Tidewater Grill at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island

This is our 2nd visit to this family friendly hotel. This place always has top notch service! It's luxurious, yet not devoid of human touch. I know people have given great remarks to all service teams in this hotel because they are truly amazing. I want to give a big shout out to their valet team, they keep things running smoothly at different level!

This is our third consecutive year visiting for Thanksgiving - it never gets old or disappoints. Salt (the restaurant onsite) is worth the price for the experience and cuisine. Stay away from room service if you can - it's less than adequate. Property and rooms (fireplace ocean view) i are nice and they are pet friendly. Beaches are fantastic for a walk along a journey to nearby trails.

I have to agree with others who say the hotel is just average. Amelia Island the location is beautiful no doubt about that, but the actual hotel is just meh. I think it's the price point. At $800+ a night, one expects a pretty luxurious experience but it is far from that. The pool area was not clean at all. The pool itself was dirty and the surrounding area was too. Litter around the loungers and dirty towels everywhere. The food was also not very good. Again, at $800+ a night I expect really good food. The little extras were also missing- no robes and not many toiletries.
One thing that did make me very uncomfortable about the beach (not sure what the hotel can do) is that the loungers face a big sand hill. You cannot see the water when laying on a lounger at the beach; a hill of sand blocks you. I have a young son and could not relax because I couldn't see him in the water. Being on the Atlantic side, the water is very rough. So those with children be aware of this, I much prefer the gulf side of Florida and its calmer waters.
Overall, just expected a lot more for what I paid for.

I travel often for business and pleasure and I prefer to stay at Ritz Carlton properties when I'm able therefor I have other Ritz experiences to base my review on... and The Ritz Carlton, Amelia Island just may be my least favorite Ritz.

The updated rooms and overall excellent service by the hotel staff were the real highlights. However there are many things that define a typical Ritz Carlton that are missing here such as: Little effort to remember your name, where are the flowers..., no doormen... sounds petty but often essential with bags, pool littered with towels and dirty tables with no people around, gym is small and run-down.

The biggest issue however was with the SPA. When I booked a spa treatment was not informed that the spa was relocated to the 2nd floor while the under construction. The problem with this was that there were no showers, hot tubs, saunas, or the type of amenities normally found in a spa... however they still charged full price.

Worse yet was that my 50 minutes massage was really a 40 minute massage because the therapist was 5 minutes late and then spent another 5 minutes trying to sell me "enhancements". This is fine if the 50 minutes started after this but apparently not... my appointment was at 9am and ended at 9:50 even with the ten minutes wasted by the therapist. I did mention this issue when checking out and was assured someone would contact me... but no.

Bottom line is if your paying $300 night for a room its a great resort... but at $1,000 a night I will go elsewhere and will not be returning to this location.

What a beautiful island. The staff here is top notch. Special shout out to Bill in the fitness center for getting everyday started with a great class. The Lobby bar the best sushi and the daily bourbon was a special treat at the end of the day. Served by Cody, Brook and Gina. I can’t name everyone, but not a slacker in the group. Greg Cook GM you should be proud of the excellent staff you have assembled.
Another hidden gem on the island is Marche Burette on the Omni property. Grab two bikes from the fitness center and head over to enjoy a relaxing breakfast or lunch overlooking a cute little pond.