Ritz Carlton

With tourism on the rise in downtown Los Angeles, construction is set to begin on a $172-million Marriott hotel complex that has even bigger aspirations than when it was announced almost a year ago. Downtown's thriving hotel market can be seen in the long-anticipated development near the L.A. Live entertainment complex and Staples Center, which has grown by a floor and 15 additional rooms from the original plan. Now set to be 23 stories, the tower on Olympic Boulevard will house a 174-room Courtyard by Marriott and a 218-room Residence Inn by Marriott under one roof when it opens in summer 2014.

The Ritz Carlton, Dove Mountain covers 850 desert acres of saguaro cactus in the foothills of the Tortolita Mountains north of Tucson. The resort, which includes a spa and pool area, has some nice packages with breakfast or resort credits to enhance a fall or winter desert getaway. The deal: The Ritz Carlton's website features lots of packages and special offers, but these two turned out to be good values when I tested them. The Bed and Breakfast rate serves up daily breakfast for two at the hotel's CORE Kitchen or by room service for just $10 more than the standard room rate.

Ken Lerch's life at the Ritz-Carlton is a lot easier these days. He used to spend much of his time telling the Laguna Niguel hotel's guests--many of whom pay more than $250 per room per night--what to wear. And Lerch is not a fashion consultant--he's a doorman. Ever since the hotel opened two years ago this month, however, doormen at Orange County's landmark hotel were saddled with the task of nicely--very nicely--telling men who entered the lobby after sundown to put on their jackets and ties.

More than half the units in downtown L.A.'s most prominent residential tower are finally sold as the region's long-suffering condominium market turns around, industry observers said. Foreign investors and wealthy Southern California residents in search of a pied-a-terre have helped drive sales over the halfway mark at the Ritz-Carlton Residences at L.A. Live, developer AEG said. The condos were planned during the housing boom of the mid-2000s, when AEG decided to crown its $2.5-billion L.A. Live entertainment, restaurant, office and hotel complex with 224 condos that would be serviced by the Ritz-Carlton hotel.

Maybe the recession is really and truly over now. After all, a thousand and one hotel rooms have just bloomed in downtown Los Angeles amid the Kings and conventioneers. I'm talking about the once-desolate territory just north of interstate 10 and east of California 110, where the Los Angeles Convention Center is neighbored by Staples Center (opened 1999), the 7,100-seat Nokia Theatre (opened 2007) and the rest of the L.A. Live "sports and entertainment district." Officially, the area is called South Park, and the entertainment company AEG has spent about $2.5 billion building the L.A. Live sports and entertainment complex here.

The valet was full, as was the eastern garage next door, so we were directed around LA Live to the western garage, where we managed to snag the second to last parking space available, just in front of a purring Corvette. Big night on the city. But what could have been a hassle — and a lost reservation — turned into a delight once we found our way to the 24th floor of the spanking new Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles. Why? Because that's where Wolfgang Puck's latest restaurant is located.

Ritz-Carlton on Friday plans to open its first U.S. resort in a decade: Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, in Northern California. The opening is part of an ambitious expansion that will see a dozen hotels added to the 38-member luxury chain during the next two years. The Half Moon Bay resort, about 30 minutes south of San Francisco International Airport, is on bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean and has two golf courses. Published rates for its 261 rooms range from $305 to $745.

Ending months of negotiations, Prudential Insurance Co. of America on Friday completed the purchase of 90% of the Ritz-Carlton resort hotel in Laguna Niguel for $90 million cash, officials of Prudential and W.B. Johnson Properties, the hotel's builder, said Tuesday. The remaining 10% interest in the hotel will be retained by Monarch at Laguna Beach, a limited partnership controlled by Johnson Properties. The hotel will continue to be managed by the Ritz-Carlton Co.

Even with millions of dollars in unpaid bills piled up at its luxury Laguna Niguel resort, The Ritz-Carlton hotel chain is working hard to make final arrangements to build a $35-million, 26-story tower in the Bunker Hill area of downtown Los Angeles. Hotel industry sources said financing for the 330-room hotel is the only remaining obstacle and one that they believe will be overcome within the next several months.

Five months after its gala opening, the $80-million Ritz-Carlton luxury resort hotel in Laguna Niguel faces troubles that its lavish decor, sweeping ocean views and growing clientele can't cure. The touted success and opulence of the hotel, which elicits "oohs" and "ahs" from first-time visitors, rankle many who helped to build the sprawling Mediterranean-style edifice, from the lagoon-shaped swimming pools to the marble-finished bathrooms in its 393 guest rooms.

More than half the units in downtown L.A.'s most prominent residential tower are finally sold as the region's long-suffering condominium market turns around, industry observers said. Foreign investors and wealthy Southern California residents in search of a pied-a-terre have helped drive sales over the halfway mark at the Ritz-Carlton Residences at L.A. Live, developer AEG said. The condos were planned during the housing boom of the mid-2000s when AEG decided to crown its $2.5-billion L.A. Live entertainment, restaurant, office and hotel complex with 224 condos that would be serviced by the Ritz-Carlton hotel.

Wealth manager and restaurateur Kerry Moy is joining the live-in-downtown crowd at the Ritz-Carlton Residences. He has purchased a one-bedroom, two-bathroom unit with a den/study. The sales price is not yet available on the public record, but similar homes are listed in the $1-million range. The 1,303-square-foot condo takes in views of the swimming pool, the downtown skyline and L.A. Live. Moy, who owns and invests in restaurants as a sideline to his day job at Merrill Lynch, customized the place by opening up the office area to capture the views and moving walls so his dinner guests also can enjoy the vista.

With tourism on the rise in downtown Los Angeles, construction is set to begin on a $172-million Marriott hotel complex that has even bigger aspirations than when it was announced almost a year ago. Downtown's thriving hotel market can be seen in the long-anticipated development near the L.A. Live entertainment complex and Staples Center, which has grown by a floor and 15 additional rooms from the original plan. Now set to be 23 stories, the tower on Olympic Boulevard will house a 174-room Courtyard by Marriott and a 218-room Residence Inn by Marriott under one roof when it opens in summer 2014.

The Montage Beverly Hills and the Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe in Truckee are the newest California hotels to score five diamonds in the 2012 AAA Awards , the Auto Club's top honor bestowed to just 126 of the more than 31,000 hotels reviewed this year in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. In all, 19 California hotels past and present are on the five-diamond list for 2012. The Aria Sky Suites in Las Vegas , Mandarin Oriental Miami and the St. Regis Houston also are among the newcomers to receive the top ranking.

By Richard Winton and Abby Sewell, Los Angeles Times August 17, 2011 An assistant priest at St. Nicholas of Myra Episcopal Church in Encino strolled into his boss' office Monday night and noticed a new framed drawing placed just inside the door. For a moment, it appeared to be a donation from a parishioner or a new piece of art for the office. But when he went to admire the drawing more closely, he realized he'd seen it before. This, he was sure, was "The Judgment," the 1655 pen and ink work by Rembrandt that had been all over the news since it was stolen two days earlier from the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Marina del Rey. Within hours, officials had confirmed that the drawing was indeed the missing Rembrandt, which had been the subject of a high-profile hunt.

An L.A. County Sheriff's official confirmed Tuesday that deputies recovered a stolen Rembrandt from the pastor's office of an Episcopal church in Encino. The Rembrandt sketch stolen Saturday night from the Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey was recovered Monday night from Saint Nicholas Episcopal Church in the 17100 block of Ventura Boulevard , said sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore. Investigators were still trying to determine how it found its way into the office of Father Mike Cooper and to verify whether it is an authentic Rembrandt.

It will never replace filet mignon or even a good cheeseburger, but the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton is doing a brisk business these days dishing up alligator soup. For the next few weeks, the posh restaurant will continue to serve "Babette's Feast," the luxuriant, seven-course French meal that takes its name from the Oscar-winning Danish film.

Ever crave your own swanky personal retreat, with a seaside vibe? The recently opened Ravella could be it, with rooms starting at $117 a night. Certainly, that's a nice contradiction — elite digs at Holiday Inn prices. If you are one of those travel treasure hunters, point your sonar in this direction and congratulate yourself on just how shrewd you are. Ravella, formerly the Ritz-Carlton on Lake Las Vegas (a $70 groaner from the Strip by cab), is one of those what-were-they-thinking properties plopped in the middle of where God left his golf shoes.

Entertainment news show host Mary Hart and her husband, producer Burt Sugarman, have bought a corner unit in the Ritz-Carlton Residences at L.A. Live. The purchase price was not available, but similar two-bedroom, 23/4 -bathroom units are listed at $1.8 million. Their residence has 2,161 square feet of living space. The 54-story tower houses the Ritz-Carlton and the JW Marriot hotels. The residential units for sale, from one-bedrooms to penthouses, start on the 27th floor and are accessed through a separate entrance and private elevator.

Ever crave your own swanky personal retreat, with a seaside vibe? The recently opened Ravella could be it, with rooms starting at $117 a night. Certainly, that's a nice contradiction — elite digs at Holiday Inn prices. If you are one of those travel treasure hunters, point your sonar in this direction and congratulate yourself on just how shrewd you are. Ravella, formerly the Ritz-Carlton on Lake Las Vegas (a $70 groaner from the Strip by cab), is one of those what-were-they-thinking properties plopped in the middle of where God left his golf shoes.