Review: Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel

Grew up two miles away and stayed here for my high school prom night many years ago. Great hotel (I prefer this to the St. Regis accross the street) but still not on par with the Montage in Laguna Beach which is a short drive up the road.

Glad you enjoyed your stay and thank you for bringing back memories!

Was this Labor Day weekend or just a random weekend? If Labor Day and this was an exception to what is hopefully better service I could maybe understand. You see similar issues in Hawaii etc over holidays. If just a random weekend, it is sad they think they can get away with understaffing and over-utilizing the property at the guest experience expense.

Agreed... great location, subpar service and room.

This resort is awful. Stayed a few times like a decade ago and service was awful. I was traveling with my kids, parents, etc and we ask for connecting rooms for my kids and we get there to find they gave the connecting room for my kids with 2 beds away and put my young kids in a king room across the hall. My kids were young and scared about not connecting and the hotel was awful. Spent 2 hours at the front desk with them and they eventually agreed to move us to the other side (we were originally on club level) to an upgraded ocean suite but still the way they handled it was awful as we had to get my travel agent to push for them to understand the logic that my young kids had to stay separated from us (we couldn’t all fit in one room either because all they had was king beds and were out of cots and gave the queen away to someone else). Never again. Years later stayed at the Montage. 100% better. Very nice big rooms, smaller, much better service, much better maintained, nicer beach where if I remember they do set up chairs. Nice restaurants with not really a wait (more than the Ritz), very nice spa, not long lines at valet and great service. I would be very interested to hear your review of a Montage property as I stayed at both the La and Laguna Beach ones and they are amazing!

IIRC this was Labor Day weekend. As such, I wouldn’t get too hung up on the $/night number. It would be like reviewing the Best Western in Minneapolis Super Bowl Weekend and complaining that it was $500/night*.

That said, it’s a fair review if you keep in mind that it was a holliday weekend and the hotel doesn’t seem to be staffed to deal with 100% occupancy. It would be interesting to see you review it on a random weekend in May to compare.

* keeping in mind if there was an Aman Monarch Beach where even on Labor Day Weekend you felt like the only guest, it would be $2900/night not $900.

This resort is great. They can and have gotten away with awful service and you chucks keep going back again and again.

They are not awful. You are dumb.

I thank te sale ir Ritz-cartón properties. No Meeting expecations. The only one I really like is Cancun because its restaurants.

I do agree with John above in reminding everyone that this was the Labor Day holiday weekend--so crowding is to be expected. That being said, the hotel still should have been staffed better to allow for that, to avoid over-crowded restaurants, etc. The hotel forcing anyone to carry seats to the beach is simply tragic: that isn't remotely luxury.

I'm a local who lives nearby in Newport Beach. I agree that this (and many other) Ritz Carlton property is wildly overrated for the price point. I also agree that the Montage Laguna Beach and even the Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport are much nicer for the same or comparable price point. But to each, their own. I also agree that too many people stay here and overpay based on the Ritz Carlton branding...which allows them to continue charging so much and delivering so little.

@Lucky Marriott doesn't allow your status to trump others when staying in the same room???

Thanks Lucky. This saved me a ton of money because I was planning to book this hotel using cash for a stay next month. I'll go with my tried and trusted 4* hotel across from Huntington Beach for $200 and change.

@Lucky, the hotel has 3 pools. There's an additional partioned off pool for adults only. When I visited the property, it wasn't busy since I went in the beginning of May in 2016 and therefore I had a better experience. That also meant that the valet line was short and that there was only expensive cars which was a treat (Rolls Royce, Ferarri, etc). Also, the property has a sports area by the pool near your room. (It has tennis courts, table tennis, etc). Sorry you had an unpleasant stay.

@Lucky - Can you do a review of the Montage in Laguna Niguel? (Its not far from the Ritz). I'd love to hear your experence

Hi Lucky,

Good review. I think you can extend your logic to the entire RC chain. No elite recognition. No personalized service unless you roll in like a royal a**hole. Piss-poor maintenance, because they're exploiting the brand on both the start and end of the supply chain. I've only stayed in RC San Francisco and RC LA Live, but the situation was exactly the same: mountains of people, barely adequate service, poor room conditions. WTF?

I love Marriott + SPG. While I would say that Marriott should leave this s**t curbside, as you clearly noticed, they are raking in mountains of cash with this. I guess I can't fault them, but I don't have to patron this brand, either.

PS - I still have two RC certificate nights expiring in January 2018, and I don't even want to use them. When I'm turning away free nights, there's something seriously wrong.
PPS - Debit, don't be a douche.

That hotel seems way too staid and stuffy for me (and I am in my late 50's). I cannot imagine a 20 something couple finding this dowager-esque brand in any way interesting. Besides the name impressing your OC neighbors on a wedding invitation, why on earth would anyone under 65 choose to stay there? I really have never understood the RC brand and what it is doing at a beach resort anyway. The one in Ft Lauderdale Beach is next door to a Hooters. Nothing says quiet bespoke luxury like a huge resort overlooking a Hooters and Lulu's Bait Shack.

Are there any RC properties that are decent? I plan on manufacturing platinum status through the ritz chase card, to use mostly at Marriott and Starwood properties, and would like to use the free nights at somewhere worth it. Have a one night stay at Marina del Rey coming up and if it ain’t worth it, I’ll just stay at the Marriott next door.

I'm disappointed to hear that the property is so disappointing. I've been interested since I love Half Moon Bay, but it sounds like it's worth skipping. I find that Marriott service in general has been pretty terrible since the merger. I don't feel like it used to be quite as bad. SPG, on the other hand, has been fantastic. Marriott could stand to learn from them. Did you see that RC picked up a Santa Barbara property?? I'm hopeful for that one.

I have not stayed at this particular Ritz Carlton....but my problem with all of them.....especially Aspen etc......is if you were to wake up not knowing where you were you'd swear you were in Atlanta or Boston.
Mass market for the masses....YUCK!

If you stay at the Ritz Carlton in Kyoto, Macau, Hong Kong or Tokyo, it's like a completely different hotel chain. It's unfortunate that for every great property like Kyoto they have a US property like Marina del Rey. Bleh.

LOL Thx Ben for heads up & thx @Andrew for putting @debit in his place. I abhor folks who come on here & do this to Ben. If you don't like the review do us all a favor go away. I don't care what day it was $900 to be treated like I'm at a Motel 6 is ludicrous. I don't travel a lot anymore but when I do travel I pay attention to Ben's reviews. If this were a vacation of mine I would be very upset.The experience he described was HORRIBLE.

This mirrors my experience at Half Moon Bay. I'd say the lounges at urban properties can be a treat - SF, Toronto, but completely agree with most of the sentiments here - it is not a luxury experiene.

ALWAYS ENJOY READING YOUR AIRLINE AND HOTEL REVIEWS. I TOTALLY AGREE WITH LN RITZ CARLTON REVIEW. THE REMODEL IS WORST THAN THE ORIGINAL WHICH WAS NOT GREAT EITHER. THE RC HAS THIS CONCEPT OF NOT BLENDING INTO THE ENVIRONMENT LOCATED. THE BEST ALONG THE COAST IS PELICAN HILL BY FAR EVEN IF ONLY FOR F&B. CLOSE SECOND IS MONTAGE IN LAGUNA BEACH. BOTH WORLD CLASS. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK - KAB LAGUNA, BEACH CA

PS: YESTERDAY EXPERIENCED NEW SIN-SFO BUSINESS CLASS SERVICE AND WAS ABOVE PAR AS WAS THE CREW. MAYBE THINGS ARE CHANGING.

It's not just this property, the RC brand is faux luxury. Glad they're getting called out by Lucky the entire chain deserves it. Some nice properties and folks here and there, but overall it's a brand to avoid in my book if you care about how you spend your money. I've stayed at at least 25 RCs globally and mediocre to awful standards across the board compared to other luxury chains. I've given up complaining to the managers or writing feedback. It's downright laughable they think they're even in the same conversation as FS, MO or the Pen.

Just no attention to detail, hoardes of crowds, little things done stupidly wrong, bad service, the list goes on. Many of them feel like factories. No idea who is at fault but the only reason I'd stay at Ritz is if the price is damn cheap. Even when I do that I often find myself regretting it and wishing I'd paid double or triple for FS instead. Something is wrong when that's happening.

You shouldve stayed at the Montage in Laguna. SO MUCH BETTER.

Cant wrap my head around how someone would spend $900 a night for a Ritz Carlton like this...you get cheaper better hotels in Thailand

Increasingly, I find J.W. Marriott to be much better. Not only is it nicer than Sheraton, Westin, Marriott or Renaissance properties, but the service is good and in line with expectations whereas Ritz-Carlton consistently disappoints. The Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C., on 22nd, the Ritz-Carlton in San Juan, the Ritz-Carlton in Pentagon City, and the Ritz-Carlton in St. Thomas are all very disappointing. Basically just a Marriott with faux luxury decor. At least J.W. Marriott has some exceptional properties, the J.W. Marriott Marquis in Dubai, the J.W. Marriott Hong Kong, the J.W. Marriott Kuala Lumpur, and the J.W. Marriott Grosvenor House in London are all better than a domestic Ritz-Carlton property.

This hotel has been like this for years. The Monarch Beach is better and the Montage the best by far.

Do this to ben?

I was talking to everyone, including ben, that keep going to that hotel.

But anyway thanks for saving Ben. You impressed the ladies or the gents as the case may be.

Pps: don't jump the gun.

Thanks for the review! I definitely not going to stay here now! @Marriott and @RitzCarlton sucks!

@Marriott Platinum Premier Nick: most of my RC stays are non-US and the chain still is subpar. Disappointing compared to what you can get in the same town at one of the real luxury hotels aka Pen, MO, Four Seasons and in many cases Shangri-La. I'm convinced Ritz gets a "good" name in Asia simply because everyone coming overseas from the US has such awful hotels to choose from there you don't realize how bad value Ritz still is compared to the competition in town.

Just thinkin cities I've stayed in the last few months. Ritz in Shanghai (both, particularly the older property...complete POS), Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore all are surpassed by the real luxury hotels in town.

Ritz is just posing and trying to charge similar rates. Thrilled to see them get called out here.

Was considering staying here last week for 4 night stay but rate of $900 (plus resort fee, tzes and parking) was off-putting (even with Citi Prestige credit). Looked at all the high-end hotels in the area. Instead, went to Park Hyatt Aviara in Carlsbad (about 45 minutes south). the Park Hyatt is definitely not as refined, even though it is a former Four Seasons, it is also a drive to the beach, However, rate was about 1/4 of the Ritz when taking into account Citi Prestige credit and Mastercard benefits (free breakfast, resort credit, upgrade). we had a great time and would definitely go back.

Agree with SleepyTron above. Huntington Beach much more interesting with a choice of 3 fine 4* relatively cheap properties. The Klipton Shorebreak, The Paseao, and the Regency Hyatt are both fine 200ish places. (Hilton Waterford subpar). Monarch Beach for $700?....pass

This Ritz-Carlton serves as a cautionary tale about Orange County, as much as anything.

Orange County, especially this part, is all about classless wealth. The pursuit of money and the ostentatious display of that wealth is an intrinsic part of the Orange County experience. There's a reason that OC is the epicenter of right-wing libertarian capitalism in the United States.

I grew up Orange County adjacent and worked there for a time, early in my career. My family had, at various times, owned large tracts of land in OC, including significant parts of what's now Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, and Santa Ana. I was taught that the behaviors regarding wealth that I saw in OC were uncouth and sophisticated people sought out quality and authenticity instead of grandiose displays of ill-spent funds.

In this way, I've always thought of OC as very much akin to the Gulf states...lots and lots of wealth devoid of the experience, education, taste, and culture to put it to good use. Imagine the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel to be a suburban Burj Khalifa and you've put the nail on the head.

Um, nice try. Orange County voted for Hillary by 100K in 2016.

Close call, helpful post, thanks Lucky. Almost spend a long weekend here last year until I read Tripadvisor. Great time at Aman instead.

Stayed here several times over the years for business events. For a US hotel not the worst but far from impressive. Service is mechanical, very superficial instead of sincere and the design is quite awful. Not what you expect from a beach resort.

For the price level they charge however it is absolutely 0 value for money. I personally would not pay more than about $200 for it.

Anyway I have no more business in US and I will certainly not miss this hotel.

Everyone keeps raging about the montage. I stayed there last year and felt the same as lucky did about this place. It's nice but why is it $700 a night. It's just not that personal or special

I usually love the Ritz-Carlton, but I’d stay away from this thanks to your review.

For the folks asking where to use their RC certs or actual good RCs (especially domestically), try the RC Rancho Mirage near Palm Springs, CA. Gorgeous hilltop views of the area, everyone went out of their way to be nice and give true service, not overcrowded or loud, and all this was on a Valentine's Day weekend a few years ago. It's a few hour drive from LA (perhaps not much longer than Ben's drive to Orange County) and you'll come away feeling like you more than got your money's worth.

You can easily find this kind of quality resort in Thailand for about $100 per night

I wonder who really pays these super high rates. Every year I book a meeting in NYC in December and stay a night at the W, prices are always nuts so I use some points. The hotel is always half empty when I stay there...

I've stayed here maybe three times and like it well enough. I'd probably never stay on my own dime since I'm just not into luxury travel, but I also have to point out your experience was somewhat atypical from the few times I've been. And when I make a reservation at a restaurant, the table is always ready.

All that said, the places are pricey and beyond my needs, and usually too remote to be of interest as anything but a destination rather than home base. The one property that has a location I like is in Lake Tahoe, but even then I just mostly need a bed and a place to assemble my gear.

The Ritz makes it a goal to have you greeted at the valet within two minutes. This isn't always possible, but I don't think they've ever taken more than four with me. Even though I've been there during events, they never got this crowded, and the only time I had trouble getting a table was at the ever popular 180Blu. (It doesn't look it, but one corner of the long lounge can give you a decent view of the sunset if you get the one table there.

Some of the amenities are pretty average for the price of the place, but others are great. If you didn't use the shower in the spa, you missed one of the best body salt scrubs. Unlike some resorts, the spa at Ritz properties is always free for guests.

The one thing I really do admire, though, is that the entire staff is trained to take charge of any issue and almost any need. You rarely get transferred on the phone and most employees can handle your complaints or issues without having to call in a specialist. I got placed in a single bed room when traveling with a friend and the bellman called down, getting me okayed for the correct type of room within a minute.

I think what would aggravate me the most (aside from the long line at valet) would be having pieces and parts of the resort closed off to guests for private events. I get that hotels and resorts make a lot of money with weddings, but if those weddings make the resort less than what it should be for "other" guests, what's the point?

RC Half Moon Bay. Amazing !