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.