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Contact:
Sue Lowry / Melanie Childs
Magellan
Public Relations
Tel:
020 8875 2850
Anna
Mueller-Stutzer
The
Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C.
Tel:
020 7591 1187
Services offered at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C.
The following document offers a synopsis of the
various services and initiatives offered to its guests by The Ritz-Carlton
Hotel Company. Full releases
are available on each topic upon request.
The Ritz-Carlton Club Floor - A Hotel within a Hotel
- Harried business travellers,
security-conscious notables and holiday-makers demanding added value are
guaranteed added pampering, privacy and service in The Ritz-Carlton Club
– where access is strictly limited to guests registered on The Club,
using a specially cut key to unlock the floors on the elevator leading to
The Club. The Club is
typically located on the top floors at each of the Company's resorts and
hotels and the focal point is a private staffed lounge, generally open
from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Five
complimentary food and beverage presentations are served daily, the
content of which is dependant on the hotel’s location and local customs.
The dedicated concierge staff can make travel arrangements, book
theatre and restaurant reservations and plan local itineraries.
Sweet Dreams at
Ritz-Carlton - Ritz-Carlton guests will find
it is no longer necessary to count sheep when falling asleep in unfamiliar
surroundings with upgraded bed linens and sleep amenities.
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company has upgraded its sleep experience
with the Comfort Essentials collection, new bed linens, feather beds and
Elegant Essentials mattresses. These items are also available for purchase through the
hotels’ retail outlets. The
Comfort Essentials Collection, created for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
by Pacific Coast Feather Company, includes a baffle box pattern feather
bed, feather bed protector pad and luxurious 300 thread count striped
Egyptian cotton sheets by Frette and double-down surround pillows for all
rooms. The mattresses are
also specially designed for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company by Sealy and
include multiple upholstery layers for extra cushioning and comfort.
Pillow Talk - In
addition to the upgraded bed amenities, individual Ritz-Carlton hotels are
enhancing the bedtime routine. The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta offers the
“Heart and Sound Soother” to guests on the Club level. A variety of
six “white noise” sounds may be selected to make a more comfortable
atmosphere. “Pillow menus” are offered at The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai,
Hotel Arts Barcelona and The Ritz-Carlton, Osaka, allowing guests
to choose from a variety of pillows including horsehair pillows,
small-sized pillows and non-feather pillows.
Advice on Demand – Apart from the purchase of
bedding and linens, many hotel guests regularly bring their interior
designers to various properties to garner advice regarding the design of
the Company’s award-winning bathrooms or to take advantage of the skills
of their furnishing and art sourcing services.
The Company’s signature design element – artwork
and antiques – generates the most enquiries.
Guests call the corporate design department at least five times a
week wishing to purchase art and antiques they have seen. Several people have recognised portraits of their ancestors hanging in their hotels and have wanted
to purchase them – they are allowed to do so if they replace them with
paintings of equal value.
Splish! Splash! Bath menus introduced!
- What do business travellers and rubber duckies have
in common? Both can languish
in luxury with the “Bath Menus” offered at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.
Whether it’s a romantic rose petal bath for two or a
sophisticated soak complete with cognac and cigars, each different menu
offers a bath selection to suit every taste. The baths are designed to eliminate jetlag, promote
restful sleep, invigorate, create a romantic mood, or ease sore muscles
from a busy day’s sightseeing. A “Bath Butler” is on hand at several hotels to
draw the bath and create the perfect bathing atmosphere, from mixing
special aromatherapy bath essences, preparing local delicacies to savour,
lighting incense and candles, popping champagne or clipping a Cuban cigar.
The Ritz-Carlton “Technology Butler” - Wired
travellers can ring for The
Technology Butler, now on-call at all Ritz-Carlton Hotels and
Resorts worldwide, to solve their computer and technological problems.
Guests may reach the Technology Butlers on their mobile phone for
complimentary assistance without the inconvenience of leaving their
guestroom. The Technology
Butler, on-call 24 hours a day, is trained to fix the most prevalent
computer conundrums and technology troubles.
High-Speed
Internet Access for
High-Tech Road Warriors - Travellers at
Ritz-Carlton hotels and resorts wanting to log onto their company’s
website or to check their stocks on-line are able to do so from the
comfort of their hotel rooms up to 50 times faster than before with
high-speed Internet access. The
service is provided by STSN, the leading provider of high-speed Internet
technology and services for vertical markets.
In addition to providing faster access to the Internet, the service
allows executives to have direct access to the hotel’s business centre.
A business centre link allows guests to print documents, order
copies or send/receive a fax directly from their guestroom PC, rather than
carrying a diskette or laptop to the business centre.
“In-Room Fitness Kits” Provide Round-the-Clock
Workouts - Ritz-Carlton Hotels in Osaka,
Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul have introduced a 24-hour “In-Room Fitness
Kit” for international business travellers arriving late night or early
morning, and those preferring the convenience of working out in their own
guestrooms. The kit consists
of weights; resistance bands; exercise mat; VCR with aerobics tapes;
bottled water; dry and chilled towels; water atomizer; headband,
wristbands and socks. Each
hotel also provides a selection of in-room cardiovascular exercise
equipment, such as portable steppers, exercise bikes and treadmills, and
workout enhancements such as heart rate monitors.
“Flight
Bites” For Travellers - Following the
decision by many airlines to reduce, or eliminate, in-flight meal
services, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company is reintroducing its “Flight
Bites” programme for the comfort and convenience of its guests
travelling throughout the United States and Asia.
Available in a small shopping bag, or an easy-to-handle box,
“Flight Bites” can be ordered through the room service menu at many
Ritz-Carlton hotels and resorts. Menu selections vary from a breakfast
croissant, piece of fruit, and bottled water to “upgraded” choices of
sandwiches, cookies/brownies, and a small bottle of wine for those who
prefer to eat first class, even when they’re sitting in economy. Prices
vary, but range from US$12 for a basic snack to US$25, or more, for
gourmet fare. Keeping in mind
the new restrictions on carry-on luggage, the meals are made as compact as
possible, to fit into a briefcase or carry-on bag, with ease.
Luggage-less Travel – With
increased security procedures, and restrictions on the number and size of
carry-on bags on most of the nation’s air carriers, several Ritz-Carlton
properties has introduced “luggage-less travel” for its most frequent
corporate travel guests. Designed
to ease the air travel experience, this new concept in guest service
eliminates the need for suitcases. For
Ritz-Carlton guests staying three or more times at the hotel, the
concierge will arrange for clothes to be laundered and stored until the
next visit. At that time, the wardrobe and any personal grooming items
will be placed in the guest’s room prior to check-in.
The only fee for this service is for hotel laundry/valet charges.
Child’s Play - The
Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company offers kids the lion’s share of fun with its
Ritz Kids programme. Each
hotel and resort worldwide offers a range of services, activities and
special events specifically designed for junior guests aged between four
and 13 years of age. Services
such as 24-hour baby-sitting or children’s menus are standard across the
board but in addition, each individual hotel creates their own culturally
and regionally specific kid’s programme, exclusive to their property.
For example, current programmes range making traditional Hawaiian
leis in Maui or witnessing the nesting habits of sea turtles in Naples,
Florida to “Social Savvy” classes in the Ritz-Carlton Hotels in Tysons
Corner and Cleveland.
Protect our Little
Ones (POLO) – For
children under five, safety conscious families checking into Ritz-Carlton
hotels and resorts are offered a range of toddler-proof precautions
introduced through the POLO programme.
This complimentary programme was introduced by Ritz-Carlton after
noticing a rise in the number of families travelling with pre-schoolers.
Upon arrival, guests travelling with children under five will be
escorted to their room by a specially trained bellman who will install the
safety features and explain other precautionary measures intended to
protect youngsters from injuries.
From this day forward – The
Ritz-Carlton Wedding Programme – Once of
the most comprehensive wedding programmes in the industry, The
Ritz-Carlton Wedding Programme is available at all Ritz-Carlton Hotels and
Resorts in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean.
Whether the bride and groom dream of a formal wedding for 500 or an
intimate escape to a Caribbean island, The Ritz-Carlton Wedding Programme
promises brides “everything they want their day to be.”
The
Learning Institute - The Key to Customer Care - Businesses
- from Fortune 500 corporations to neighbourhood boutiques - striving to
achieve excellence in customer service, regularly turn to the hospitality
industry’s only Malcolm Baldrige Total Quality Award winner, The
Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, for training of executives and employees.
Certified trainers, selected from corporate vice presidents to
experienced dining room waiters, serve as the teaching staff at The
Learning Institute. These
trainers will tailor a presentation to meet the specific needs of the
customer’s company, industry and market.
Classes have already been customised for groups as diverse as
airlines, automobile manufacturers, government tourist offices,
telecommunications firms and consulting companies.
Ritz-Carlton
enters Private Club Residence Market - Recognising
that time is the ultimate luxury for its affluent clientele, The
Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., has entered the private club residence
market with an innovative new concept at the five-star level. Designed to
meet the needs of travellers who can afford a second home but do not want
the burden of full ownership for a retreat they may visit a few times a
year, The Ritz-Carlton Club will provide prime locations combined with
unparalleled personal service and luxury amenities.
An extension of The Ritz-Carlton experience, the Club’s initial
offerings are situated in four domestic resort destinations – Aspen and
Bachelor Gulch, Colorado, Jupiter, Florida and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin
Islands. Future Clubs will be
built near existing Ritz-Carlton hotels or developed in premier
destinations to the Club’s specifications.
# # #
Note for
editors: - The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company,
L.L.C. manages 43 award-winning hotels in Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, the
Middle East and North America. For
information or reservations, please contact The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
on 0800 234 000 toll free in the UK or visit The Ritz-Carlton Web site at www.ritzcarlton.com.
Photography available upon request.
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