Dorado Beach A Ritz-Carlton Reserve

Dorado Beach, A Ritz Carlton Reserve is the best property in the US and one of the best properties in the world! The property is located in the best location in Puerto Rico. The property is well laid out and has the rooms are gorgeous with all the amenities one could want. The beachfront is our favorite beach we have ever experienced including hundreds of beach resort properties around the world including Hawaii, Maldives, Thailand, and Japan. This is because the warm water temperature, soft sand, and perfect amount of soft waves. What truly makes this property one of the best in the world are the special associates providing impeccable service. After staying about 2,000 nights at 200 hundred luxury properties around the world, we appreciate how challenging it can be to have all facets over the service across numerous departments to be seamless. This is only possible if you have a very strong management team that know how to lead and execute the complexities of managing high end properties. The GM Mr. Kloet and Hotel Manager Mr. Khattache are excellent: both are responsive, pro-active, and clearly provide superb leadership to the entire associate team. The F&B manager Mr. Clair manages the restaurants of which are property the best selection of restaurants of any hotel we have ever stayed. Our favorite hotel restaurant ever is Positivo which we at at several times for lunch and dinner during our stay. My wife who can be particular with with preferences for food easily found 20 plus dishes at this wonderful restaurant all of which we tried and were scrumptious. Typically a restaurant may have just one or two things that she is excited about. The entire team at Positivo were incredible. The manager Mr. Munoz is our favorite restaurant manager of all time. From the first meal, he proactively introduced himself, shared the story of restaurant history and its unique menu, demonstrated his zealousness for delicious food he has acquired globally from his vast experience, and went above and beyond in every way to ensure we had a good experience. Mr. Munoz even shared some of his own homemade salsa after we mentioned we love salsa and even kindly checked in on us when we at at a different restaurant on property that doesn't even directly manage to ensure we were doing well. His entire team were terrific too that included the bartender Jacob who makes the best Miami Vices ever, the service staff including Ojeda, Christian, David, Kiara, along with several other teammates who's names I don't remember were equally amazing. The restaurant Coa was very good too with yummy food. My wife unfortunately got bit by some little mosquitoes right before dinner that flared up and the entire team went out of their way before even asking to get some spray to help me take care of my wife. The team entailing Miguel, Jorge, and Kialy along with the manager Roberto, and Ruben the host were phenomal. The dinner at Flor de Sol were terrific too with some splendid food. The service team there including Rosi and Bryan with Roland the opening chef and Luciano the manager were great. The check in process was well coordinated across the entire team from the valets greeting us, an official greeter introducing us to the property, to the gentleman serving incredible homemade popsicles which were delicious, to the front desk associate and then introducing us to our butler was seamless. The butler team was remarkable. Stephanie our assigned butler did a fantastic job throughout our stay with coordination, nice treats, notes and gifts throughout our stay. She and the team were always proactive and responsive in every way. The spa was probably the most beautiful spa we have seen across any property ever. The entire spa team provided terrific service and treatments and highly recommend guests try out the spa. The housekeeping team was excellent too and did a flawless job taking care of the room every day twice a day to take care of the room, help hang the wet clothes, organize etc. Housekeeping teams often times do not receive the proper recognition for their excellent work because guests do not always interact with them. The team were superb. The Library where the concierge is located was a fun interaction with concierge Kianna. She was so friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and even offered to bring a mango from her home when my wife stated she kept hearing about Mangos on the island which she loves but hasn't been able to try one yet. My wife and I tried the 4 mile walk around El Dorado and tried to follow the walking map. About two thirds the way through, the trail seemed to end at an entrance gate so we got a little lost, My wife had developed some blisters and cuts and was in pain. Then seemingly out of nowhere a sweet Ritz associate Sophia appeared and kindly drove us back to the hotel which was a godsend knowing how much pain my wife was in. Thank you again Sophia! There were even many more associates we encountered that were amazing. What really stands out is how genuine, pro-active, and passionate the associates are at this property. Their warmth is infectious. There were countless examples of warm, thoughtful, and creative touches throughout our stay to make the stay extra special throughout multiple departments. We appreciate how difficult it is for high end hotels to have all facets of the operations be coordinated and in sync at such an exemplary level. We can candidly state that Dorado Beach Ritz Reserve reached this level and even surpassed it making it an impeccable stay and one of the best hotels in the world. Kudos to the entire team and the great leadership at the property. Anyone in the US and especially visiting Puerto Rico would regret not staying at this truly unique property.

This property is timeless along with fantastic service. This is the first review I have written 1/2 way through a trip, but it was deserving. I want to highlight the amazing service at breakfast by Arelis and team at CAO. The personalized approach and food was amazing. I am already booking next year’s trip!

We’ve been to this resort multiple times bc my family loves it. The rooms are spacious, and the property is well taken care of. The one challenge is that the service is inconsistent. 1) housekeeping isn’t consistent. (no handtowels, no wash cloths, had to call for turn down service after 9p, sometimes 2 waters and sometimes 4). 2) we have had to wait over 15 minutes for a golf cart, and that was only after I chased down the attendant because there was no one at the porte cochere in the middle of the day 3) despite charging an arm and a leg for any kind of food ($12 for a cup of coffee!) I received the wrong order and the food hasn’t always been hot. Don’t get me wrong, these are all champagne problems. The issue is that for the price of the hotel is charging, these service issues shouldn’t be happening. This is truly a lovely and special hotel and worth a visit. Please know though, that the service will be inconsistent.

Absolutely Disappointing Experience – Not Worth the Price I had high expectations for The Ritz-Carlton, but this stay was a complete disaster from start to finish. The level of service was shockingly poor—far from the luxury brand they claim to be. Staff were inattentive, disorganized, and, in some cases, outright rude. Requests were either forgotten or handled with an attitude, and there was a clear lack of communication across the board. The room itself was outdated and not properly cleaned. I found dust on the furniture, stains on the sheets, and a persistent musty smell that made it impossible to relax. For the premium price they charge, this is absolutely unacceptable. On top of that, amenities were either closed or “under maintenance” with no prior notice. The spa was unavailable, the restaurant was overbooked with mediocre food, and valet took over 30 minutes to retrieve my car on multiple occasions. Ritz-Carlton markets itself as a luxury destination, but this felt more like a glorified 3-star hotel. I left feeling frustrated, disrespected, and completely let down. I will never return, and I strongly advise others to think twice before wasting their money here. There are far better options at half the price with triple the hospitality.

First I'd like to state some of the highlights. Easy flight, came here after being on Evrima for 5 nights (WOW! We really enjoyed that)! The property is beautiful! The architecture, landscape, setting...very picturesque. The rooms are spacious and the bathroom with its indoor/outdoor shower options is really nice (water pressure not great and no AC in the bathrooms but surprisingly it was never an issue for us--I only mention it because I was surprised by it). Here is where it gets not so great. The service overall. Yes, several exceptions and one notable team member who REALLY took criticism constructively and went above and beyond to change my family's view of the resort. I will start by explaining that every single meal up until dinner the last night was riddled with errors. Some minor, others not so minor. I kept quiet about it. Just let it go. Hungry on the beach, order an hour in advance and then the food comes out wrong anyway. Things like that shouldn't happen at this level of property and if so, not every single meal. The staff is super nice but there must be a disconnect between the kitchen and the staff outside of the kitchen. Today, on the beach, my meal was really really wrong. It was a turkey wrap with one tiny piece of turkey, one slice of cheese and a ton of lettuce. It was mindblowing. I mentioned something to the waiter. He was so nice and agreed when he looked at it that it was laughable. His supervisor came out and she apologized profusely. About 30 minutes later the F&B Director, Christophe, came out to the beach to discuss my experience. I showed him a picture (I took it because I didn't think my husband would believe how bad it was--he was mid massage but the F&B had become a running joke during our stay). Christophe was clearly upset by the feedback (he really cares about what he does and the overall guest experience). He went above and beyond for us after that interaction to salvage the relationship. His care and concern should be what every Ritz Carlton property strives to have. We ate our last dinner at Positivo and it was positively the best meal on property. Our server, Sam, was sweet, helpful and took time to explain the dishes. Christophe was there to greet us upon arrival and even brought the chef to our table for an introduction. I'm still not sure we will return, however it wouldn't be right to write a review and not mention how (and who) tried to really fix everything for the whole resort. So, if this review gets to the GM....Christophe cares and really tried everything he could to change our opinion.