask because of Covid…” but yet they came the first day on their own, and I guess leaving the service room light on doesn’t count asking, nor does asking daily for fresh towels and the room to be made up. Saturday night the thermostat spontaneously lit up and turned off every 30 seconds for hours, lighting up the entire room, keeping us awake so I finally covered it with a towel. Sunday we went to check out- we called for valet to help with the luggage and to bring the car around. Was told by Dianne the valets were too busy parking brunch customers (again, non-guests before guests…) so we went down to check out and Valet was empty. We asked what was up and the Lead Valet said WHAT? What do you mean Dianne said we were too busy?? My husband went to check out and watched Diane ask 3 customers if they were happy with their stay. If they said yes, she gave them a trip advisor comment card, if they said no, she didn’t.

I do not recommend this hotel at all- which is a shame. The hotel itself is gorgeous and very well appointed. The service, on the other hand, is TERRIBLE. If you like clean towels and a made up room, access to your own hotel’s rooftop bar, mini bar, and valet parking, go elsewhere. If you like being pushed out of your own amenities by non-guests, well...

Let me start by saying I stayed here two years ago and had an amazing time. Service was impeccable, rooms were clean and the food/drinks were delicious. It has become apparent that the standard has severely declined.

Issue No 1: This time I stayed at the Ray from Sunday until Friday (which was pushed to Saturday as explained below). I noticed Monday that our room was not cleaned and the fridge was not restocked but figured they must just not clean everyday (which would be a change from last time). However, Tuesday came around and my room was still not cleaned and so I requested a cleaning and requested my fridge get restocked. Still nobody came to clean. Wednesday came around and still my room was not cleaned and fridge again not restocked. I go downstairs and ask again to get my room cleaned and fridge restocked and told the front desk I haven’t had my room cleaned and fridge restocked since I got here. Turns out it was because my dog (a pug) was in the room, which nobody thought to tell me that they can’t with my dog in the room. So I take my dog out of the room and finally get my bed made, fresh towels stocked but the trash was never picked up, fridge never restocked and no new rolls of toilet paper were provided. This continued until I left.

Issue no 2: Since my fridge was never restocked (as explained above) I asked the front desk if they can deliver waters to the room on Friday night. They said yes but never came which is just bad service period (why say yes?).

Issue no 3: At the pool we requested a server several times and the server continued to take orders from everyone else and ignored us. At first we thought it was just a mistake but the next day the same thing happened. I was absolutely stunned how we can request a server and watch as the server ignores us. To be fair this only occurred the first two days and the problem did not occur after.

Issue no 4: Inappropriate comments were made to my significant other. When we came to the hotel the front desk staff told her “Aww I’m sorry you’re sick hope you feel better” which she wasn’t sick, we never said she was sick and she most certainly didn’t look it. This obviously made her upset. A second incident occurred at the pool on Friday when she finished her second drink the server said “wow you’re drinking those real fast.” I don’t know what the reason is for these comments but we are on vacation so please keep your comments to yourself.

Issue No 5: I booked through AMEX and there generally should be a complimentary late checkout up to 4 pm, if available. I asked for a late checkout since my flight was at 7 pm and they said the best they can do is 12:30 pm because they have to get the room prepared, which is totally fair. However, we decided to just change our flight to tomorrow morning and book another room since it just made it easier for us to have a room to keep our dog since dogs are not allowed on the rooftop (also a fair restriction). However, when we extended our stay, guess what room they offered us. THE SAME ROOM! But they said the best they could only do was a 12:30 late check out (and not the up to 4:00 late checkout) because they have to get the room ready (presumably for another guest). This clearly had to be a lie.

To summarize, the service this time around is just bad. However, food and drinks were still good, location is great but just be ready for mediocre if not just down right...

The hotel is a beautiful property with upscale amenities and restaurants on the property in a prime location right off of the Ave; you're incredibly close to all of the fun bars, restaurants and shops downtown, you're not far from the beach, and the location is the perfect distance away from the nightlife for a quiet, relaxing sleep. My boyfriend and I did a staycation here for our anniversary and the staff were attentive to us and made our weekend special. We ordered champagne to our room prior to arrival and the staff left us a note, which was a really lovely touch! We ate at two of the on-property restaurants, and I've left separate reviews for them so all I'll say here is you can't go wrong with either Campi or Akira Back!

The room for improvement really comes down to transparency and parking. We were guests of the hotel and there's no parking option offered by the hotel other than valet. That wouldn't be so much of an issue except for the fact that parking isn't included as a guest; it starts at $42 for a full day (just a heads up, it costs more for a larger car). Your only other option is city street parking. It feels acquisitive to be charged for something as necessary as parking at a hotel of this caliber. I understand if you're valeting your car with the hotel just to attend dinner and leave, but it's a shame that with such limited parking options, we're charged so steeply as guests, especially when it's not season.

The second reason deals with the amenities. You pay $39 a day as a resort fee. While the amenities are nice, this covers a pool that can seat 38 guests though the hotel accommodates hundreds. The only reason it can even accommodate 38 people is because chairs are less than 12 inches apart from one another; it's a very intimate environment between strangers which was uncomfortable and disappointing. There's no space for side tables in between the chairs for your food and drinks; they just provide footstools at the end of your chair to hold your belongings in the sun, so it doesn't make sense to put your drinks there. We were lucky to get pool-side seats since we woke up early. We left the pool around 1:30 pm to grab lunch and by then all chairs were taken and people were sitting in spare chairs back by the bathrooms off of the pool deck just so they could sit down. The experience should be worth the fee; this seems like a weird oversight of the hotel when it was constructed, so nothing can really be done at this point to rectify that.

Additionally, when checking in, I inquired about certain status perks I get for staying at Hilton hotels, which includes a food/beverage credit for $15/person per day. We were told by staff it's a food and drink voucher, and that's all the information we got. What I found out after leaving is that it applies only to their on-site coffee shop that closes at 3 pm; the voucher doesn't apply to any of the other three restaurants on their property. Again, it would've been nice to know at the start of our stay so we could actually utilize it properly.

Outside of that, it's a beautiful property with staff that are happy to help you and restaurants that offer an unforgettable dining experience and overall, we enjoyed our stay...