I have stayed at this hotel probably 6 or 7 times over the years, and each time I am amazed at it's ability to outdo the previous visit. As always at a luxury hotel, good service is to be expected. However, at this hotel, service is so far above expectation that you try to find a reason to stay longer despite the real world calling you back to your regular existence! The front desk remembers who you are provides you with the best available room, the valet staff is courteous and efficient, the concierge knows the landscape, and guest relations staff strives to provide you with more than you need. We stayed in an oceanfront suite, which is a luxury you will not forget. Complimentary champagne provided for our anniversary, with cupcakes! Children are welcome, not shunned. If you are ever within 100 miles of this hotel, stay here. Period. You will not be disappointed!

My wife and I decided to come to the Ritz-Carlton Manapalan as we wanted to have a no-nonsense luxurious hotel stay for our limited weekend away together. I suppose we hold hotels of this caliber to a high standard, and assume always that you get what you pay for when you travel.

We found this hotel to be impeccably clean upon entering the lobby. It is appropriately decorated and luxurious as one would expect. It is clear that the staff understand their roles in assuring that each guest provides them with an opportunity to serve, and a risk of reputation loss as guests these days (as we did) make their travel decisions largely upon reviews such as this one. We felt lucky to have Jasmine be the person helping us behind the desk with her cheerful smile and accommodating demeanor. We worried that we would have to wait until the 4pm publicized time to be checked into the hotel, but were in our room within minutes of our arrival at noon. What a relief.

I wanted to grab a shower before we hit the pool and the beach, and while doing so, I found a scattering of hair all over the shower walls. It was not pleasant. I was almost reluctant to call the front desk about it, as we had just had such a nice exchange upon check-in, but decided I wouldn't want to return to that shower without this issue being addressed.

I am delighted to report that this issue was handled impeccably, and with such care and quickness that my wife and I joked of having whiplash. We were upgraded to a nearby room instantaneously. The new room had an improved view, and was as clean as can be top to bottom.

As for the hotel itself as a destination. We spent a lot of time at the adult only pool. We LOVE kids, as we have 7 young ones, but as any parent understands, there are family vacations and then there are husband and wife trips. We didn't want to be at a crowded family pool. The adult pool is just the spot for this purpose. I will say (and sound like a jerk in so doing) that not all the guests with children honored the no children in the adult only pool rule, which, if I were hotel staff, I would hate to enforce that rule also, but that isn't a complaint about the pool staff, it's a fellow traveler complaint. C'mon folks!!

We loved this hotels beach access. It was SHOCKING to learn that a few days earlier, Hurricane Sandy had done a tremendous amount of damage to this property. The clean-up and carry on effort of the team here was amazing. One of the activity staff who I befriended showed me pictures from only 3 days before of the pool which was flooded by ocean water, and clouded with sand and debris. There is about a 10ft retainer wall which the waves had crushed. In many places only a few hundred of yards south of this property, private homes had seen much more devastation. Swimming pools half gone, hot tubs turned upright, yards missing... The staircase leading to the beach from the hotel was also destroyed and swept away. A brand new staircase had already been built, and was still being improved by staff during our stay.

The activity staff were excellent and excited about the experiences the guests they served were having with the wave runner/jet ski, longboards, and scuba rentals. We found these activities to be wonderful, and the beach and ocean to be exceptionally easy to access, only steps from the leisure pools and hang out areas.

You will likely see other comments about the outrageous prices of the beverage services. Yes, we fell prey to these only once, ordering two pina coladas and having to shell out some 43 dollars....yikes. I suppose a surcharge is in order for such great weather, scenery, and hospitality. Another price we weren't fond of was the valet fee of 28/daily to have a car on the property. This doubled our total rental car expense before fuel, and we only used the car for one trip to dinner during our 3 days and two nights. I guess there is another premium for such luxuries as transportation on high dollar oceanfront. Just wish we'd known in time enough to make other arrangements, or hell, parked across the street at the shops.

I remarked many times to my wife about Sharon, who was stellar and seemed to work 12 hours each day preparing heavy umbrellas for guests, placing towels on beach chairs, getting food and drinks delivered, etc. She was hard working, but also very pleasant.

There was a private party (a wedding) poolside on Saturday afternoon which closed the adult pool at 4pm. This didn't turn out to be such a bad deal as there is a 2nd pool and there was ample seating to be found.

We can attest to the club level being a real treat, and worth the upgrade. I believe this is available at a negotiable price (maybe 100/day per guest), but the top quality-artwork worthy food presentations and all inclusive nature of the many food offerings during the day comes as an experience enhancer. I will also say that Miranda was delightful, and an asset to the hotel. Phillip is another Godsend to the property. This gentlemen shared great stories with, and did anything he could do for his treasured clientele. With service minded people like these on staff, this hotel is in very good hands. They, (and another middle aged gal who was working the club room on Friday who's name escapes me) really made us feel welcome and cemented our awareness of being in a top notch hotel in a beautiful area.

We have already highly recommended this hotel to some close friends. We also plan to return in a few months, and hope to see some familiar faces from this great staff.

We have stayed at this place about 5 times. It is always fabulous. The place is beautiful and the service is spectacular. We got a suite and it was gorgeous with a fantastic view. Staff took care of every little need. The restaurants are gorgeous and good food. Great fitness center. Pool is great. Beach really fun.

We went to the Ritz Palm Beach for a staycation in July. The property is beautiful and has everything you would want in a resort, but the food and beverage service was abysmal. The hotel was clearly short staffed. It took over an hour to get a sandwich at the pool, we had to 45 minutes for a table at the breakfast buffet (there were tables open, but they were not being used because there were no waiters). Management did not seem to care about any of this when it was brought to their attention.