Travelers are increasingly seeking out experiences that feel completely unique but preserve an authentic connection to the local community and destination. More and more legacy hoteliers are recognizing this, inspiring them to launch more intimate properties that offer more than just the traditional luxury hotel experience with fully stocked minibars, fluffy bathrobes, and clawfoot bathtubs.
As an extension of the Ritz-Carlton brand, Ritz-Carlton Reserve was fashioned as a more intimate version of its famous hotels around the world, but with an even greater level of personalized care and human connection. Every Reserve was designed to weave together the local culture with Ritz-Carlton’s standard of service and quality to create an idyllic getaway, instilling an emotional impact that stays with guests well after departure.
Ritz-Carlton opened its first Reserve property in 2008 with a private sanctuary experience in Phulay Bay, Krabi, Thailand. While Ritz-Carlton has outposts all over the world serving business travelers and tourists alike, the tiny but well curated portfolio of properties under Ritz-Carlton Reserve is truly a cut above with some of the best resorts in the world, putting Ritz-Carlton (and parent company Marriott, by extension) on a level playing field with the likes of ultra-luxury hoteliers such as Aman and Six Senses.
There are currently just six Reserves around the world: Puerto Los Cabos, Mexico; Dorado Beach in Puerto Rico; Mandapa, Bali; Phulay Bay, Thailand; Higashiyama, Japan; and Rissai Valley, China. And as demand for luxury travel continues to rebound since the pandemic, the brand is expanding at a rapid clip with two more locations expected to open before the end of this year: the Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Costa Rica, and the Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve along the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia.
Pronounced “NEK-ah-wee,” Nekajui will be Central America’s first ultra-luxury boutique resort and branded residences, located within in Costa Rica’s exclusive resort community Peninsula Papagayo, offering the most breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and Area de Conservación Guanacaste, a UNESCO World Heritage site comprising a single, uninterrupted biogeographic block of protected wildlife area spanning approximately 400,000 acres of land and sea.
Reserves are built to be rare estates, set apart from the world in coveted havens of natural beauty, promising intimate and culturally immersive experiences. Each location is handpicked for its ability to offer guests a completely private, transformative experience that is also reflective of the local culture and environment.
While Ritz-Carlton hotels and resorts are all meant to reflect a destination-driven design, Ritz-Carlton Reserves are crafted to blend seamlessly into the local environment. The surroundings are meant to be the focal point, with Reserves magnifying their natural environment, surprising and delighting guests with hidden pathways and secret gardens throughout each property.
One of the qualities that sets the Reserve brand apart is the exceptional level of personalized service. Upon check-in, guests are greeted and escorted to their accommodations by their personal concierge, who is available throughout their stay to help with virtually any query or request. This is made especially easy as guests can communicate with their concierge via text messaging, whether it be iMessage or WhatsApp.
The virtual assistance is so simple and useful that on a surface level, it might seem like employing an AI chat bot. But AI, as it stands now, just doesn’t come close to the personal care and interest that concierges at the Reserve properties can provide. Guests can text for the usual requests, such as requesting extra toiletries, scheduling housekeeping, ordering room service, or asking about local activities and tours. But the concierge is also immediately available to help in the case of more serious issues, such as illness and requesting medical assistance, if needed. And on a lighter note, they’re also there to help put an extra special touch on any kind of celebratory events during a stay, such as a birthday or anniversary.
Ritz Carlton Reserve properties also pride themselves on offering more unique programming, especially as travelers continue to demonstrate more interest and willingness to spend money on experiences. The Ambassadors of the Environment program at Zadún, for example, offers activities both above land and under water highlighting Mexico’s rich native culture and unique ecosystem through immersive experiences. Especially popular with families, activities include snorkeling amid the local coral reefs, whale watching, stargazing, bird-watching, gardening, desert hikes, and even making one’s own hot chocolate while learning about the history of the cocoa production in Mexico.
And while one can easily schedule a massage or facial at Zadún’s Alkemia Spa, this is one hotel spa where one could easily spend all day (if not multiple days) just soaking in the rejuvenating healing waters of the plunge and hydrotherapy pools. Alkemia takes wellness techniques a step further with the Savasana Room, which provides a full sensory experience with sound healing therapy created to help quiet the mind to gain deeper clarity and well-being. Essentially, as one listens to the music in the specially designed room for these kinds of acoustics, the guest should simultaneously feel it resonating throughout one’s entire body and mind as an inner healing cellular sound or musical massage.
On top of it all, Ritz Carlton Reserve resorts are meant to be destinations unto themselves, and with all of the aforementioned activities and amenities, what seals the deal for an all-in-one-destination will always be onsite dining. As described by management at the Reserve at Dorado Beach, food creates a connection among people and with places, and it is food that potentially offers the greatest insights and lessons about a local community.
Dorado Beach has five onsite restaurants, offering a diverse set of options for food as well as ambiance, whether one wants a more formal dining setting or something more casual. These options range from the trendy Positivo Sand Bar, serving tapas and sushi al fresco with a fun cocktail menu to the more upscale Coa, a grill-inspired restaurant with multiple dishes prepared in a custom-made, wood-burning oven. Coa also hosts one of the largest wine cellars in the Caribbean with more than 670 different labels.
Room rates, at Zadún in Puerto Los Cabos as an example, start at $1,609 per night for a resort view guest room with two queen beds and private terrace. At Dorado Beach in Puerto Rico, rates start $3,245 per night for an oceanfront guest suite with a king bed and private balcony.
