We arrived late at night to a welcome from Ben. We heard the band in full swing and were happy to have arrived. We booked through Platinum Travel and did receive an upgrade. The room was lovely, large and well appointed. We had 3 bathrooms and certainly enough room for a family of three. Sadly, the weather wasn't too good. But, the team there welcomed us. We had notes in our room and an attention to us that's a hallmark of the Ritz brand. We dined at the cafe and at Salt. We have high praise for Salt. We loved the concept, the server and above all, the food. We found the environment there welcoming and warm. We saw the manager upon our departure and he liked hearing our feedback. Our dining express at the cafe was poor. We found seating tough, the staff overwhelmed and the food very often uncooked. We did speak with Ashly, one of the manager's and she was receptive to our comments. We went to the indoor pool and to the beach. The beach staff was on hand and the guys were welcoming and fun. They offered hot chocolate on a windy day. The pool was very busy and the towels and garbage did pile up quite a bit.
We went into town and we dined at a few of the local spots. We liked the ambiance and easy nature of Amelia Island.
We didn't check out the tennis or golf, although I'd like to return to take advantage of that.
Our stay was lovely and restful. We liked the easy style of the property and the lack of hassle. The valet was always fast and helpful with directions as well as advice on spots. We liked how approachable everyone was during our stay.

This is a really nice property, and the people who work there really try hard to please.

Here are some things I really appreciated, in no particular order: the friendly valet guys really hustle; the reception staff could not have been more welcoming, nor any friendlier upon my departure; the meeting and conference facilities are absolutely world-class; the boardwalks to the beach are beautiful, well-built and environmentally sensitive in their design; the facilities are extensive and well-maintained; the bathrooms are plenty spacious, even in lower-tier rooms; the public restrooms are outstanding; the hotel is absolutely spotless, yet you never seem to see anyone doing the work.

The Ritz Carlton Amelia Island is clearly aiming for perfection, so let me share a few minor shortcomings that keep this property from reaching the very top echelon, but may help them achieve their goal: A) My room's internet was not working upon arrival, and required a call to the ISP company to resolve (why the Ritz would ask a guess to endure being on hold with an ISP is beyond me); B) Later, the hotel's IT department called to ask me if I was able to get the internet working -- but they waited approximately a day-and-half to do so; C) Though I was sharing a room with a business associate of the same sex, a note of thanks from the housekeeping staff addressed us as "Mr. & Mrs. [my last name]"; D) Instead of offering individual reading lights that enable one person to stay up reading while the other person sleeps, our room's double beds shared a lamp on the table between them; E) Upon check-in, the bell staff did not automatically take our bags to the room as they would at a Taj, Peninsula, Shangri-La, etc. (they asked if I "needed help" with my bags, but of course most Americans reflexively answer that they can do it themselves, when the fact is that they'd actually appreciate having their bags magically whisked to their room. (I think the default action should be to get the name of the guest who's about to check in and then load their bags on to a delivery cart to be brought to the room. If you'd rather lug your own bags, you can just say so.); and G) Four out of the six times I entered/left the hotel, no one held the front door open for me -- and two of those times I was burdened with luggage. For me, this last point is really significant: The front door is where first and last impressions -- the most lasting ones -- are made. If i were running the Ritz Carlton Amelia Island, I'd make sure to have someone doing door duty at all times. This is part of the reason I so appreciated recent experiences at the Dusit Thani in Bangkok and the Belgraves in London -- I never, ever touched that front door.

Still, I'd enthusiastically recommend this hotel. A lot of good-hearted people work here, and they truly cared about making me feel at home at a property they're proud of.

The Ritz just completed a major renovation. The rooms are nicely decorated with balconies that overlook the ocean. The beds was to firm for my liking. I wish they offered options: Firm vs plush rooms. The amenities are outstanding! The pool room for the adults and game room for the kids is fabulous. It was cold on our trip and we longed to be outdoors. We were happy that the Ritz could keep us entertained.

This family friendly hotel is amazing. They have many activities everyday for all ages to participate in such as shark tooth hunting, gourmet salt tasting, tour with the chef of the kitchen, and many more. There is a playground for children as well as a small water play area for children. There is outdoor and indoor pools and jacuzzis. The beach is amazing with not many people on it so you feel quite secluded. They even have beach toys for children to use. There are tons of shells on the beach to take home for souvenirs as well. The hotel always smells like perfume which is very pleasant. Staff is extremely friendly and courteous. We had reserved a double bed coastal view room. It was nice, clean, and simple. The closet was huge which was great for us. Coastal view was not that bad, you have to be at the edge of the balcony to see the gorgeous view, I do recommend though if you would like a view to go for the ocean view. Property was phenomenal, it was absolutely gorgeous anywhere you go. One disappointment was that internet access within the rooms was only available if you pay a fee, you wouldn't expect that for the amount of money you are already paying to stay at this lovely resort. Also, one of the activities for the day was story time in the courtyard. I took my children there and were disappointed to find no one there ready. Another family also came and were disappointed that a high class resort such as this was not able to fulfill all the amenities it states it provides.