The Ritz-Carlton Offers a Safe Dallas Escape

If you saw my staycation piece in June, you know that I’ve vowed to try and get out of my house every couple weeks this summer. (Perhaps even through the fall if social distancing and modified lockdown directives stay in place). I decided that a weekend at the hallowed Ritz-Carlton would be a perfect July escape.

The beloved Dallas hotel reopened on June 17 with their “Commitment to Clean” program, which includes best practices as it relates to hygiene and cleanliness throughout the uptown property. Enhanced precautions include the designation of a “Cleanliness Champion,” Bertha Serrato, whose role is to not only lead safety efforts and extensive trainings for employees, but to stay up to date on the changing needs and procedures to ensure the hotel remains at the forefront.

From the moment my partner and I stepped into the lobby I felt comfortable. Little circles were positioned six feet apart for the check-in process at the front desk (which is now outfitted with a Plexiglas-shield). The bellman went up in a separate elevator (flanked by hand sanitizing stations on every floor), and once inside our room, I noticed a few subtle differences: the remote controls for the televisions were in bags labeled “clean remote” and there were no magazines or stationery in the desk.

Our favorite arrival moment was the “Pet in Residence” set-up in our suite that included a bed and a little gift with a card addressed to our little rescue mutt Theo. In the package was an adorable Terry cloth robe similar to the one’s ready for his two dads in the bathroom. The bellman even offered to take him for a walk if we needed while we were at dinner.

Friday evening we kept it casual with a few drinks in the intimate (yet, socially distanced with velvet ropes cordoning off areas for all groups) Rattlesnake Bar and I was pleased to see one of my favorite servers, Emma Alvarez, onsite. Like many from the team, she was had been home sheltering-in-place for months. We were able to access the menu via our phone and a QR code on our table. Definitely order one of Dean’s signature margaritas and some of the legendary smoked chicken quesadillas. Later that evening, we indulged in some room service: a steak we split between the two of us with a side order of French fries and cookies. And lest I forget to mention, a marvelous bottle of Elk Cove, Pinot Noir (I prefer a Pinot from Oregon and this was from the Willamette Valley).

On the docket for Saturday was a poolside reservation from noon until 3 pm. The Ritz now requires reservations for pool access to limit the amount of guests coming into closer contact — a detail that I greatly appreciated. I know that the risk of spread is much less outside, but I still would much prefer to not come into close contact with anyone.

Since the hotel team knew we would be bringing Theo with us, they prepared a list of dog friendly activities. After our pool time we took a nice long walk to Klyde Warren Park where we allowed him some off-leash time in My Best Friend’s Park, complete with fountains for four-legged frolicking on a warm July afternoon.

Saturday night we secured a 6:30pm seating at Fearings Restaurant. We decided to go with a tasting menu which was exceptional and deserves a feature of it’s own — look for that in the coming week.

The Ritz-Carlton is currently offering the “Suite Staycation” starting at $599, which includes executive deluxe suite accommodations (well worth it), breakfast in bed for two daily, a $50 credit to be used for cocktails (with Emma and the fabulous bar team) at Rattlesnake or dinner prepared by Chef Dean, Father of Southwestern Cuisine, at Fearings.