Pretty Ritzy

That's right, this weekend i stayed at the Ritz! I love hotels. One of the reasons i probably love them is because i almost never stay in them! So it's always a special treat. But the Ritz Carlton? That is most DEFINITELY a special treat.

This one was especially great! one, i got to hang with Kim, who now lives in Kansas, so i'd hang out with her in a Motel 6 if that was the case! But this was far from it. Chocolates on your pillow, everything clean and white, polished to perfection. it was beautiful.

Here are a handful of pics! (there is a whole album for those of you on Facebook)

Pinkies up! We ARE at the Ritz, after all :)

Strawberry short cakes and wine within an hour of getting there. I like this place already.

Kim <3's Strawberry shortcake!

at dinner the first night

the view :)

the room!

bathroom photo shoots. typical.

do not disturb

our view from the patio bar at night 

best chocolate martini's in the SRQ

Ritz Carlton Beach Club

key lime coolers - divine.

she's so pretty!

i'm sorry, chocolate on my pillow with nice notes -- that makes me smile :)

the gorgeous lobby.

chandeliers and marble everywhere!

It was gorgeous. Another cool part about this Ritz is that it's in Sarasota, right by the bridge to Longboat Key, Seista Beach, etc. So the pictures right on the beach were at the beach club that we were able to use, lay by the pool, sip fun drinks, etc :)

Both mornings we were there were quite rainy while Kim was in conference, so i just wandered a bit, read, listened to music, and just got to be lazy. I never really do that at home, because i always find something i "should" be doing! So this was really nice.

The only thing i felt bad about is how scared the staff were of us. Not us, specifically, but of all guests in general. I felt the need to be extra nice and casual when addressing any of them, because they would jump at anything! at one point i asked the concierge for a book of matches (i collect matchbooks... yes, i know that's cool) and the girl was scrambling to find them. she kept apologizing and apologizing... then ANOTHER guy came up, and ran (literally -- RAN) to the bar in the back to get me my matches. holy. cow. it was intense. i just wanted to give them hugs and tell them it was going to be ok. little do they know, i don't actually have enough money to be a real guest there :)

I don't have to be this fancy all the time, but it was fun to do for a weekend :) Glad i got the experience. and now i can always slip in "well, when *i* stayed at the Ritz...." into conversations (always a perk!)

hope your weekend was fun! fancy or not :)

xo