Ritz Carlton Los Angeles

The Ritz Carlton Los Angeles is attached to the JW Marriott, and is located in the LALive complex.

The lobby of the Ritz Carlton is very small, and feels somewhat claustrophobic.  High ceilings definitely helped.

There were two front desk agents who were each helping customers when I arrived at the hotel.  One was very apologetic for the wait, while appreciated the first time became kind of redundant after the fourth or fifth time.

When I arrived at the front desk, I was greeted warmly.  I was asked to confirm my bed preference and rate.  I was then told that my room might not be ready yet, even though I arrived at the hotel after the official check-in time.  It was acknowledged that I had booked a package that included valet parking, a $50 credit and what was supposed to be a choice of two of the following three:  2 movie tickets, 2 tickets to the Grammy Museum or some type of discount at Lucky Strike bowling alley.  The front desk agent only offered me the movie tickets or the Grammy Museum tickets.  When I inquired about the package that I had booked he ignored me.

He then took off towards the back, in what I thought was to get the movie tickets.  I thought it somewhat odd that they would have the movie tickets in the back rather than the front desk.  He came back with an envelope and presented it to me.  I didn’t bother to open it at that time as I figured the movie tickets were in there.

Things certainly weren’t getting off to a good start to make this a good stay.

Executive King Room

I was upgraded to an Executive King Room, which measures approximately 550 square feet, on the 24^th floor.  Wolfgang Puck’s WP24 is also located on this floor.

Upon entering the room, there is a large entryway with a sideboard to place your keys, wallet, purse, etc.  There was a welcome amenity of cookies, chocolates and two bottles of water, but at looking at the name on the card, it wasn’t mine.

Things seemed to be going from bad to worse.

I called down to the front desk to let them know about the error.  I was given an apology and told that things would be cleared up shortly.  An employee came several minutes later to take away the mistaken amenity.

Welcome Amenity of 3 Cookies

About 30 minutes later, another employee arrived to give me an amenity with a hand written note addressed to me.

After the short hallway, the rest of the room is located to the left.  The bathroom is to the immediate right and is fairly spacious.  There is an enclosed tub and shower area.

Shower/Tub Area

Double Sinks

Toilet

There are two double sinks, which unfortunately does not do a good job of keeping water contained since the faucets are located about 1 ½ feet over the sink.  The usual Asprey Purple Water bath amenities are strewn throughout the bathroom.  There is a magnifying mirror, plus a TV inside of the main mirror.  The toilet is in its own little enclosure.

View To Entry Hallway

Upon exiting the bathroom, the rest of the room is to the right.  There is a small enclave within the side wall in which I suppose one could place their suitcase, however the area doesn’t seem that sturdy.

The dresser and TV stand is rather long and takes up half of the wall.  There is a Nespresso coffee maker in the room, with two small complimentary bottles of water to make coffee.

Desk

The desk is almost ridiculously small, and being able to do much work there would be a chore considering the lack of desk space.

Sofa

View of 110 Freeway

JW Marriott Marquee

There is a sofa by one of the two windows in the room.  Unfortunately the view from one of the windows was the 110 freeway, while the view from the other window was of the JW Marriott marquee.

King Bed

The king bed is somewhat soft but very comfortable.  The linens are high quality, which is what you would expect from the Ritz Carlton.

Upon opening the envelope I was presented at check-in, it was a form letter from the General Manager welcoming me to the property.  Sadly, there were no movie tickets in the envelope which meant that I had to make a stop by the front desk on my way to dinner.

JW Lobby Bar

Breakfast at LA Market by Kerry Simon was another adventure.  We were seated but weren’t given any menus.  After waiting for almost 10 minutes we were finally able to flag down a server.  We told her that we hadn’t received any menus, and nobody had come by.  She apologized profusely and promptly got our drinks.  Service from that point on was great, and she even comped one of the meals.

This stay at the Ritz Carlton was less than stellar with many service blunders.  I received an email from one of the managers to inquire about my stay the following day.  I outlined the many service mishaps that happened during my stay.  She apologized profusely and indicated that each department would be addressed so that service areas in the future could be avoided.  She also offered an invitation for a return one night stay, which I thought went above and beyond the call of duty.

I am hopeful that things will improve during my next stay at the Ritz Carlton Los Angeles.