Reviews of The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland

Went to the bar hoping to see some MN Twins ball players! We were greeted by the front desk with a great smile as we made our way to the bar on the 6th floor. Bartender was very friendly & engaging. Not pretentious at all, like I expected. Got autographs from Brooks Lee & Glen Perkins!

Number one worst pillow I’ve ever slept on cheaper than some of the pillows have had in three star hotels. It’s like private equity had a baby and it was to put in the cheapest furniture with no soul or style. Hotel itself is understaffed, valet was a nightmare only good part was awful. Breakfast waffles were good and gym. They had to wait five minutes for someone to come to the hostess stand. Is this the best Cleveland has to offer? If so, I am short on Cleveland

I have stayed at this property several times, and it continues to fall short more often than it delivers. While it carries the Ritz-Carlton name, the overall experience does not consistently meet that standard. During my most recent stay, I again attempted to use mobile check-in. As with prior visits, it did not work, and I ultimately had to check in at the front desk. Staff attributed this to an “app glitch,” which is the same explanation I have received multiple times. At this point, it appears to be a recurring issue rather than an isolated one. Check-in itself was slow, with multiple guests waiting, and the staff was not particularly welcoming or attentive. The layout does not help the situation. The fireplace is positioned near the check-in line, which may have been intended to enhance the atmosphere, but in practice it makes an already crowded and uncomfortable waiting area worse. After checking in, I asked for contact information for the front desk manager. No business cards were available, and staff could not provide direct contact details. One employee later identified themselves as a front desk manager and offered assistance, but given the experience up to that point, it did little to instill confidence. The room was acceptable but unremarkable. It was slightly better than what you might find at a lower-tier brand like a Fairfield Inn, but it did not reflect a luxury standard. The mattress had a noticeable dip in the middle, suggesting it is due for replacement. There are a couple of positives. The location is excellent, right in the center of downtown Cleveland with direct access to the Terminal Tower complex. In addition, the fitness center is genuinely top-notch and one of the stronger features of the property. That said, I have stayed at other Ritz-Carlton properties, and this one does not compare favorably. The pricing and brand set a high expectation, and this property does not consistently deliver an experience that justifies either.

Rosa from the conference room was incredibly sweet and accommodating. She made the entire experience smooth and pleasant truly a pleasure to work with!

I was in town recently for an NFL game with my son. I'd never stayed at a Ritz Carlton so I thought I'd really treat us since it was his Christmas present. Aside from the nice touch welcome macarons, the one gingerbread elevator (they only shelled out for one of them?) and the nice smell in the lobby, that really was where the luxury ended. Oh, and the bathtub was marble, so that was a nice touch. The beds were comfy, the location was nice. But none of that really justified the price. And for any other commoner who thinks you're getting a deal by doing the room with the breakfast, it's not a "breakfast included," just a $50 meal credit. If you think that $50 will cover an omelet and a breakfast burrito, you are sadly mistaken. I only went with this plan because I figured on game day we would eat at the hotel restaurant to save time. We arrived downstairs at 9:45 to a half empty dining room, and after being asked "do you have reservations," was told that there were no tables available until after the game. I could do room service, so I ended up paying $100 for an omelet, a breakfast burrito and some coffee ( only $50 after our credit!). I was really disappointed that nobody told us when we checked in that we would need reservations for breakfast, especially since it was quite obvious we were there for an NFL game when we checked in. This made our morning a lot more stressful, wondering how long the food would take to get to the room (it was relatively fast, which also goes to show the kitchen wasn't overworked and busy). We also had an incident on Saturday night where someone on our floor was playing their music really loud, very late. We turned on the TV to try to drown it out, fell asleep, but when I woke at 1 AM and turned the TV off it was still going on. I called the front desk and asked them to find the offending room. They offered me some ear plugs, but I don't spend over $600 a night to have to sleep with earplugs. They did attend to the matter, and the person turned their music off, but it was a little shocking to me that people would blast music at a Ritz Carlton. Overall, I guess I just had a different idea of what the name brand meant. I got it out of my system and will be content to spend half the price to stay at a Marriott or Hilton next time.

Upon arriving at the ritz Cleveland restaurant for their Christmas dinner, dec. 25 my wife and I waited 5 minutes at the host desk to be acknowledged by staff. When we were seated at our table I asked for martini with blue cheese olives from our server, Julia.. drink was delivered without the blue cheese olives. I told server after she set drink down and she said they were out of blue cheese olives. I mean, How long does it take to make a blue cheese olive?Evidently, more than the staff was willing take to ensure a reasonable dining experience. This was just the start of a bad experience. Server said she would soon be providing us with bread plates. They never came. Ambience was poor throughout the meal. Servers crashed dishes loudly on bus station trays after clearing tables indicative of poor training in supposedly a fine dining experience. Timing of the dining experience was erratic- restaurant was not busy but we had to wait inconsistent time frames between courses. Food was average at best for this special high priced Christmas meal. Server had asked our names earlier in the meal but in wishing us good night at the end of the mail, referred to me with an incorrect first name, which happened to be the name of my wife’s first husband. All in all a bad dining experience with a poorly trained staff.

I have stayed here a few times. It is always consistent and a wonderful stay. I always get upgraded to a suite. The suites are perfect. But, so are the regular rooms. The club room is a must. It just nice to be able to go there any time of day and have a nice selection of snacks and the Club attendants are wonderful. The restaurant has a nice atmosphere and great menu. The workout room is incredible. The locker rooms are so relaxing and the sauna is sensational. Overall, this is the best hotel in Cleveland.

My wife and I stayed there in February, not to anyone’s fault but as we were trying to check in, there was a fire somewhere within the building. We had to park several blocks away, again no biggie. When we were checking in, the entire lobby and in our room smelled of smoke. Again no biggie but we paid for the club lounge and we were beyond disappointed. For an almost 5* hotel how can you serve sliders that are dry, buns rock hard and cold sides. Breakfast in the lounge the next 2 mornings….again we PAID for this amenity and sad to say….even if it was free…we still would have went to McDonald’s. To top it off the beyond expensive wine pouring machine….did not work. I was about to book a weekend getaway surprise for my wife and my anniversary….but for the price, not worth risking that the Lounge is below par again.

Anyone who is use to the luxury the Ritz Carlton normally provides is going to be well disappointed in Cleveland. They slapped some wall paper added some crown molding and call it the Ritz. I will say they do try. The staff is very nice and they do try their best to take care of you. The Ritz normal standards of excellence struggle here but they try.

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!

I only rated this four stars instead of the five stars it deserves. The positives. Great location for attending sporting events. Very professional and friendly staff. Our sleeping room was very comfortable. The bathroom was good with one exception. The cold water was actually hot! I tried trying the hot tap to see if maybe the lines were switched. But no, the hot water was hot too! It was this way the entire time we were there. I reported it, but obviously it is a big problem that requires some major plumbing work. Fortunately we had plenty of bottled water to offset the lack of cold water.

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