First time for any sort of interaction with Ritz-Carlton brand. Found it to be discreetly refined,…read morenot overly extravagant or gaudy. Very much enjoyed it, though difficult to imagine spending this much consistently.
My wife and I have been Marriott Vacation Club owners for 20+ years, and somehow I missed when Ritz-Carlton Club became an option for points usage more than 10 years ago. There are five of them across the U.S. So when I noticed that a 1 BR/1.5 BA 1,400 sq.ft. unit was available in the financial district of San Francisco on a Monday, Tuesday in June for 450 points each night, decided to plan a road trip around that.
We drove into downtown SF a little earlier than anticipated, and was grateful that the apartment was ready. We had such personalized attention from Travis, who checked us in, giving us the lay of the land. There are fresh cookies of different flavors available, and we took advantage of it on both days. We had come earlier in the week, so the organized activities set for later in the week were not available to us. But we made sure to follow his suggestion to check out the lounge, where you can get fresh coffee products 24 hours (though it wasn't functional for part of our stay).
There are three elevators with keycard limited access for the dwelling floors. It's a bit complicated on purpose, to make sure that club guests could not access the more permanent residences: only one elevator is meant to be used by guests. This became a problem in our first night when it stopped working. The concierge and valet helped to make the other elevator usable for us, but for a bit, we were stuck on the lounge floor, requiring a phone call to downstairs for help.
The apartment was beautiful inside. It has a full kitchen, with complete set of kitchen accessories, an induction stove, and a full size refrigerator with two bottles of complementary filtered water. Four oz bags of Tico Coffee roasters ground coffee (Santa Maria de Dota normally retail priced at $22 for a twelve ounce bag; another decaf) were offered for our stay. The in-unit washer and dryer was useful even for a 2 night stay, with the dryer being ventless. There was a half bath just outside the main entranceway, with a full bath (walk-in shower, tub, and double sink vanity). The BR had a true king size bed, flat screen with plenty of cable channels. There was no true desk in the unit, but could use the dining table. WiFi worked well throughout the apartment.
I had a chance to use the fitness center, a two story room accessible via the shared mezzanine level. The 2nd floor is dedicated to cardio equipment, with disfecting wipes, cold towels, and bottled water all available. It also had a small room in the back for yoga and stretching with newer mats to use. The 3rd floor is for weight: both free weights and machines. It was empty while I was in there during the day.
It's surprising what feature can make a stay great. I really loved the huge, deep soaking tub that I used twice during our stay. My wife was obsessed over the Tivoli audio bluetooth AM/FM radio that came with the bedroom, and played her Spotify account. I combined the two and listened to the 70's channel while soaking...have to admit, it made everything even better.
Parking is extremely limited and very expensive in the area. So it was a big plus that it is included as part of the rental. It is intentionally hard to find, so the clear instruction email from a concierge before the trip was greatly appreciated. It is mandatory valet, and there is a text system where you can request your car and track its status (though for us, it never left the 'getting car' status). Didn't matter since when we got down there 5 minutes later, it was there waiting for us.
Note that unlike other Marriott Vacation Club properties that require this level of points, the Ritz-Carlton Club is not a resort. It has minimal on-site activities, no swimming pool, no on-site restaurant. But it also has no lines, no crowds, no (screaming) children. With it's location and level of care, it's ideal for high-end executives doing short-term business in San Francisco. Or for monied retirees ready to live a stress-free life. We are neither, but was curious how much a 1 BR unit like this would cost. The cost was surprising (under a million, down 33% from seven years ago) , but made sense when one saw the monthly HOA fees ($3,200). Ouch.