I've stayed at both, but it's been a long time, so my impressions might be out of date. We stayed at the JW first and enjoyed it -- stayed at the Ritz the next time and enjoyed it even more. This was in my pre-loyalty days, so nothing special at either in terms of upgrades, Club, etc. If you're looking for quieter, fewer families (kids), etc, then Ritz seems like the clear choice. There is some food walking distance, or you can cab north to where there are more options. Locations are pretty close to each other, so no real difference there. I don't have anything bad to say about the JW based on my one stay, but for equal money Ritz seems like the way to go.