The Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour, Miami

September 6th, 2020

Enroute:

Normally in Miami we’d stay at the Como Metropolitan, but this time my partner had to be in Palm Beach for some meetings so we decided to stay a bit more north. Bal Harbour is a nice area in north beach between Surfside and Sunny Isle/Aventura and right by Haulover Park. Most people probably know it from the Shops at Bal Harbour, which I’m quite fond of.

Other than the Ritz, there was also the St. Regis which is pretty much next door. We’ve never been to either, and the rates at the Ritz were cheaper, so we booked the Ritz to check it out.

Check-in:

When we were checking in, there was some kind of drama unfolding at the front desk next to us. I overheard it was some guy’s debit card being charged so he was livid because he thought it was only a “hold”. He was terribly rude and yelling at the front desk agent. I prayed inside that not all guests at this hotel were of this kind. Btw who still uses debit cards these days?

Our agent was friendly enough and also gave us two drink vouchers for the atrocity we had to witness.

Unpack:

The rooms at the Ritz were located in different towers, based on the room types. We booked an ocean view one bedroom suite. Because there were only two rooms and a housekeeping closet on each floor, instead of a hallway, the elevator just opened right up to the foyer.

The room itself was pretty massive, with separate living room and bedroom.

At first I didn’t even notice, but there was a door next to the picture that led to the half bathroom.

From here if you turn left, there would be the living room, a full kitchen, a dining area and a balcony.

Walking back to the entry foyer and turn right would get you to the bedroom, with a large closet and another balcony.

Inside the bedroom was the bathroom, which was beautifully appointed with a soaking tub by the window.

The room was advertised as being 1,147sqft on the website, which I think is probably just the interior. Granted it’s a very liberal floor plan with one bedroom for over 1,000sqft. I loved that there was natural light and outdoor space on both sides of the room.

We arrived late in the afternoon, so we decided to just order some takeout while taking a bath. Bizarrely there wasn’t a minibar in the room, but worry not, alcohol delivery is the single most consequential human advancement in the 21st century.

Refuel:

The next morning, we had breakfast before my partner had to leave for meetings. It was served in the Artisan Beach House restaurant.

The restaurant was bright and airy. We chose to sit outside as it was still early and not too hot.

To start, we shared a pastry basket. I think when I hear pastry basket I’m expecting an actual basket, with steaming hot freshly baked goodies wrapped in a cloth. Needless to say I felt quite cheated when I saw this:

They were barely warm. When I see sad-looking food it just adds to all the traumas my therapist and I have to work out. And I specifically asked if these were fresh and made in-house before ordering. Well, fool me once. On the bright side, we had those two drink vouchers, so in addition to a pot of coffee we had something stronger to cope with the disappointment that is life.

The bevys were followed by steak and eggs, and a breakfast burrito.

The food was fine but not great. The service was a bit lacking, even though we were the only table there.

Depart:

For the rest of the day I was going to the pool by myself, but it started to rain and then became obscenely windy. I had zero patience left to deal with that so just opted for retail therapy across the street instead. The Ritz Bal Harbour is fine. Like most Ritz hotels, it wasn’t very luxurious. The room felt like somebody’s decent condo unit, which is an accurate description because the suite was in the residence section of the hotel. The service was generally average, and the f&b was pretty underwhelming. We’ll definitely try the St. Regis next time and compare notes afterwards.