knownothing

Flew into Atlanta the other day and had my TA book the Ritz. Surprised when the cab took me downtown. I have always stayed at the Buckhead one. Apparently the owner of the hotel and Ritz corporate had a disagreement and the owners withdrew their contract with the Ritz (now a Whitney). The good news is that Marriott is building a new one in Buckhead. Guess it will be the 4S or MO next time but I love the Ritz Club Level

bhrubin

You might consider the StR in Buckhead--or the Whitley. The MO is dated and dreadful.

The FS is in north downtown. There is a RC in south downtown, too.

knownothing

I would have sworn there was a 4s in Buckhead. Kind of hidden. But I don't see it on the web anymore

MSPeconomist

I recall a RC in the downtown area, roughly down the street a couple blocks from the Westin (but not in the direction of either the Marriott/Sheraton or the Omni/Olympic Park, maybe a decade ago.

knownothing

that is the only one in Atlanta now

MSPeconomist

Didn't the other one have Buckhead in its name?

bhrubin

That deflagged a year or so ago and now is the Whitley, Luxury Collection.

Score8

I stayed at the Whitley recently and am slated to go again this coming week. I liked it a lot. The Ritz downtown is fine, albeit not updated, but I wouldn't go out of my way to stay there unless I was working nearby.

Catskilltraveller

Really love the St Regis

CMK10

Stay Report - 7/29 - 7/30

Location: The hotel is located in downtown Atlanta on the corner of Ellis and Peachtree which places it along with a number of other Marriott properties. It's actually across the street from The Eliis and a block from The Westin. A block away is the Peachtree Center MARTA and there are a number of downtown restaurants, bars, fast food places and coffee shops you can walk to. Do note this area is a little sketchy at night though. ATL is 20 minutes with no traffic,



Hotel: While fairly nondescript outside the inside is very nice and luxurious feeling but also modern and recently renovated. The lobby has a Jittery Joe's coffees hop which currently is the only place that's open. They do have some hot items for breakfast. There's also a pantry selling salads and wraps and a small gift shop. The bar and restaurant are currently closed. Elevator access is key card only which is always good.



Check In: Corona Measures are as heightened as I've seen. The guest swipes their own credit card, activates their own room key and puts it in an envelope. I was impressed. Staff interaction was great. I was thanked for being Titanium, told I'd been upgraded to an executive suite and offered a 4 PM checkout along with a list of restaurants currently open.

Room: Very, very nice. Huge living room with work area and a nice view of downtown. Two bathrooms both with showers. Separate bedroom with outlets next to the bed. Expensive lighting and new controls for everything and great soundproofing.





Living room and its bathroom







Bedroom and Master Bath



Toiletries

This was my first ever R-C stay and I was really impressed. Everyone I interacted with was lovely to deal with and I really appreciated the elite treatment. I plan to make this my new downtown hotel of choice.

Intl359Widget

That is one of the saddest looking Ritzs that I have ever seen.

The bed isn't even properly presented but if you were satisfied then you're satisfied.

DJ_Iceman

Looked fine to me.

arlflyer

Looks like a Westin to me...that being said, the fact that OP got a suite upgrade in an RC of any sort is news in and of itself. I'm usually treated like a nuisance as an Ambassador. The best is when I'm asked if it's my "first time here" after spending thousands week on week at the property (*cough* Philly *cough*).

Here's to hoping that the recent events cause them to do a bit of a reset on their view of the value of loyal customers...perhaps RC will integrate itself into MR and no longer see itself as "above" the loyalty program?

(Rant over)

DJ_Iceman

I don't know what Westins you've been staying in; at this point I've given up on that brand.

arlflyer

The more newly-refreshed ones have gone with the "everything grey" look that is considered the standard for "luxury" these days, so that's what I was referring to.

While I was using the Westin reference as a downmarket slight in this context, it's a workhorse brand that probably constitutes the largest number of my nights by volume. I certainly wouldn't advise anyone to avoid it. In markets with no JW/RC (or Conrad/WA for that matter), they're going to be above the standard MR offering (e.g. a Westin will always have real room service, versus some MRs having gone to the Fresh Bites thing). In some markets I prefer the Westin to the RC - again, here's looking at Philly (I go for drinks in the RC's amazing lobby and then stay at the Westin, which has better rooms, location, and elite recognition). And then there are of course the properties with unique appeal - e.g. the Westin Snowmass, which, while hit-or-miss in some respects is still a true ski-in/out property, and the Westin DIA, which is in my opinion the nicest airport hotel in the U.S.