The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee

In a few moments, I'll be unloading a dump truck's worth of praise for this hotel, but I think it's important to start this review with what I found to be the most memorable aspect of the hotel, which was how intent it was to maintain its unbelievably high standards when it didn't have to. When I stayed at this hotel, parts of it, such as the main lobby, were under renovation. Furthermore, I'm just estimating, generously, that there were 10 occupied rooms in the entire hotel, because I personally didn't see enough people to even occupy 5 rooms. The hotel could have absolutely told the few guests, "Hey sorry, the hotel is going through some renovations, so X, Y, and Z facilities and amenities will be out of operation for the duration." No one would have thought anything of it. Even if the few guests that were staying at the hotel did mind, there were so few guests that the collateral damage would have been easily recoverable. However, this hotel did not take that route. Every amenity that could operate normally was operating normally, and for every amenity that had to be displaced due to construction, there was an adequate replacement. The pool, which is absolutely enormous, was heated during normal operating hours everyday. I stayed at this hotel for 4 days. When I used the pool, no one else was ever in it. From my room I had a clear birdseye view of the pool. There was never anyone in it. I feel quite confident in saying I was the only person, day or night, to use this pool during the entire four days. Like I mentioned there were barely any guests at the hotel and it was pretty cold that week. Nevertheless, the hotel kept this giant pool heated, at a cost I can only imagine, for guests to use as normal. The fitness center was one of the facilities that was under renovation, so they built a very adequate temporary one. I'm assuming the normal lobby, which was under renovation, had a bar in it. Obviously, that one was out of commission, so they built a temporary bar in the new reception area. There's a nightly tradition of a s'mores station at the fire pit. This station was still operating as normal every night as scheduled for the few guests that were at the hotel. A staff member was there every night for two hours operating this s'mores station for the few guests who were at the hotel to still be able to enjoy despite it being cold and the hotel being close to empty. The hotel even printed wall coverings with the designs of the normal walls of the hotel to cover the construction areas so that as you walk by, it at least seems a little more normal and less disruptive to the eye. If this hotel is this committed to maintaining its high standards when there would be little consequence for temporarily lowering them, I can only imagine the quality of stay when the hotel is operating on all cylinders. I knew upon arriving on property that this stay would be overflowing with memorable aspects, but that this hotel was so adamant about maintaining its wor

The property was beautiful—lovely for outdoor walks. The ladies and gentlemen working there were very attentive to any needs we had—knowing when we wanted help and when we wanted privacy. The food and service in the restaurants contributed to our having a memorable weekend.

Thank you for making our stay a wonderful year end celebration for our family. From the warm welcome at check-in to the attentive team members throughout the resort, our kids feel like it’s coming home every time we visit.

My husband and I celebrated my birthday at this beautiful resort. Everything was perfect from check in to check out. We were upgraded to a lake view room which was a plus, the ballons and personalized note made the experience even more special. I love that every area of the hotel was decorated for the holidays. The entire staff was outstanding, but one young lady really stood out, Chanell at Amore Del Lago, was very warm welcoming and efficient. This was a great birthday getaway, and we look forward to the next time we visit.

We loved our trip here! We traveled with our 5 year old son and checked in on Memorial Day. We loved how kid friendly this place was. All the little touches like a scavenger hunt with prize box, quick service of kids meals at restaurants, a stuffed animal left by the room attendant for our son, floats and sand toys (and swim diapers if you have a baby) available for the kids really made our trip great. We signed our son up for the Ritz kids club at the concierge desk for the next day, but after I never received the promised confirmation call or email I went back to the desk in the morning and it was discovered that they made the reservation for the wrong day and now they were all full. Greyson, however, was so accommodating and was able to still get our son in that afternoon. We were so thankful and he had a great time! Miss Kenesha was very nice and our son felt totally comfortable in her care. They went on the train, played in the arcade, hula hooped,and played in the clubhouse. They even gave them Ritz kids water bottles. The clubhouse had open house hour from 4-5pm for kids to play games, color, etc. but no organized activities. We ate at the kids pool and Amore de Lago for breakfast and dinner. We used our 4 coffee vouchers in the coffee shop that we received for being Platinum Elite. Everything was excellent. We were upgraded to a lake view room from resort view for being Platinum Elite as well. The s’mores every evening were so much fun. They even make their own flavored marshmallows like coffee and peach cobbler! We took advantage of the included fishing, kayaking and paddle boarding. All were wonderful! They attendants on the dock were very helpful, especially with helping my son fish. He didn’t catch anything but still enjoyed it. We are bottled water people and were pleasantly surprised that cold bottles were available everywhere - in the room, at the front door, all over in coolers in the activities area. We usually bring a case with us when we travel but really didn’t need to here. We inquired about the photography session that is included and would have taken advantage of it if we hadn’t just had family photos taken. The session is 45 min long and photos start at $75. I would say the only disappointment was there were no special activities on Memorial Day, other than a rubber duck race in the creek in the morning. All special holiday activities occurred over the weekend, which we unfortunately missed. They apparently had a slip n slide, tie dye t shirts and fireworks. We usually stay at Marriott Vacation Clubs and were expecting that same level of organized kids activities here but they don’t have things like that daily. Overall, it was a wonderful stay and we will be back!

This place is a great place to stay. I came here with some friends/business partners and we had a great time. The resort is on a lake and in the woods so it is very quiet and private. The front desk staff is very professional at check in time. The beds are very comfortable. The entire hotel staff and service is top notch. We had dinner in Amore Del Lago (their Italian restaurant). The food and drinks were great. I loved the pizza personally. The server Drew and the manager Tommy were very friendly to us. The lobby bar was awesome too especially to watch a game at night! The bartenders make great drinks and are very attentive. We will definitely be returning for a getaway soon.

The good: -beautiful grounds with plenty of foot paths and serene places to laze. -breakfast at linger longer was very good. The bad: -booked through Amex as a fine hotel and resort, yet room wasn’t ready until nearly 4pm. We were given keys to access club level lounge while we waited, yet the keys didn’t work once we got to the fifth floor club…another staff member let us in. -club level lounge food was generally bland/stale/uninspired. They made this drink thing by filtering wine/champagne through some watermelon in a type of decanter thing…it was awful. Crackers were frequently missing and cheese was sad looking and left out at room temperature too long. Lounge concierge (Theresa) had a judgmental demeanor, and actively engaged in tasteless banter when another guest started making juvenile comments about avoiding the complimentary bud light- we get it, you don’t like their advertising choices, no need to air out your bigotry and make other guests feel uncomfortable and/or unwelcome. -while our room was spacious (club level executive suite) it had numerous areas of physical damage…walls were heavily gouged and scratched, tub was chipped in multiple places, hole in bathroom wall, closet mirror was falling down, top shower hinge and tile were pulling away from framing, and bathroom exhaust fan sounded like an outboard motor, with vibration enough to shake the wall sconces and window shutters. Rain/hand shower was only one or the other, not combined. Sound carried to the point where you could hear multiple doors opening/closing and other rooms being serviced/vacuumed. Pillows and mattress topper were made up of quickly deflating down…which made for an initially soft feel, but had zero support. -front desk staff was generally not helpful and unacceptably rude to my wife. -we kept having key issues where my key or my wife’s key would suddenly stop working on doors/elevator, which necessitated a trip to the front desk. The morning of our first full day, my wife’s key stopped working, and when she went to the front desk to get it fixed, a guy named Tyrone told her she was not authorized to get a replacement, and then, “for security reasons,” confiscated her key…despite us having the same last name, same address, showing up and checking in together, and staying in the same room. Tyrone also didnt bother to call our room or my cell to try to rectify the situation. Not having a key meant that my wife couldn’t access our room, nor could she access our floor (club level) in order to knock on the room door. Essentially, Tyrone stranded my wife and did absolutely nothing about it…objectively unreasonable and unsafe for my wife. My wife was able to get a hold of me and I had to come down to the front desk, present ID, again, and get replacement keys. Oddly enough, my key went bad later that evening. -the barrel room is woefully understaffed and has no business trying to serve food or drinks with more than 3 ingredients…they didn’t even ha

My husband and I visited for a weekend getaway. The property is beautiful and well maintained. Check went smooth, but they only had one agent working so it was slow. Directions were given to our room in a haphazard manner. The concierge was nice enough to direct us (looked confused). The room was clean with modern decor. However, there were visible signs of wear that you would not expect to see you at a hotel of this caliber. There were stains on the wall and the carpet was visibly frayed. There is a mini bar that was well stocked with a mini fridge attached to it. I don’t know if you would call it a mini fridge as you can not even get a bottle of water to sit up straight, so micro fridge. The shower in the bathroom was the smallest I’ve ever seen, but the water pressure was good. Even going down the halls there were places on the carpet that was damaged and some stains could be seen on the floor. There was a wedding on the property. I can say that you can here hall noise but the room being positioned on the opposite end helps to dampen it. I did here a couple of guests say they were awakened at 12 and 3am by noise, and they were not happy. I visited the gym and although it’s had key card access, the door would not close to lock. The gym, was clean with towels and water present. I was disappointed that some gym equipment was not maintained as the rowing machine was obviously damaged. I saw a woman on the stationary bike and the handlebar just came off when she stood up to peddle. She almost fell off the bike. Again, these things were not acceptable. We ate at Gabys. Service was prompt, and the waitress was polite. She told us that the menu had been recently changed so she could not comment on a lot of things. I decided to get the shrimp and grits. My husband got the bacon cheeseburger. He really enjoyed his bacon cheeseburger. It was cooked as requested. However, the fries appeared to be old. The shrimp and grits was the worst that I’ve ever had. The waitress was so apologetic. She asked to take it back. The shrimp on top were fried and they were so salty. They were not edible. To make up for it she gave us a complementary dessert. It was a chocolate cake and it was not that great. We also went to the café for breakfast. The sandwiches are premade and heated upon request. The pastries were no better than a deli at the grocery store. I was about to get a canned drink 12 oz and it was five dollars. There is absolutely no excuse for one canned drink to be five dollars. Save yourself the trouble and stop at Publix on your way in. Valet parking was chaotic. There were a couple of near misses observed. The property grounds are its saving grace. I found it to be very relaxing. The property was not over run with guest which made it quiet and serene. It was a good stay and we relaxed but we were not blown away.

My husband and I visited the Ritz in early October for our 10 year wedding anniversary. Overall, we had a really fabulous time, and we would consider staying here again. Upon checking in, the staff at the front desk informed us that we were upgraded to a lake view. Our room was clean, with a balcony overlooking the Infiniti pool and lake. The grounds were immaculate, and all staff greeted us with a smile. A couple of somewhat major incidents led us to deduct a star from this rating: We visited Amore de Lago on our first night. The two of us ordered some salads, pizza, dessert, and a bottle of wine. Before our check arrived, our server informed us our bottle of wine would be complimentary, as we were celebrating a milestone anniversary. So unexpected, but so kind! But…wait. When he actually brought over our check, he told us that his manager would not comp the wine, but would take 20% off our bill. What? At checkout, we asked to see an itemized bill. Good thing we did. Not only was our dinner at the steakhouse on our bill, but so was another family’s… almost $500 extra tacked onto our bill. The front desk was incredibly accommodating and didn’t ask questions. But be warned - check your bill. Visit the spa and the Sporting Grounds. It made our trip extra special.