Review: The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta
Atlanta has such a rich and diverse amount of hotels available in the downtown area. There are quite a few luxury downtown hotels up for grabs, from a Four Seasons to the W. But I found myself needing a hotel downtown for a night recently and decided to splurge.
Booking
The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta is usually available for $300+ per night, or if you decide to redeem points can go for as little as 35,000 to 70,000+ points per night. I happened to need it on a day they were advertising one of their lowest point redemptions right before the Memorial holiday and use a soon-to-be expiring 35,000 point Free Night Award.
Location
The Ritz-Carlton's location is within acceptable walking distance to most attractions in Atlanta's downtown area including the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, State Farm Arena, and most importantly World of Coca-Cola. I had no issues walking to where I wanted to go, and on a warm evening it was easy to take a stroll around the area to the nearby park.
However, it's important to note, as with most major cities, there were quite a few homeless people along the streets begging for money. And I did witness some aggressive panhandling, so it's probably best to travel with others or in groups.
Check-In
The lobby was quite a large open space, during check-in I didn't have to wait long and was promptly offered water along with assistance of my bags if I needed it. Check-in was fairly straight forward and without prompting the front desk agent said that she was looking for an upgrade for me due to my Platinum Elite status. While they didn't have any suites available, she did get me into an upgraded King bedroom with a city view.
The Room
The room was large and spacious. There was an accent light above the TV for warm soft lighting during the evenings so you didn't have to have lamps on. The TV stand had ample storage and included an in-drawer safe, mini fridge, as well as snacks for purchase.
There was also a desk with a single chair, sofa that spanned almost the full width of the room, table to eat and work at by the sofa, and side tables with alarm clock radio.
The bed was excellently comfortable, and the large pillows were stiff enough to give you support yet fluffy enough to enjoy at night. It's always hit or miss with bedding at hotels, and I find Marriott's to be more consistently better at their bedding than others.
Unfortunately, what you see all too often with the mini fridges in hotels is that it was stocked with drinks that would be purchased as soon as you moved a bottle. I wouldn't be so against this if it wasn't so overpriced, $20 for a bottom of water! Who would ever purchase that?
On the flip side, the bathroom was great! The marble and tile really made the space pop, while the heated mirror kept from steaming up during a hot shower. Speaking of hot showers, even on the 20th floor, the water pressure was sublime, and the shower heated up quickly.
The vanity had many complimentary items that you might need during your stay, including combs, toothbrushes, and even a shave kit.
All the shower items were in pump bottles, however they weren't affixed to the wall, which is always a struggle at some hotels with how they are positioned.
Food
While there were a few nearby places to eat, I ended up getting back to the hotel late at night and decided to eat at the lobby bar. The Ritz-Carlton not only has their lobby, but an onsite steak house on the second floor, and a coffee shop. The steak house also doubles as the breakfast venue in the mornings, unfortunately breakfast is not included at the Ritz-Carlton.
The burger I had was juicy and cooked perfectly, the same could not be said for the fries. They were slightly under done and chewy rather than crispy and fluffy. What saved it was the churro ice cream sandwich. The ice cream was perfect, and the churro was cooked to perfection, and I enjoyed the geometric designed Dulce de Leche wafer on the top.
Service
Everybody from the bellhops to the service workers were friendly and gave a smile as you walked by. I appreciated by bartender the night before as we made some small talk while watching the baseball game.
If I was disappointed in one thing, it would be the communication between the front desk and housekeeping. I had requested and was granted a 3PM checkout the day before, however I had a knock on my door and housekeeping enter my room at 12PM.
After calling to confirm my 3PM checkout with the front desk, I had housekeeping try to enter my room 2 more times after they were supposedly told I will be out of the room after 3PM. To give them credit, the front desk was very apologetic about the experience.
Final Thoughts
Would I stay at the Ritz-Carlton Atlanta again? Probably not. Only because I find no real reason to stay at such an upscale hotel when there are better options around the downtown area. It was a nice splurge and the staff were great, but for the location, I don't think an upscale hotel feels right for the area or where you are.
I certainly wouldn't stay when the point redemptions are 70,000 points, your points, and money are much better suited at a much more reasonable hotel. And despite the less than thrilling fries and housekeeping issues, it was a nice stay.
