The Bottom Line
Pros
- Oceanfront location
- Great views
- Outdoor firepits and S'mores = lots of fun!
- Excellent food and wine events
Cons
- It's the most expensive hotel in Half Moon Bay
- Resort and parking fees can increase the already high rate by up to 25%
Description
- One Miramontes Point Road
Half Moon Bay, CA
650-712-7000, 650-712-7831 fax
Website - Big hotel with over 250 rooms and suites, most with ocean views, window seats, fireplaces or balconies
- Valet parking expensive and there is no alternative - day use parking fee (lowered or free if dining or going to the spa)
- WiFi use included in daily resort fee
- Fitness center, yoga studio, spa, tennis courts, basketball half-court, golf course, outdoor whirlpool and fire pit
- All the amenities you'd expect in a high-end hotel. 100% non-smoking
- Three restaurants on premises, 24-hour room service, Sunday brunch buffet, weekend wine tasting
- Weekly Vintner Series: six-course wine tasting menu paired to the month's featured wines
- Annual Fire & Wine Experience (January): choose from wine/food pairings, wine and food education classes
- Guests with dogs can stay in the cottages only and there is a per-stay, nonrefundable pet fee
Guide Review - Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay
You might think this hotel was in Napa Valley with all the wine and food events they sponsor. Their chef and sommelier are both excellent and to give a more concrete measure, we rate the Champagne Lunch we enjoyed in January, 2009 better than the Pebble Beach Food and Wine Festival's glitzy Cristal Dinner the previous year.
The hotel is typical of other Ritz Carltons and most reviewers give it high marks, but some say it's not up to the chain's usual standards, mostly citing lapses in service.
We can agree with both points of view. The hotel is nice, the staff friendly and helpful. The restaurant meals are excellent and we saw many people who were enjoying their visits.
On the other hand, housekeeping falls a little short. We were especially surprised to find holes in the duvet cover and bathroom corners looking like they needed a good scrubbing. If it were anywhere else, we'd probably overlook it, but the name Ritz sets the expectation of high standards and in this case, it fails to deliver.
A few things you should know ahead of time: The evening bagpiper visits on weekends only and some of the rooms with patio fire pits are near a walking path, reducing privacy.
As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with complimentary accommodation for the purpose of reviewing the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay. While it has not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our ethics policy.
