The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage

Huge shoutout to Joni, my favorite person at the Ritz! She is such a sweetheart and perfectly captures what Ritz-Carlton customer service is all about. Every time she checks us in, we immediately feel incredibly welcome. Having visited so many Ritz properties, I can confidently say that Joni is the reason this one is my favorite. She is the perfect ambassador for the brand—they really need to promote her to a global trainer so she can teach front-desk staff everywhere!

Clean room, Staff was Good and Smiling at most days, breakfast and brunch was fresh and delicious. Quite facility with little to none as far as activities. While wives were out and about us Men literally had 1 bar TV and nothing else to do! No billiards, no cigar room, no media room, no game room. I felt it was very limited for adult males to interact or enjoy. Other than that everything else was good. 1 shot of Glenlivet 12 was $32 dollars, the bottle at Ralph’s is $29.99, so skip the drinking or BYOB.

As someone who travels constantly for business and has stayed at countless Ritz properties around the world, I don’t say this lightly: avoid this property at all costs.

What should have been a relaxing long weekend with my husband and child turned into one of the most disappointing luxury hotel experiences I’ve had in years. From the moment we arrived, the tone was off. Check-in was cold, transactional, and completely devoid of the hospitality you expect at this level. The concierge was not just unhelpful, but dismissive to the point of telling us to “just Google it ourselves.”

The issues didn’t stop there. The room itself was frankly unacceptable. Exposed cables, broken drawers, and a general sense of neglect that felt miles away from anything resembling Ritz standards. The property is tired, outdated, and nowhere near what is being marketed or priced.

Even more concerning was the treatment we experienced. The sideways glances and subtle but unmistakable lack of warmth toward my family made us feel unwelcome in a way that is difficult to ignore and even harder to excuse.

I reached out directly to the General Manager following our stay, hoping for at least some acknowledgment or accountability. No response. Not even a courtesy reply. That silence speaks volumes.

For the thousands of dollars spent, the level of service and care we received felt closer to a roadside motel than a luxury resort. There are far too many exceptional properties in Palm Desert to waste your time or money here.

Do yourself a favor and book elsewhere.

Nothing

Housekeeping we're great

They were understanding with how unenjoyable our stay was.

Went there for dinner and the only parking option was valet parking. When we got our SUV back it had a big crease on the back panel. The hotel and parking folks refused to take responsibility or pay for repairs. Since then they have refused to even respond to repeated emails asking them to take responsibility and pay for repairs. So ... beware of going here. They force you to valet park and then refuse to rectify the damage they do.

I recently stayed at The Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage for two nights over Easter, and I wanted to share some honest feedback.

At roughly $1,000 per night for a standard king room, expectations were naturally very high. Unfortunately, the overall experience did not match that level.

This is not meant to criticize unfairly, but to provide constructive feedback.

Upon arrival, valet asked for my name, which I appreciated, but that was also the last time it was used throughout my stay. At check-in, the front desk agent, Joe, never used my name once. The interaction felt transactional and focused primarily on my credit card rather than welcoming me as a guest. It honestly felt more like interacting with an AI than with a trained luxury hospitality professional.

The Ritz-Carlton credo, “We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen,” is something I truly admire. However, I did not feel that standard reflected during my stay.

Joe quickly walked us through a property map but never asked about preferences such as room location, views, or whether we preferred a quieter area. That level of personalization was missing from the start.

The property itself is beautiful, and the room was nice. However, attention to detail, which truly defines luxury, was lacking.

The main pool experience felt closer to a standard Hilton than a luxury resort. Over two days, only one server approached us once. There was no water service, no proactive engagement, no eye contact, and no use of guest names. Small touches like complimentary amenities such as frozen grapes, which are common in higher-end service environments, were completely absent.

I understand this property is not Forbes rated, but striving toward those standards should still be the goal.

In the guest rooms, each balcony features an electric candle, which is a great idea in theory, but ours did not work. It was likely a battery issue. A simple operational improvement such as switching to solar powered candles could easily solve this and reduce labor.

We had dinner at State Fare Bar & Kitchen one evening. The initial impression was disappointing. The hostess, unfortunately I did not catch her name, came across as quite unfriendly. When I asked about pizza, she mentioned only flatbreads and handed me a menu without guidance. Interestingly, the menu did include a pizza section.

We were told we could only sit in the bar area because the restaurant was preparing for dinner, even though we were there for dinner. It was confusing.

Service took about 10 minutes to start, but our server Ryan completely turned the experience around. He was engaging, professional, and genuinely hospitable. Thank you, Ryan. You were a highlight of the stay.

That said, even in the restaurant there was no name usage, there were delays, and there were no small touches like bar snacks, again details that matter at this price point.

Another surprising gap was when I needed smaller bills to tip valet and housekeeping. Both valet and front desk were unable to provide change on multiple occasions and did not offer any alternative solutions. Even at a mid scale hotel, someone would typically guide you on where to obtain change.

The property also features a large lawn near the adult pool, which has great potential, but there is no seating or activation. It feels like a missed opportunity to enhance the guest experience.

In summary, the hotel is visually beautiful, but the details, the ones that truly define luxury, are missing.

In this segment, details are everything.

I generally prefer smaller boutique hotels, but I wanted to give this property a fair chance. At $250 per night, I would consider returning. At $900 or more, there is a clear gap that needs to be addressed.

A stronger focus on team training, especially around personalization, guest interaction, and attention to detail, would make a significant difference.

Thank you for taking this feedback into consideration, and Happy Easter.

A lovely, quiet property. Rooms were very clean (albeit, furniture a bit dated). Excellent service, impeccable grounds, nice restaurants. A nice venue for business meetings or vacation. Fitness center is excellent and open 24x7

We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage in January 2026 and had a wonderful experience. The resort is absolutely beautiful and our suite was both spacious and luxurious.

What really made the trip was the staff. Madison, Daniel, and Andrew at the front desk were incredibly friendly and helpful from the moment we arrived, and Roy the bellman provided such a warm welcome. We also loved the dining—the buffet breakfast was a highlight with so many great options. We can’t wait to come back!

The staff at this lovely property was consistently guest-oriented, polite and helpful always with a smile. I want to say a special thank you to housekeeping who kept our room spotless but also went above and beyond to make a specific amenity request happen. Michael, thank you for your assistance and follow thru as well! The valet’s made our return each time welcoming and departure each day efficient.
Tip:
I would suggest going to Whole Food’s down the street to get some snacks for the in-room refrigerator. This property does not have a grab and go-type coffee shop but they do have coffee/tea out by about 6am in the lobby. Being from the east coast and up entirely too early we did order a pot of coffee from room service at 4am twice which was a bonus to have available overnight! Thanks Ryan for your prompt delivery!

Rooms were nice and large bathtub

The famous Ritz Carlton has become no better than a Ramada Inn, in terms of service. The location is amazing and the decor and grounds are fine. But the customer service is abysmal.

They nearly poisoned my dog by leaving chocolates on the bed while I was out for dinner. Housekeeping surely knew there was a dog in the room, because they were the ones who brought in the doggie bed and bowls.

I tried to make spa reservations a week in advance. The spa phone always went to voice mail and they never returned my calls.

I tried to make dinner reservations at the steak house for either Wednesdsay night or Thursday night and I was told that the restaurant was closed both of those nights. It wasn't.

The power went out one night around dinner time and the restaurant closed down. Even though they could still prepare food (salads, sandwhiches, anything cooked on a gas stove) they said they couldn't process the orders because the computers were down. First: why don't they have backup generators for 250 people paying an average of $1,000/night? Second: why can't they just write down the orders on a piece of paper, and the room number of the guest?

There were no towels out by the hot tub. It took them 20 minutes to bring them after I asked.

There is annoying, awful music piped into the outdoor public areas all the time.

The spa is closed two days a week.

There is no longer a mini-bar in the room, just a QR code. Self-service is not customer service. The QR code only has big party items, like a charcuterie plate or a huge bowl of chocolate-covered strawberries. It does not have any of the typical minibar fare, such as a can of mixed nuts. The onsite convenience store doesn't have those either.

The two floor lamps in the room didn't work. The telephone didn't work.

The HVAC is on all the time, even if you raise the set point to 80 degrees, it continues to blow freezing air into the room. The only way to fix it is to turn it off completely.

There was a disgusting stain on the desk chair.

For the rates this hotel charges it is pure thievery. $1600 a night once you add in fees for their cheapest room category. The room you get for that price is small, crowded, and extremely dated looking. There is no mini bar just an empty fridge.

Housekeeping is horrific. There is an old Band-Aid from some other Guest that has been in the shower drain since I checked in and it seems like it will probably be there for the entire duration of my stay. Some days they don’t come. Some days when they come they don’t replace things like dirty coffee cups. Twice now they have taken away the bathrobe and not replaced it. That’s an uncomfortable fact to discover when someone is knocking at your door. These might seem like small details but for these prices, it’s absolutely unacceptable.

You can hear everything that happens in the hallway from inside the room. At this particular hotel, there seemed to be a lot of small children, running up and down the hallway and screaming. Utter lack of soundproofing is part of the very dated feel.

Probably worst of all, is that when you point out an issue or ask them to fix something no one apologizes. They’re just like OK and are borderline rude. literally everyone that I’m traveling with has had some similar issues.

Avoid this hotel. No character, no charm and enormous rip off for the price. The grounds are lovely, but this is Palm Springs. You could find more character and lovely grounds at a better price with management that actually cares about its guests.

Our stay at the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage as a lifetime Platinum Elite was fantastic. December 12th to 14th. Valet grabbed our luggage the second we pulled up. Madison at the desk was incredibly friendly and accommodating, acknowledged my status and upgraded us to a fireside room without missing a beat. The bellhop on arrival was super friendly, knowledgeable, wheeled everything up, unloaded it, walked us through where the spa, gym and club lounge were. Room service had one tiny glitch, Jason at front desk apologized, credited us back, no questions asked. The club lounge staff though? Above and beyond. Always smiling, kept it pristine, everything stocked, made us feel like regulars, we met some really cool people in there, talked travel all night. Food selection good, just shy of Ritz quality but hey, they made up for it tenfold in warmth. State Fare Bar & Kitchen was lovely, great selection and tasty food. Trails wrapped around the hill, valley views at dusk, stars everywhere, quiet, tranquil, pure peace. Our dogs got fluffy beds, towels, dog treats, the works. Checkout? Just as smooth. Jim the bellhop came up quick, got our bags, loaded 'em into the car, valet had it running, safe and ready every single time, even when we went out shopping and for dinner at local restaurants. Karen in the California Style Boutique? Warm as a hug. I spotted these vibrant paintings, classic Palm Springs haunts in full color, and since I grew up here we shared stories about what those streets used to feel like. Classic Ritz charm. Zero cracks. Heading back soon.

We arrived at the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage, a magical oasis in the heart of the desert an exquisite retreat boasting captivating architecture and indulgent luxury. The rooms were impeccable, offering unparalleled comfort and elegance. Service excelled at every touchpoint, from seamless valet parking to refined dining experiences. Victor Lozano was exceptional, ensuring our stay was nothing short of extraordinary. Thank you for this unforgettable memories!

Miriam Lebrun