Located on 13 isolated acres bordering the ocean and a private golf course, two miles north of the larger, more residential Amelia Island Plantation, this is northern Florida's most stylish resort, a luxurious tour de force attracting corporate business on weekdays and romantics and social events on weekends. Amelia Plantation's sprawling grounds, impressive breadth of recreational facilities and larger concentration of suites attract many long-staying guests, some of whom put up camp for weeks and even months at a time.
Maintenance and service here are at the top of their game, with improvements and upgrades meted out regularly. The latest work has focused on the spa.
Beyond the gated entry, a long landscaped drive leads to the impressive fountained entrance. The curving eight-story hotel embraces beautiful courtyards and a tennis complex. Public space commandeers the northern end of the property; conference space dominates the southern end. The handsome lobby affords views of the ocean and sand dunes and opens to public areas rich with exquisite paneling, marble floors topped with Oriental rugs, cove lighting and smart shops. The
lobby lounge, finished with celery-green drapes, serves tea and hosts evening dancing. The adjacent game room has a fireplace, billiard table and a good selection of cigars (smoking outdoors only).
A semicircular terrace adjoins. The 4750 Cafe is stylish without being intimidating and is buttressed with a gourmet shop. The redoubtable Salt is an elegant, well-oiled room with romantic lighting, polished service and fine views. Guests can also dine by the free-form pool or order light bites from the lobby lounge.
Complementing the pool are a whirlpool, children's pool and a health club with a fitness room, a large indoor pool, saunas, steam rooms and marble locker rooms. The hotel has followed Amelia Plantation's lead with the recent improvements in the spa. This adults-only facility offers a bevy of new treatment rooms, men's and women's locker rooms, saunas and an impressive indoor lap pool. Shops, boutiques and a real-estate office line the corridor off the lobby, while outside, beautiful loggias draped in vines adorn the backside, and a boardwalk traverses the dunes to the beach.
For a nominal daily fee, tennis buffs indulge themselves on nine courts (five lighted), including a Har-Tru stadium court for tournament play. An 18-hole golf course provides golfers with challenges. The cleverly designed Ritz Kids club provides special activities for children (and adults), including a turtle-education class, ice cream socials and Saturday bonfires on the beach.
The hotel is geared to conferees, with extensive meeting space, a ballroom seating 1,500 theater-style, a tented area and a well-equipped business center. Valet and self-parking exact a nightly fee.
The well-maintained guest rooms show more tropical style then those at Amelia Plantation, and the subdued color schemes make a lovely backdrop for the ocean views outside most rooms. Traditional accents remain, including ornate trim, crown molding, valanced drapes and handsome armoires. Proportions are generally larger than over at the competition. Desks with dual-line phones, TVs, minibars and spacious closets with safes, robes, irons and ironing boards, and extra blankets and pillows are standard. High-speed Internet access is available in all rooms, and wireless 
access is available.
Standard features include excellent pillow-top king or paired double beds with superb bedding, and guests pick pillow types upon arrival. All rooms come with spacious furnished balconies. The lavish baths are equipped with marble counters and floors, full-length mirrors and excellent toiletries. Along with superior amenities, eighth-floor premium rooms provide complimentary food and beverage service daily. The four Garden Suites are each the size of two deluxe rooms. Staffing is, as one would expect, impeccable.
Room service is nonstop, and housekeeping makes rounds twice daily. Unusual for this chain, pets are not allowed. Smoking is not tolerated indoors.
This Ritz is more sedate than its Naples sibling, and unlike most Florida resorts, its prime season is from March through September.
