The Library at the Ritz-Carlton

Would have loved to give it 5 stars but the service lacked in the evening hours. 90% of the time everything was perfect… Now as it gets later into evening, some staff just seems to stop doing the little extra things that normally come with that type of price tag.

Beautiful room, terrible service. We stopped in for a glass of wine while sitting by the fireplace. Multiple F&B staff walked right past us, but no one stopped to offer a menu or to take our order. I went to the bar, asked the bartender whether we could get service where we were sitting (he, of course, said that we absolutely could), informed him exactly where we were sitting and got a menu from him. We waited another 15 minutes and neither he nor anyone else came to take our order. At that point, we left.
Did I mention that there were only 3 (!) people total sitting at the bar, so it was by no means busy?

Absolutely beautiful, like tearing a page right from the Scottish oceanside

Casual elegant atmosphere with a great golf course view… very calm! There are 2 places to eat… we were at the casual dining and food was great!

B*tches… No more afternoon tea served here anymore (as of last December)!
I just tried calling for a reservation and was thus informed. Pffffft.

Since it was my Birthday and the Ritz doesnt serve high tea on Memorial day weekend, I opted to go on a weekday. Two friends were able to accompany me so I made Monday reservations. The phone pick up line was very prompt (only with one ring, there was a live a person who picked up the phone). I wouldn’t say I’m a high tea connoisseur but I’ve been to I think the Palace Hotel in NYC and The Fairmont in SF to have there teas. I am all about the detail and one thing I noticed was that the Ritz Tea library did not have the lemons tied up in cheese cloths.
Upon driving to the Hotel lobby (every car is Valet for $ 5.00).
There were three «tea» selections: Royal $ 58, Traditional $ 38, Vegetarian $ 28. The three of us chose the Traditional set.
First came the petite sandwiches: 1) chicken sald on rye 2) salmon lox 3) thinly sliced cucumber with red peppercorn 4) some creamy egg spread with caviar.
Our waitress asked what the occasion was for and we said it was for my Birthday — She then surprised us with popping a bottle of sparkling champagne in front of us. We all had a glass (that was nice!)
I got the Scottish breakfast tea.
Then came the warmed cranberry nut scone which was really really GOOD!
Our kettle of tea was always refilled. I think we had to go to the bathroom every 2 – 3 times.
Then the three tiered desserts came:
chocolate ganache with gold flakes and a hazelnut top
earl grey cookies
some pistachio cookies
mini fruit tart
hazelnut cream cream puff
while surrounded by blackberries, rasberries, cherries, strawberries.
Then came another surprise — 5 tasting of different ice cream sorbet and which a chocolate icing that read «Happy Birthday».
The flavors included; blood orange, vanilla, nut with toffee, pineapple.
Everything including tax, tip, and valet fee would be $ 50/​person.
The outside landscape was amazing too (a little windy so bring a jacket!).

A day of serenity and pampering was what I wanted to treat my lovely friend Kristina R. to for her birthday. Especially after being in a classroom filled with screaming kids all week long. I made reservations 2 weeks in advance and the only thing I told her was to make sure she kept the day open.
«Where are we gonna go? Hmm? Where are you gonna take me? C’mon, tell me. Tell me. Tell me.» And this went on for a few minutes, but I kept my mouth shut.
«I’m not going to tell you! We’re going on an excursion and it’ll be a nice girly day.»
The next time I saw Kristina, she once again tried to pry the information out of me. «Where are we gonna go? I bet it’s afternoon tea.»
I said nothing.
«We’re going to Half Moon Bay!»
Again, I said nothing.
«We’re going to the Ritz-​Carlton in Half Moon Bay!»
«GEEZ! How did you figure it out!!!»
«Told you I was psychic.»
Andy looked over at me and concurred. I should have known. You cannot keep ANY secrets from this woman. I’m telling you, don’t even try. She has a crystal ball at home and knows what all of you are doing right now.
Finally, our day of serenity and pampering at the Ritz was here. We arrived an hour early, so we decided to sit by the fireplace in The Conservatory and have some drinks after we finished our wide-​eyed oohing and ahhing of the gorgeous resort. I had a yummy peach bellinitini, while Kristina had the Ritz fruit cocktail drink. Our server was very nice and left us alone while we took in the amazing ocean view and chatted it up. When the time came to have our afternoon tea, we headed over to the lobby, where 3 female staff members stood. It looked as if they were waiting for VIP guests to arrive. Maybe even a celebrity. Kristina predicted it was Matt Damon, but was wrong. They were actually expecting us! Our cutie pie server, Alexa, brought us into The Library, which was exactly that. A room of dark wood walls, plush leather armchairs, shelves filled with books, a fireplace which wasn’t lit (she aplogized profusely about it, such a sweet girl), and only 5 tables. No one was inside, and only 2 tables were set up for afternoon tea. The center table next to the fireplace was set up for us.
We both ordered the fabulous Traditional Tea, which consisted of: a pot of tea (I had the Mango — yummy!) Smoked Salmon with Dill Cream and Salmon Caviar on Dark Rye; Cucumber, Roquefort and Sesame Seeds on Whole Wheat Bread; Chicken Salad on Sourdough Bread; and (our favorite) Egg Salad with Truffle on Flaky Pastry. Alexa also brought us a plate of sandwiches from the spa menu, compliments of the house (not as good as the traditional). Then we had Freshly Baked Cranberry-​Orange Scones served warm (actually, piping hot) with Devonshire Cream, Lemon Curd and Preserves; a 3-​tier tray of Pumpkin and Spice Tea Cake; Cinnamon Chocolate Shortbread Cookie; Chocolate Coffee Opera (a mini work of delectable art); Sugar Palmiers; Pear and Almond Cream Tart; Caramelized Rum Profiteroles. The two of us, being the biggest sweet tooths, couldn’t manage to finish all 3 trays, so we got the cute leftover treats boxed up to go. Alexa was extremely attentive, politely asking us throughout the service if we needed anything.
Our tea service lasted for about 2 hours, and we were the only ones in The Library during that whole time (except for a few people who poked their heads in to see if we were celebrities). It was truly a private room just for the two of us and they really treated us like VIPs.