The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe

WONDERFUL- The best service and the most beautiful place! The food was amazing too.

We came for our 15th wedding anniversary. This would be my 26th Ritz Carlton I've stayed at. For some reason the price point was doubled for the time we selected to stay. Everyone was really nice. The staff was great but I definitely have some grievance. When I checked in I let them know it was a special day for us. I'm a gold bonvoy Marriott member and I'm use to getting upgraded upon arrival. I was told the property wasn't at capacity, but would be later because of the snow. The front desk manager said they gave me an upgrade...but the room was 30 rooms away from the elevator and small. Usually at the 5 star hotels we stay at for our anniversary celebrations they have flowers, cards, candy etc .. comp'd awaiting our arrival. We didn't get anything special like that and I felt slighted. Especially paying over 2k for two nights when the prices now are 500-600 nightly (for this time last week). The thing that made me most upset was upon check in we were told by the front desk that there was a shuttle that goes into Truckee. That it was free by the hotel..... Come to find out it's one man whose the driver for the hundred of people staying at the resort. We waited over 2 hours at one point to get back to our room. It was snowing and I understand it takes time to go up and down the mountain. But seeing this is a 5 star property....you expect more than the average accommodations. The driver was great but you can tell he was overwhelmed and being pressured by the hotel to hurry up.

The Ritz Carlton Truckee (Lake Tahoe) is a wonderful resort, especially if you are looking for a ski in-ski out resort. The location is ideal (mid-mountain) with a simple gondola ride right outside the Ritz to the NorthStar village. There are dining options at the resort-Manzanita with its American upscale cuisine, The Living Room Lodge (a great place to sit by a fireplace and have a cocktail and light bites), or the Backyard Bar and BBQ for cocktails and fun food on the slopes. As far as things to do, of course there is skiing. You can rent your skis on site and the Mountain Concierge will store your boots and have skis waiting for your day right outside on the mountain. All you have to do is slip the skis on and go. Very easy. There is a large gym on property and a lovely spa with a multitude of services to enjoy on your days off. There truly is no need to leave the resort. If you would like to spend a bit more, you can enjoy the seclusion of the Club Level where there are food presentations several times a day. The people on the club are so helpful in arranging special outings and granting any of your wishes that you have to take the experience to another level. We felt like we were in a secluded resort within the resort and could truly relax and catch up on some much needed rest. The room was also very comfortable. We stayed in a 1 bedroom suite and had 2 full bathrooms. The bed was so comfie and the sitting area with its sofa bed made a perfect spot for our son to spread out. There were also 2 fireplaces in the room and plenty of closet space. Housekeeping did an excellent job at keeping everything pristine, just like the first day we arrived. The decor was modern yet still took in the mountain flair. Service is something that we cannot overstate because it was wonderful!!! Some of the people who took service to another level were Merrick in Valet/Bell services, Glorimar, Agostina, Camilla, and J who made the time on club equisite! Even before we arrived, people were reaching out to make our visit to Lake Tahoe a special one. And that is just what happened! We are still recalling the great memories made during our vacation. We will definitely be back, and we would like to thank the GM, Colin Perry for leading such an excellent team of people who make the place a magical one. This is truly a special property.

This property completely failed to deliver the service I would expect at a five-star resort. I valeted my car when I checked in without thinking twice. However, despite the car having automatic braking and a back up camera, the valet managed to ram my car into a pole and returned it to me with almost $10,000 worth of damage. When I raised the issue with property management, they just said they apologize and handed me the full bill for my one-night stay. And despite my many calls and emails to property management, they have failed to explain how the valet managed to inflict so much damage when the car had every feature available to prevent a rear-end collision. My wife and I splurged on a quick trip to the property so we could reset and destress. But our time at the hotel only left us with multiple trips to the body shop during the work day and a lot of questions. Save yourself the headache and stay somewhere else.

We booked ski rental through TrueNorth, one of the retail properties inside the Ritz Carlton hotel at NorthStar. I had no idea when we booked online that this would cause so much trouble. It was made very clear by the Ritz Carlton staff that we were not welcome there. We were told we could only park for 15 minutes. Beyond that it would be a $50 valet fee. But if we wanted to load skis into the car, that would be a $500 fee. WTAF? We wasted 2 hours trying to work out how to get our skis out of the ski rental property. The valet professionals were rude. The two managers were incredibly rude. The True North staff told me that this is normal. They (True North staff) aren’t even allowed to use the hotel bathrooms, even though they are a tenant retail store. In summary this place is beautiful to look at, but OH SO HORRIBLE to experience. If Ritz Carlton has a problem with the way customers use one of their tenant retail properties. They should update their lease contract and demand the store communicate any requirements and constraints fully with the their customers AHEAD of time. They have not done that. We lost a whole day of a short well earned holiday. I hate Ritz Carlton for this experience. This whole disaster is on them. I have always enjoyed my stay with them. NEVER AGAIN.

All over is good, but you have to pay for every single step. If you want to seat at fire pit, you should book it and pay a lot of money. All fire pits were reserved, but for 3 days i didn't see and single person seating there.

It is a beautiful hotel in a great location. The staff are incredible.

I think my issue is with Ritz-Carlton in general. I think if you charge a minimum of $1200 a night for a room you shouldn't run the hotel like Ryan Air. Everything related to the stay should be included, not cost extra. It is absolutely maddening when you charge an extra $240 dollars to park over a two night stay. There is no other option. Coffee in the lobby, nope. But, if you want to buy some, $10 for drip. Do you want to sit in the nice center lobby? Too bad it is now just a restaurant with a bad overpriced menu. Yes it is a nice hotel, but always at Ritz Carlton's you have to be on the lookout for where they will get you next. I don't expect any changes, the policies don't come from that location they are set somewhere else. Corporate executives who feel they can squeeze every penny out of guests because of a classic brand that has become part of the American Lexicon. Too bad. And, I get it. Don't stay if you don't want to pay and be on edge the whole time. Hopefully I won't have to again. It's my pleasure.

Worth every penny.

Simply put, the Ritz Carlton exceeded my expectations. As someone who owned a home for a long time in the Truckee area, we decided to stay at the Ritz for a ski vacation with the kids. Let me say at the top, the service at the Ritz has exceeded any service experience in the Tahoe area. I am used to ski town service in Tahoe, and so it was a shock to have such perfect service at the Ritz. When you check in the valet takes your skis directly to the ski valet area. This hotel is a true ski in - ski out experience. In the morning we simply had to get on the elevator and walk into the mountain concierge on the first floor. They would bring you your boots, and when you got outside your skis were ready to go. You then simply skied down to the mid mountain lifts. No gondola, no dragging your skis through the village to get on a bus. I think that experience alone made the trip memorable. One thing I do want to point out: TIP THE PEOPLE WHO GET YOUR SKIS! I could not believe the number of people who didn't tip the people getting your equipment. I tipped, my kids tipped we all tipped because they are working so hard to provide great service in an expensive place to live. Beyond the ski-in/ski-out experience, the room was very spacious. A few things about the room. The curtains are great. It is one of those hotels where the room is actually dark and night and dark in the morning when the curtains are closed. I was a bit disappointed in the firmness of the mattresses. I am used to a more comfortable mattress at the JW with a more fluffier topper on the bed. I also wish the room had a couch in it. It is funny, but because the room was a pretty good size, in the second bed you were pretty far from the TV, making it a bit hard to see. The bathroom was amazing in every aspect. One thing I don't particularly like but tolerate is a hotel where people can bring their pets. For some reason you occasionally run into the person who feels very entitled. The room beside us had a dog barking for about 2 minutes when we checked in, but then never barked agin. Aside from all of that, every where we walked the service was outstanding, and the hotel had a beautiful mountain feel to it. The fitness center also qualified as one of the best fitness centers in have seen in a hotel with free weights, machines and other amenities. Of course you pay a Ritz price to stay here, but I am sold and will come back again and again for the high quality service at the Ritz.