lancexfang

We recently stayed at a few places in South Cal. Here is a quick report back.

Ritz Rancho Mirage
- Resort fee: $30
- Valet parking: $30
- No obvious platinum benefits
- What we liked: bonfires at dusk with nice view down to the oasis in the valley; they set up a nice telescope to look at the moon and stars: the adult pool also has nice views
- What we didn’t like: the clientele feels a little bit stuck up

Ritz Laguna Niguel
- Resort fee: $30 waived for platinum
- Valet parking: $40 not waived
- $60 platinum breakfast credit for 2 people
- We booked basic room with points. Upgraded to ocean view, unprompted. Very nice
- What we liked: the view. The ground is also nice. The beach shuttle also sets up the chair, umbrella, etc for you. The room is showing some age but serviceable enough.
- What we didn’t like: towards the end of our stay, a convention took over the place. I guess it happens everywhere. It’s my problem not to anticipate it. In addition, when the key cards stopped working, we had to wait for 20 minutes for replacement which was kind of ridiculous. Then they sent a gift basket full of candies as an apology. Nice attempt at the service recovery but to me it missed the point. Why provide something without asking if the guest even wants it? We threw it away.
- color commentary: the staff felt warmer compared to Rancho Mirage. The policies that favor platinum also convey a more welcoming approach.

Park Hyatt Aviara (this is Hyatt but as it’s close by geographically, so I thought I’d include it here for comparison purpose)
- Resort fee: $30 waived for diamond
- Valet parking: $30 waived for diamond
- Free buffet breakfast for 2 adults 2 children for diamond. Quality imo not as good as Ritz Carlton
- We booked basic room with points. Upgraded to a suite after a little prodding.
- What we liked: if you like golfing…
- What we didn’t like: this place is not up to the Park Hyatt standard on my mind
- color commentary: the top status at Hyatt still provides superior value compared to any other chain imo, all the whining over at the Hyatt board notwithstanding

By the way, the furniture and interior décor that I liked the most were Fairmont Santa Monica.

Thunderroad

Useful info. Thanks for posting it!

the_etk

We've got a week booked at rancho mirage using points next year. How do you rate the dining options there? And how is the surrounding area?

bcosinteno

Quick DP on the Rancho Mirage.

Booked the 27th-29th of December using two of my free night certificates. Emailed the hotel asking about paid club upgrades and was offered $150.00 per night. Thought that the $150 was a great offer and accepted.

sdix

Old thread but here's a recent Rancho Mirage Datapoint:

Resort fee - $40
Parking - $36

We just had a 3 night stay for the Stagecoach weekend and had an outstanding time!

The resort seemed busy, both the family pool and adult pool were packed on Friday and Saturday but then seemed to empty out a bit on Sunday.

As with other RC when you pull up the doorman identifies you and they must radio your name because from that point on every staff member knows your name!

We had a desert King a couple of doors down from the Club Lounge. Club lounge service was impeccable. Tremendous attention to detail personally and good food selection throughout the day. Their over and above moment was booking a us a Cabana at the pool which for some reason the pool staff could not do.

Utilized the gym and spa. Gym was busy most times I was there but the spa was pretty empty and very relaxing. Wife and I had an outstanding massage and enjoyed the facilities. I then splurged for a haircut at the Jose Ebert salon.

Only negative comment was there constant mentioning of the Bonvoy program and thanking me for my status. When at a RC I really don't want to be reminded that it's a Marriott!!

VCURamFan

Did you attend Stagecoach? How was transportation to/from the festival?

sdix

We drove back and forth. With VIP parking it was a breeze.

Johnny Rocket

I know its a strange time but there are some nice pointbreaks deals at 45,000 a night for September which is cheaper than their off-peak rate and 15,000 in old SPG money which is how I like to convert and assess whether it's good value. Not bad at all.

beachfan

Thanks Lance! Old but very useful.

Would love to see more reviews as in low season it can be used with a Chase credit card free night 50k cert.

There's an old one one OMAAT which sort of said OK for a Westin, meh for a Ritz.
https://onemileatatime.com/ritz-carl...niguel-review/

anchor79

Any post covid stay with Ritz Carlton Rancho Mirage????