Where to stay when you leave.
Ritz-Carlton Beijing :: Too Much Food at the Buffet; Takes the Silver Medal Instead
6/16/2008 at 9:45 AM
Tags: Ritz-Carlton Hotels, Beijing Hotels, 2008 Olympics Hotels, Luxury Hotels, Fred Bernstein
In yesterday's Check-In, Check Out feature, the New York Times traveled to the Ritz-Carlton Beijing Downtown--often referred to as the "Ritz Carlton not Financial-Street" to avoid confusion with the city's other Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
So what's the final verdict on the newest Ritz in town? "Silver medal" says Times reviewer Fred Bernstein.
Bernstein was mostly impressed with the trademark Ritz service and also the fact that the room can go from full-of-sunlight to total blackout conditions with the touch of a couple buttons.
This apparently comes in handy if you're not fond of gazing at the Ritz logo, which is reportedly emblazoned "everywhere" in the room.
Though the 24-hour room service was convenient and a 4 p.m. tuna sandwich was declared delicious, the buffets were a bit too much to handle:
In the morning, there's a breakfast buffet with so many offerings that your head will spin, even before you see the check (about $35 per person.) The even bigger lunch buffet was so daunting that I walked next door to JW Marriott, also brand-new, for a simple $12 lunch.
We're trying as hard as we can to comprehend this. Turned off by an excessively large selection of food? Does not compute.
[Photo: Gilles Sabrie for the NY Times]
Related Stories:
Beijing: Ritz-Carlton Beijing [NYT]
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