I booked my most recent stay, for five nights, at this property using Ritz points. First the property had Mountain View rooms available on points online, then they vanished from being able to be booked via points (over a 5 minute period). I called the hotel directly and was informed that there were plenty of these rooms available but they weren't bookable via points any longer and nobody knew why. Not to worry, I was told, due to low occupancy, there will be plenty of rooms available and we'll "put you first in line for a complimentary upgrade"; I've got Gold Elite status and stay 50 nights a year at Ritz and Marriott properties. Ok, that sounds great! Well, I emailed our concierge just to confirm before our arrival. Well, they can't confirm before the arrival but there will be these rooms available for a "paid upgrade"... Ok, fine. Paid is fine but I want to make sure we get a view. We arrive at the hotel early... There are none of these mountain view rooms available at all. The room we got is a Deluxe Room with a view of the road and delivery trucks. Very disappointing. I'd not recommend a Deluxe Room at all, to anyone. Road noise, truck noise, snow blowing equipment, road clearing equipment early morning, and not a great view. Also, the balcony is non-existent. It's about 18" deep; like standing on a ledge off of your room. You may choose to jump after being woken up by snow clearing gear.

The service staff at this property are phenomenal! I have nothing but great things to say about the door staff, the wait staff, and Manzanita has amazing food and exceptional service. I'll do that review separately because I don't want to tarnish Manzanita by being apart of this property. That restaurant could stand alone almost anywhere in the World and be a great restaurant.

The next disappointment is the Gondola. Apparently the Gondola's have been closed most of the year. It doesn't stop this Ritz from listing it as a feature on the web site. I'd have never stayed here knowing that the only way to get to NorthStar was via a 15 minute car ride. Without Northstar, there is only really one restaurant on property (not counting the lounge) and no matter how great a restaurant, you probably don't want to eat there for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner everyday. These guys would rather have their door staff and bell staff driving people all day up and down the hill to get to Northstar rather than just pay to open the Gondola? That has to cost more in gas and lost service at front of house! I asked around and apparently it's a financial issue (more like bad management). This property is failing financially (bank owned) and they can't afford to work a deal with NorthStar to open the Gondola. One of the house cars picked us up from The Northstar Village and they were dropping off 8 people! 8 people! In an Escalade! It was like a clown car more than a town car. What a waste. This shows in other areas as well. There are the little touches that are missing here that are standard at other great Ritz Carlton properties like Half Moon Bay, Laguna Niguel, Central Park, etc. This property feels a lot more like a Marriott with a great restaurant.

My vote wouldn't be to stay here again because of the lack of the Gondola working and also because the reservation process was lousy and mismanaged and the Deluxe room is far from Deluxe. Also, my wife booked a Spa appointment today for an 80 minute massage. We were told that the Spa was offering discounts "up to 50%" booked Sun-Wed. Well, it turns out that the only time slot that was available was from 11-2pm and in that window, the discount is not offered but they did extend a 10% discount. Smells bad and feels gamey. It doesn't say "discounts except from 11-2". You get the feeling that if her appointment was at 3, it would have been, "discounts except from 12-3".

Overall, my recommendation is to stay somewhere else nearby. The Hyatt at Incline Village is a great property close-by to everything and equal in quality and nicer in some ways.

My husband and I went back over the Veteran's Day weekend to celebrate both our birthdays. Like last year, we had a very nice time, however, I was disappointed in the gift shop and their lack of supply of personal products. Normally, hotels would have a shop with snacks, gifts,personal products, etc. On our departure date, I needed to purchase women products. When we went to the gift shop all they had was a small basket with sample sized products. I recommend if you go, that you bring enough of aspirin, stomach meds, tampons, etc. just in case. I asked the lady there if she had a particular item that most hotel gift shops would have and she said no. My husband and I went to drug store on the way home. I know this is a high end hotel, however, they should have these types of products especially if its snowing and you don't want to leave the property to buy it elsewhere.

The food here was amazing. It was honestly some of the best food I've had at any hotel. I can't speak to the cost of it, however, but the quality was great. Eve things that they represented as basic box lunches were really amazing.

I'm a platinum Marriott guy and have states at many top marriotts and ritz hotels but this was truly a world class experience.

Rooms were dead silent, bed was great. Tv was good.

The drive up to this place is a bit much but I wouldn't factor that into my review, many people want this isolation and its the only way you can get this kind of location.

OMG is all I can say ! It was beautiful! The service was as always out of this world ! We had a top floor, 2 Queen bed room facing the pool and mountain. It had breathtaking views. I would highly recommend it. It actually snowed when we got there and the kids loved it. They had nightly s"mores by the firepit. They have a hotel car that takes you down (for free) to the nearby Northstar village. Breakfast at Manzanitas was a little expensive BUT DELICIOUS and very filling, no need to have lunch. I would recommend this hotel to all my friends and family. You must take the drive around Lake Tahoe, what beautiful views and wonderful, relaxing drive.