I just returned from July 4th weekend stay at this...

I just returned from July 4th weekend stay at this beautiful resort, but unfortunately it was not the restful or restorative experience we desperately needed. The resort overlooks the Pacific and is spectacular and serene, and the architecture is beautiful and surrounded by eucalypts and lush landscaping.

With that setting, our stay held the promise of an unforgettably splendid weekend.
Unfortunately, it was not.

I knew it was a Holiday weekend and I packed lots of patience. But I also expect better from the Ritz Carlton. The restaurants and the spa were fully booked up. Everything else was a long wait - a poolside drink took 45 minutes standing in line. Bag assistance never came. So sorry! But our greatest frustration was the pool management. Due to Covid, the pool opens at 10am, by which point there is a line of guests waiting to enter. After they fill the available chairs, entry is managed by staff who control and manage a waitlist. It sounds perfectly reasonable and safe, and I appreciated the efforts the resort was making. I followed the staff's advice from the day before and got on the waitlist right after the 10am rush. I was perhaps 15th on the list, but by 3pm we had not been called and learned that they had only admitted 2 from what had now grown to a 3 page waitlist to nowhere. The staff were nice, but they had been asked to implement a rule that was unfair, and frustrating to the majority of their guests.

The current pool management system is a complete failure. It's not how you want to spend (or waste) your vacation. Of course, if you want to avoid the wait, they are happy to sell you a cabana for $500 for the day (or just an hour) to get in. That fact is what really infuriated me more than anything else. With a room rate of $700-$800 per night or hundreds of thousands of points spent, you should not have to bribe your way into the pool. Given the health and safety protocol, I think everyone would understand a system that limits time at the pool to 3 or 4 hours. The problem was twofold: 1st - that the people who got in at 10am did not leave, and 2nd- that many people especially younger people snuck into the pool and filled it over its safe capacity during the day. A timed bracelet system could eliminate both those problems.

At 5pm we had still not been let it, and in frustration I went to the smaller but quiet spa pool. It is very nice as well and I was happy to get a seat. However, as soon as I sat down I was told that "Unfortunately, we are closed at 5pm", and I needed to leave. I couldn't help but let off a little steam at that point and told the attendant about my frustrating experience that day at the main pool and insisted that I was going to stay and enjoy the pool for a half hour. I further invited him to have a manager come speak with me as I would only be too happy to share my experience . 15 minutes later, with one other couple also at the pool, a security guard "Marcelo" approached me and told me I needed to leave. I repeated my story to him. He apologized for my experience at the other pool but forcefully told me I needed to leave. As I did this, I could see the sympathetic couple in the pool behind him giving me the thumbs up for standing up to this injustice. However, Marcelo refused to get a manager and forced me to leave the pool along with the other couple who were enjoying it.

I am angry for having spent a chunk of our Marriott points for this stay. I am angry that our first weekend vacation away since COVID was wasted on such a terribly frustrating experience. I am angry the response from the hotel to the problems we encountered was wholly inadequate. Even the minor adjustments offered to remove resort fees had to be requested twice before they were made: once before check out, and once again after getting the final bill a day later.

Such a promising and spectacular place, but such a horribly disappointing experience.