I love Ritz Carlton's globally. One of my favorit...

I love Ritz Carlton's globally. One of my favorite hotels in the world is Ritz Carlton - Half Moon Bay. Unfortunately this Ritz does not live up to the expectations the brand sets for itself in service, food, integrity or quality.

Starting with the good stuff, this is one of the most beautiful physical locations I have ever visited - the natural beauty is simply stunning, and waking up early to experience a sunrise is well worth your troubles. That is where the good news ends.

Starting with service, we attempted to get some basic items delivered to our rooms and had an extremely difficult time. #1, a water kettle. We called four times over a span of six hours and finally received a water kettle. Extra Water bottles, we had to again call multiple times in order to receive them. This is understandable at most hotels, but not for a 5 star hotel with prices to match.

At the spa, we ordered two 50 minute massages, which were great. Although when the masseuse asked if we wanted oil, we thought there was a probably a charge, but did not expect $35 per person extra for a palm worth of oil, when the entire bottle of oil likely costs $25. Additionally, we never signed off on the cost at the beginning or end of the massage, but there was an additional charge of 25% gratuity that was not mentioned when we booked the massage or when it was finished, it was just added. These could be chalked up to what could be expected at a upscale resort, but I have experienced many and am generally fine with them - the vibe here was one of hiding these costs. It felt deceptive and misleading.

Finally the food - horrendous. We got the $39 California Buffet one day, and the blandness and low quality of the food and ingredients can be summed up with the fact that they had an aerosol can of Cargill non-stick cooking oil sitting next to the open omelet station. Cargill brand is what is used in low end elementary school cafeterias (probably not allowed in California schools), although the chef was soaking not just the pan, but once he broke the eggs to cook we was actually spraying it, for multiple seconds, on TOP of the eggs. So the finished omelet was soaked through in industrial chemical non-stick cooking spray - who's only nutritional fact on the bottle it has "No Trans Fat". Scary to think what is used back in the kitchen on other dishes if Cargill products are openly used at the omelet station in front of guests. Needless to say, I expected much more from a five star hotel in a place like Santa Barabara that has a health conscious culture. The coffee at Blend, their "on campus" coffee shop gave me a headache, and the breakfast burrito had multiple ingredients that I could not identify beyond tasting like rubber, but that did not stop them from charging $12.50 for it.

Now, this a new-ish hotel since Ritz Carlton bought it, and I dont know the ownership structure - so perhaps it just the Ritz name and someone else is managing it. But I would not stay there again unless they 5x their game up to levels expected of a five star hotel.