The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland

We love our kids.  We love traveling with our kids.  They’re great and we love sharing all these new experiences with them when we travel.  However, Matt and I also know that we need time alone to strengthen our relationship too.  The stronger our marriage is, the better parents we will be for our kids.  Which is why, when we were invited to our good friends, Matt and Shannon’s wedding in Cleveland, we decided to leave the boys with their grandparents and spend a night away just the two of us.

We took this opportunity to team up with the newly renovated The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland for our date overnight and we couldn’t have been more pleased with our experience.  First, because The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland was located in the same building as our wedding venue in the Cleveland Tower City Center, and second, because obviously, it is The Ritz-Carlton. J  The wedding venue was really cool, during the day it is used for office space, but was set up as a really fun space for the wedding and we had an epic dance party after the ceremony.  During the day, the StartMart space is a co-working space that also houses a startup accelerator.  Office amenities include: wifi, daily coffee, tea, oatmeal, ping pong, and a maker space with tools like a 3D printer and a T-shirt press; several class and conference rooms with presentation equipment.  

Fortunately, when we checked in at The Ritz-Carlton, our room wasn’t quite ready, so we were upgraded to one of their club level rooms.  We quickly dropped off our luggage and went straight for the lounge to enjoy some bubbly drinks and appetizers.

Related: Overnight at Hotel Henry, Buffalo... Without Our Kids!!!

The Lounge

The Club Lounge at The Ritz-Carlton was amazing.  Unlimited drinks and snacks are available throughout the day.  A full hot breakfast, lunch, hors d’oeuvres and “sweet temptations” are served all day long from 7am – 10pm.  As I was getting ready for the wedding, Matt stopped in the lounge and picked up tuna tartar, coconut shrimp, balsamic bruschetta, and eight different flavors of beef jerky.  All the food is locally sourced from Cleveland and the Ritz does an excellent job emphasizing foods that are special to the region.  The next morning, we enjoyed a beautiful spread of every type of breakfast food you can imagine: from pastries, to oatmeal and fruit, to eggs and cheese, and smoked salmon.  An industrial expresso machine makes your java of choice at the press of a button.  We enjoyed a long and quiet breakfast for the first time in what seemed like forever and left that morning with happy and full bellies.

The Room

Our newly renovated room was beyond our expectations.  Our bathroom was spacious and complete with beautiful marble finish.  And our bed felt like we were sleeping on a cloud!  My only complaint was that the bed was so big, I kept waking up throughout the night trying snuggle Matt but would fall back asleep before I got to him, lol!  

The Details

One thing we love about The Ritz-Carlton brand is the attention to detail that really enhances your experience.  Personalized welcome notes with a plate of truffles sent to our room while we got ready for the wedding, complimentary pressing of two items per day, valet parking, and delightful staff who greets you by name and is attentive to our every need; to name a few.  We really appreciated how accommodating everyone was at the Ritz; ready to serve their guests with a friendly smile on their face.  They really go above and beyond to make you feel welcome and at home.  It’s the little extras that stand out to us and help make our experience that much more relaxing. 

The Fitness Room

Being a fitness instructor, I couldn’t wait to try out the brand new fitness room at the Ritz!  We were so impressed!  When the fitness room was redone, they bought all new equipment that is the same as what the US Olympic team uses to train.  My favorite part was their added virtual room with spin bikes and an easy to use touch screen to pick your workout from spinning to P90x!  I could have spent all day in there!  And then to finish off a good workout sesh, the bathrooms are complete with the biggest, beautiful showers and sauna.  Again, the details in the gym really stood out to us: packaged headphones to plug in while you’re on the many ellipticals or cardio machines, fruit infused water, etc.  This was definitely the most impressive gym we have ever visited!

It’s funny because my sister was asking me if I missed my kids while we were gone, and I had to be honest that, although we missed them a bit while we were at the wedding, knowing they would have loved the dancing and that yummy wedding cake; we really appreciated NOT having them with us for our overnight stay.  I think Matt and I both really cherished that one on one uninterrupted time together and our night at The Ritz-Carlton will definitely stick out to us as one of our most memorable times alone together. ♡