The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey

100   Recommended
September 4, 2014 by EXPERT

 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended
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The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey
 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended

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Liked:
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Food
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Located just five miles northwest of LAX, the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey is situated on a picturesque marina offering views of the Pacific Ocean. Though it mostly works with business travelers, the hotel offers an attractive choice for leisure travelers. If you’re visiting Los Angeles and want a location convenient to the airport after a late arrival or before an early departure, it’s a hotel to consider. This is a smaller-than-usual 
Ritz with 304 rooms on 5 acres. And just a mile from Venice Beach!

Or have a long layover and dread the thought of spending hours in yet another airline lounge? Consider the hotel’s day-use program. A special package offers round-trip limousine transfers, a guestroom for your use while on property, and the chance to relax with a nice lunch, enjoy a spa treatment, workout in the gym, lounge by the pool or in the jacuzzi, play tennis, or even ride a bike along the beach. The hotel is adjacent to a 26-mile paved bicycle path from Redondo Beach to Santa Monica, most of which is paved through the sand.

Constructed in 1990, the hotel just missed the implementation of design conventions now common to luxury hotels, but an extensive renovation is being planned that will address the hotel’s physical potential, as well as introduce a more nautical and contemporary color palette into the interior design. Bathrooms through the Junior Suite category have single vanities, shower/tub combinations, and lack a separate WC, but the renovation will provide needed improvements.

Room

We were shown the four basic room categories: Deluxe, Superior, Junior Suite, and Executive Suite.

Lead-in Deluxe rooms feel like typical "Superior" rooms, compact though completely satisfactory for a business traveler traveling alone. Bathrooms have a shower/tub combination and a single vanity.

The next level up, Superior rooms feel like a traditional "Deluxe." These are noticeably more spacious than Deluxe rooms and offer more than adequate space for couples or even a family of three.

Junior Suites are extremely spacious open spaces with a bedroom and a living area equipped with a sobabed. With an additional rollaway bed, a family of five could easily be accommodated in a Junior Suite.

Executive Suites are traditional two-room Suites with a door to separate the sleeping and living/working areas. If you’re traveling alone and do not require a separate room in which to work (to avoid waking your companion), the Junior Suite is ideal.

Views? Yes, the hotel has some very nice views (see my picture above). Definitely go for high floors, as the views both south (down the length of the Marina) and west (looking over marina toward the Pacific) are stunning. Even rooms on the north side of the hotel have attractive city and mountain views.

Service

The Club Lounge is an attraction for many, with complimentary beverages; expresso and cappuccino machine; addictive salted chocolate cookies; complimentary internet; and a dedicated Club concierge. I overheard one guest requesting a nightcap ... a glass of cognac so I can fall asleep, please.

Dining

Food. We had breakfast at Cast and Plow, featuring local, sustainable ingredients. Really good smoked salmon, by the way!

Amenities

Spa and exercise facilities. A full spa has 8 treatment rooms, a light-filled gym with views of the pool and marina. The outside pool and jacuzzi have saline water and are open 24 hours a day. There are two tennis courts, a basketball court, and even a complimentary yoga class on Saturdays. Virtuoso guests receive a choice of a full day bicycle rental for two people (remember the 26 mile bike path along the beach!) or two hours of tennis court rentals (reservations are recommended).

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