I have always wanted to stay at the Ritz Carlton and its been on my must do list for awhile to stay a night there. Brian and I decided it would be fun to spend the Saturday evening before Valentine’s Day at the Ritz! They had a special Valentine’s Day package with tuxedo strawberries and champagne in the room and breakfast the next morning. We also decided to book dinner there and I am so glad we did, because it was nice to stay inside the hotel all night and not get out in the cold! We had so much fun at the Ritz on Valentine’s Day and I fell in love with the hotel. Too bad we can’t afford to stay there every Valentine’s Day, but it was definitely an extra special evening that we enjoyed thoroughly. Since this was my first stay (EVER!!) at the Ritz, I just had to do a blog post (of course!) on our special evening.
I wish I had gotten a photo of the lobby when we first arrived, but it was GORGEOUS. Wood paneled walls, huge crystal chandeliers… the works. They had infused water with cinnamon sticks and apples available to drink, a lady with strawberries and a chocolate fountain and a Valentine’s candy buffet set up. They also said they were going to have dancing at 9:00 p.m., which Brian and I were going to come down for… but, we fell asleep after stuffing ourselves full of a delicious dinner! Oops! The photo above is of the hallway leading to their restaurant, The Grill.
Our room was really nice and decked out with the most comfortable King bed! We did watch part of a movie after dinner and the high definition on the TV far outdid the high definition on our TV at home! There was free bottled water in the room for us as well.
We had a beautiful view of the court yard and front side of the hotel. It was too cold to go out on the balcony, but I was really happy that we had a nice view from our room.
And, of course there was a stocked bar in our refrigerator! I almost caved and got into the $5.00 chips, but decided against it.
I wish I had taken a photo of the marble in the bathroom and how nice it was… but, I forgot. Ah well, who cares about that when I have THIS marvelous photo to share with you? What is that? What is that you say? YEP! An old time telephone in the potty!!!! Yes, yes! And, I did check… it had a dial tone! 
Before dinner we had a couple of hours and they brought us up our bottle of champagne, popped the cork and poured it for us and we enjoyed some bubbly with these adorable tuxedo strawberries! What a fun way to kick off the night before dinner!
We had dinner reservations at The Grill and they sat us at a table close to the beautiful fireplace topped with red roses. So romantic!
Our table was nice, too with red roses, red petals and candlelight. Ahhh. 🙂 But, I was really swooning over who was sitting next to me, my hubby. 🙂
We had a five-course meal and it was fantastic. Five stars. Delicious. I am so sad it went so quickly. And, yes… I took photos of ALL of it except for the main dish! Darn! I always forget to take a photo of the main entree! The shame. I didn’t even realize this dish was going to be a salad, all I recognize on the menu was asparagus and bacon… so, I knew it would have those two ingredients. I was delighted when a salad arrived! Here is what the menu said: Warm White Asparagus, Avocado mousse, Exotic Kale, Pistachio, Bacon Lardons. Yeah, see? I guess kale equals salad? 🙂
The next dish I was really excited about, because scallops are one of my most favorite foods to eat! The menu said: Couplet of Ossobucco and Georges Banks Sea Scallops, Fava Beans for this dish. I had never eaten ossobucco again, so again I was in for a surprise. The veal shanks were actually really, really good! My taste buds were in heaven! The funny thing is that I HATE veal and I thought I was eating pork! Turns out, it was veal shanks and I enjoyed every bite of it! Too funny!
The main dish (the one I forgot to take a photo of) was sort of a surf and turf, with tenderloin and seafood. This is what the menu said: Herb Roasted Beef Tenderloin, Lemon Sole Meuniere, Purple Knight Carrots, Rissotto. It was all really, really good… and, I just love risotto! 
For dessert, we ordered the chocolate fondue and I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. They brought out this plate and there were two cups of hot chocolate. Again, this is what the menu said: Mexican Chocolate Fondue, White Chocolate Raspberry Fondue, Heart Marshmallow, Strawberries, Lindzor Cookie. The Mexican chocolate had a little kick to it and it was so good I was eating it by itself after we finished the marshmallow, strawberries and cookies. This is one of the best desserts I’ve ever had in a restaurant. SO good.
After dinner, they gave us a box of macarons to take with us and enjoy. I shared this photo of them on Instagram next to the flowers that Brian got me. 🙂
The next morning we had breakfast at their buffet and it was really good. I wish I had taken a photo of my plate full of danishes, too!
Unfortunately, it started to snow and we didn’t have the funnest drive home! But, I spent Sunday under a blanket relaxing inside where it was warm, so I had quite a nice rest of the day! A relaxing and cozy Valentine’s Day is the best!
Have you ever stayed at the Ritz? Which one(s)? Did you fall in love with the hotel, too? We had just the funnest time! I am glad I can say I’ve stayed at the Ritz now, it is definitely a wonderful and fine hotel!
