The Ritz-Carlton South Beach

As people who travel regularly, we place a lot of emphasis on other reviews when booking. I was rather concerned reading previous reviews of this property, but having stayed at multiple other Ritz Carlton’s (Singapore, Koh Samui, Dalllas, Melbourne etc) we hoped the brand would live up to expectations and great experiences at other properties. IT DID NOT! Strongly suggest avoiding this property at all costs. Look at the low ranked reviews, they all make sense to me after staying. This property has us questioning if we would ever stay with this brand again. Amazing isn’t it, how one property can tarnish a brands reputation. We have been overcharged after checkout after settling the bill when leaving (unresolved at this point but will get to that later). The first room we checked into had air conditioning so loud you could not hear the TV. It was also dirty with marks and dust/grime on every surface and excess dog hair on the floor. I went to the front desk and the best they could do was “send someone up to check the A/C. The property was practically empty. This was not good enough! I was fortunate enough to speak with the GM who remedied the room situation immediately. We then dealt with Daniel (who was on loan from Santa Barbara Ritz Carlton) he was a great reflection on the brand. He upgraded us, which was appreciated but not expected, just a room with a reasonable a/c would have been fine. Rooms are very average, worn and not clean. Linen was stained, towels so old some had tears and holes in them. The majority of the staff seemed like they would rather be anywhere else than at the Ritz Carlton South, can’t say I blame them but really let the place down. When dining they would bring the bill before we had finished dining over and over, at times even advising their break was about to start so needed to provide bill, how about you get another staff member to do this… Upon checkout I paid with an alternate card than I used for the security deposit (to avoid international transaction fees). I settled the bill of approx $450usd and away we went. A few days later, a charge of $390usd (approx) appears on my original card used for security deposit (along with an international transaction fee). This charge is absolute rubbish and was not warranted, everything was settled and paid on check out. I rang and rang and rang all day to the hotel and the phone was never answered. Finally I had to call and international call centre where the wind noise in the background was so loud I could hardly hear. I was then told the extra was for bar charges (not ours!) we had one whisky and a coke at the bar which was on my bill at checkout. I was then told they would try to contact hotel and hopefully in up to 2 weeks they would respond to the call centre, and sometime after to me. This from Ritz Carlton? Disgraceful. We then got lucky and got the US call centre. This was much more helpful and the agent advised the hotel would call back the same day. Still no call back from Hotel, no explanation of why my card was charged… no invoice, no receipts. Now I need to go through the process of disputing the transaction with my bank. Really? The old saying one bad apple spoils the cart, couldn’t be more true of the Ritz Carlton South Beach. There were many other disappointing things that happened during the stay that isn’t even worth going into. Such an epic disappointment from this brand. I am hoping this property reaches out as promised but it holding my breath. Do better Ritz Carlton South Beach! Not wanting to end on such a sour note. Daniel (from RC Santa Barbara) was a standout for guest service as was Noela at the Valet, both embody what guest expect from RC.