Which is the supreme Ritz-Carlton property?
 

I am very interested in this brand of hotel, and will probably be staying at RC HK later in the year, maybe even in the Carlton Suite.

Looking through their website I can see many awesome properties, especially some of the resorts such as Sanya and Soma Bay, but I was wondering which property is known as the ultimate, or the flagship Ritz-Carlton hotel/resort in the world?

The RC Central Park is an excellent property. Their Berlin, HK, and SF, properties are also all beautiful.

Friend of mine really liked his stay at RC Laguna Niguel in California.

The Reserve Brand of Ritz Carlton is highly regarded ( Phulay Bay )

RCCP +!^

I also love Phulay Bay, but doesn't seem to get too many glowing reviews around here.

I wonder why there are no more Ritz Carlton Reserves? Surely Phulay Bay is a success for the brand? Why not add another, say Maldives or Samoa...

Phulay Bay without doubt. Stay in a Royal Beach Villa.

I remember hearing about another Reserve property planned for Thailand, but can't remember where. I think the R-C Reserve concept has a lot of potential.

Agree completely re Phulay Bay. But the ironic thing is that to me what made it stand out as such a fine property was that it was *nothing* like a normal Ritz Carlton. Closer to an Aman. Nice quite there, but pretty darn close.

I've stayed at plenty of RC's globally and none are even close to Phulay Bay in that sense. By the way, regarding the 'Reserve' properties, the website had indicated a new one under development in Puerto Rico at some point, but references to it seemed to have disappeared last time I checked.

Quite a pity as I agree that the Reserve concept indeed does have significant potential. And it could become even more important if we see a devaluation of the Aman brand under new ownership...

http://www.doradobeach.com/hotel/

115 rooms + residences.

Also, the long in development Ritz in Turks and Caicos is now also branded as a Reserve property. It's scheduled to have 125 suites and 75 villas.

To me, one of the qualifications for a resort to be more 'Aman-like' is that it is small (I believe Phulay Bay is something like 50 villas). Neither of the two properties that are scheduled to open as 'Reserve' properties meet that qualification, in my opinion.

Thanks for the link. Nice website, but the pictures do little to inspire me. As you've indicated, it looks rather large and elaborate, especially in the imagery of the Beach Club.

Agreed on the importance of exclusivity and privacy to elevate the experience to Aman levels. Looks like RC is poisoning a good brand before it even gets off the ground...

That's a tough call and pretty subjective. I've stayed at 51 RC's so I don't have direct exposure to every single property. So far my favorites would include Half Moon Bay (CA) and Bali, but I'm not sure which property I would say is the most luxurious. They are all pretty darn good.

I've been to about 30 RC properties worldwide on three continents.

Good standouts for me: RC cps NYC, Bahrain, Doha
Underperformers: San Juan (worst in the system?), St Thomas

There's not a best....depends what you need/want. City vs Resort. Kids, couples, business travel. Those are big variables which will impact the answer.

Although Ritz is not always my favorite, I really like the Hotel Arts in Barcelona with a sea facing exec room on club floor, and like the Ritz Singapore with a harbor facing club premier or suite. Have not been to the ritz in hong kong but it is on my list! I like the ritz central park in NYC, but prefer the four seasons.

In a sense, Hong Kong is too new to serve as the flagship property that you're implicitly considering. NYC is always a good guess for inquiries of this sort, as are London, Paris and perhaps Tokyo, plus other European and American focal cities.

In the disappointing category, I would include the deflagged Huntingdon Beach Pasadena, Amelia Island near Jacksonville Florida, pre-renovation Montreal, pre-renovation Singapore, etc. even though these are all excellent hotels.

For me either Shanghai-Pudong or Hong Kong