I have stayed at the Ritz-Carlton but didn't think it was that great, and am now wondering about the Four Seasons. Opinions please, and thanks.

Which R-C? I believe Buckhead is considered to be better than Atlanta, but, as I recall, it wasn't built as an R-C and it shows in the rooms. I did like the restaurant when I stayed there, but it was a while ago. Sorry, have not been to the FS yet.

The Atlanta Four Seasons is great. While in Atlanta last month we stayed at the Four Seasons and the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead. The Ritz has a good location if shopping is in the plan, but the Four Seasons can't be beat. The restaurant is grand, the food great, and the pool and health club are wonderful. I agree the rooms at the Ritz Buckhead are not special.

We'll be in Atlanta the end of this month - and thought I'd bump up this thread for a update. We're familiar with the shortcomings of the Four Seasons Buckhead - especially the small rooms (have stayed there quite a few times). Stayed there mostly because we liked the chef (Bruno Menard) who used to be in the Dining Room.

But we've never stayed at the Four Seasons. It seems like the nicer property these days - especially if location doesn't matter (and it doesn't to us - we'll be doing things both in Midtown and in Buckhead). Is my impression correct?

Has anyone dined at either hotel restaurant recently? Robyn

We'll be in Atlanta the end of this month - and thought I'd bump up this thread for a update. We're familiar with the shortcomings of the Four Seasons Buckhead - especially the small rooms (have stayed there quite a few times). Stayed there mostly because we liked the chef (Bruno Menard) who used to be in the Dining Room.

But we've never stayed at the Four Seasons. It seems like the nicer property these days - especially if location doesn't matter (and it doesn't to us - we'll be doing things both in Midtown and in Buckhead). Is my impression correct?

Has anyone dined at either hotel restaurant recently? Robyn

I'm assuming there is a typo in your post and you meant the "Ritz Carlton Buckhead."

I've stayed at both RC properties and the FS (many times) and there is no question that the FS is a better hotel. The service is excellent and the rooms are pleasant. Also, except for shopping I actually think the FS is a much better location. Midtown is the scene of much activity these days and is also easier to get around. Traffic in Buckhead is gridlock much of the time.

The FS restaurant is Parc 75. Small but exquisite food and service. A little on the quiet side, but I have had several good meals there. The Sunday brunch is particularly good.

There are two new "boutique" hotels that you might want to consider...(I cannot vouch for them personally, but this is where some of the celebrities now stay when they visit). Both were opened within the last six months.

The Glenn Hotel (www.glennhotel.com)

Twelve Hotels and Residences (www.twelvehotels.com)

The Wyncoff hotel will open April 2007:
http://www.the-stories.com/gbase/Expedite/Content?oid=oid%3A6489

The Sheraton Colony Square will be transformed into a "W" hotel (3rd one in ATL - so we will have the 2nd most W's compared to NYC)

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2006/05/08/story1.html

...and Donald Trump just announced he is going to start a major project in Atlanta (not many details yet...).

http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2006/05/01/daily40.html?page=1

"For the past six months, Trump's development team has been scouting Atlanta for a site to build a luxury condominium, hotel and retail tower. "

Yes - there was a typo in my message - I meant the Ritz Carlton Buckhead.

Think we will give the Four Seasons a try - since we've never been there and it has a package for the Chuck Close exhibition I want to see at the High Museum. And FlyGirl - I will look into the hotels you mentioned for our next trip (we usually get to Atlanta once or twice a year). Thanks. Robyn

In Atlanta, within two years there will be a new St. Regis, a Rosewood Hotel (Mansion on Peachtree, and the first flagship of a new brand of hotels being launched by the previous Ritz-Carlton CEO (in Alpharetta). The Four Seasons rooms are currently undergoing a soft upgrade. Ask about rooms on the 5th floor that have a balcony. If you visit the FS Atlanta be sure to enjoy the chocolate buffet with live piano (he takes requests) on Friday nights... My room preference is the Four Seasons though I think the RC Buckhead dining room serves better food and has a better location.

Best,
Goodmorning2U

The Four Seasons in Buckhead is really nice. Excellent location, lots of dining choices and shopping close by.

The Four Seasons in Buckhead is really nice. Excellent location, lots of dining choices and shopping close by.
What shopping?

The Four Seasons in Buckhead is really nice. Excellent location, lots of dining choices and shopping close by.

Isn't the Four Seasons in downtown?

There is one Four Seasons and it is in midtown. There are two Ritz Carltons. One is in Buckhead - and one is downtown.

As for shopping - the most extensive general (high end) mall shopping is near the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead (Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza). But there are places I like near the Four Seasons as well. For example, Retromodern (http://www.retromodern.com) is one of my favorite contemporary design stores. It's hard to go wrong with either midtown or Buckhead during a weekend trip since the traffic isn't that bad on the weekends.

I will call about the chocolate buffet. It was offered over the winter - but I'm not sure whether it will be on the late spring menu (gets pretty hot for chocolates in Atlanta by then). Robyn

ACK! Somebody made an easy mistake and, despite being corrected earlier in the thread, the mistake has propagated. Here's the deal:

Ritz-Carlton Atlanta = Downtown.
Four Seasons = Midtown
Ritz-Carlton Buckhead = Buckhead (!)

Downtown has very little shopping to speak of, just the day malls attached to office buildings. Save for Centennial Olympic Park, the Georgia Acquarium (cool but WAY overrated), and CNN center, the visitor crowd downtown is mostly convention types in town for the "marts" (shows at the Apparel Mart, Merchandise Mart, Gift Mart, that sort of thing) or regular conventions at the GWCC and elsewhere. RC Downtown, as it is known, is useful for business travelers with downtown business but I can't imagine why a liesure traveler would want to stay there. Most people will be underwhelmed by the hotel itself, which was designed as a Crowne Plaza.

Midtown has a bit of shopping, though it's mostly boutiquey type shops. Midtown used to be a predominantly gay area, but over the last five years an explosion of new condos has fairly well completed gentrification and diversified the population. Lots of young professionals of all races, a smattering of empty-nesters, but few families with children. Lots of entertainment opportunities in the area and good access to fine restaurants. Midtown is one of the few true walking districts in Atlanta, with the focal point being Piedmont Park, 10th Street, and the Peachtree Street corridor from 14th Street to Ponce de Leon. The FS is in the midst of all this, but is still not really walking distance to much. This part of Atlanta is a fine place to live and work, as I do, but visitors might find it boring.

Buckhead is the center of the shopping world in Atlanta, with two major malls hosting almost all of the high-end stores in town and all the usual suspects too. Several tops restaurants in the area, plus the RC's Dining Room itself, long regarded as one of the best restaurants in the region and a magnet for some of the world's top chefs, who often open high-end restaurants after a career-making stint at the Dining Room. Not much touristy stuff in Buckhead, though.

When I was a student in Nashville, coming to Atlanta was an opportunity to get to the big city and do some real shopping. I imagine that's true for a lot of folks from second-tier cities around the region. After moving here, I decided that, aside from shopping (which can be duplicated in most other major cities), Atlanta was a good place to live but not the most interesting place to visit as a tourist. I still feel that way, though I can get easily bored when I have time off work and there's nothing to do. Maybe that's why I'm a Platinum Medallion now.

Checked with the Four Seasons and the chocolate buffet is a seasonal item (from Thanksgiving through Valentine's Day this past season). Robyn

When I was a student in Nashville, coming to Atlanta was an opportunity to get to the big city and do some real shopping. I imagine that's true for a lot of folks from second-tier cities around the region. After moving here, I decided that, aside from shopping (which can be duplicated in most other major cities), Atlanta was a good place to live but not the most interesting place to visit as a tourist. I still feel that way, though I can get easily bored when I have time off work and there's nothing to do. Maybe that's why I'm a Platinum Medallion now.

As someone who started as a student in Nashville and never quite escaped, I do enjoy coming to Atlanta a few times a year, mainly for shopping and restaurants. Megatop is right that Atlanta isn't much of a destination city. However, if you live within easy driving distance and want a weekend of shopping and food there are worse places to go and it's less of a hassle than flying to Chicago or New York or elsewhere.

In addition to the RC and FS, there is a relatively new Intercontinental in Buckhead. I will be staying there in July and will report then.

I have stayed at the Ritz-Carlton but didn't think it was that great, and am now wondering about the Four Seasons. Opinions please, and thanks.

The most luxurious quarters available in Atlanta can't compare with the Motel 6 or equivalent in Athens. The best part of Atlanta (and Dallas) comes when the tall buildings sink out of sight below the horizon in your rear view mirror (although waiting on a Rosewood may be worth the wait). Atlanta'sa place that would gain immeasurably should General Sherman be reincarnated and return to town with a few drums of kerosene and some oily rags.

Being forced to read a Cox newspaper's punishment enough, but having to go to Atlanta to do so increases the punishment....

TMOliver: Your comments are totally uncalled for and inappropriate.

We stayed at the Four Seasons in Atlanta for a long weekend a couple of weeks ago. A brief report. The rooms were larger than those at the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead - but no great shakes. On the other hand - our eating in the hotel (dinner Friday night - and a 12 course tasting brunch on Sunday) was great (our eating at the RC Buckhead last time we went was also excellent). Best eating we had that weekend.

The hotel was convenient to what we had planned that weekend. In particular - if you'll be in town in the near future - I recommend seeing "Bodies The Exhibition" in the Civic Center.

All in all - I'd say it's a toss up between these 2 hotels - and I'd pick the one that's closer to what I had to do. If location didn't matter - I'd simply alternate between the 2 to see what the chefs were doing. I definitely think that the food in these hotels is the highlight of staying in them. Robyn