THE
Ritz
LEVEL
of Customer Service
by David Castagnacci
We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen” is what guests should expect when staying at a Ritz-Carlton hotel. It’ s the long-standing motto for the world’ s most renown luxury hotel group— expressing the company’ s philosophy of dignified and personal customer service, from the minute a guest checks in until they check out.
“ The Ritz-Carlton has been built on luxury and lives up to those standards,” said Chuck Whittall, CEO of Unicorp National Developments, Orlando developer of the upcoming Ritz-Carlton Residences in Flagler County’ s Hammock Dunes. The 128 upscale condominiums will be welcoming new owners within the next two years. And although they will be individually owned, the services and amenities will be the same as the company’ s hotel resorts," said Whittall, who has developed other Ritz-Carlton properties in
Chuck Whittall
Orlando and Longboat Key.“ You will live in a condominium but feel like you are on vacation all year” he said.“ It’ s like a hotel without the rooms.”
Hammock Dunes will join the list of 11 other Ritz-Carlton properties in Florida, more than any other state.
Puttin ' on the Ritz
“ The Ritz-Carlton brand has very high-end needs,” said Isaac Toledano, CEO of Miami-based BH Group that is partnering with Unicorp in the Hammock Dunes resort. Meeting these brand requirements begins with selecting the best location, through design and development— to welcoming guests.
Whittall said the customer service standards are devised to be very much the same at all locations.“ Guests can have the same expectations wherever they go. And Ritz-Carlton makes guests accustomed to those services,” he said.
Personal attention especially is important, and“ people buy into Ritz-Carlton knowing that,” Whittall said.“ If you are a golfer, employees will be sure to have your golf cart available. If you prefer tea for lunch, they will know to serve that to you.”
Appearance and aesthetics also impress, Whittall said, extending from the way employees dress to the room decor, common areas and the fitness center / spa.“ You get the feeling that you are in a nice, classy place.”
Both men are excited about the uniqueness of the Hammock Dunes location, with seven acres on oceanfront land in a natural setting near an upscale golf course.“ This is like a piece of diamond,” Toledano said.
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