The Ritz Carlton: A Once in a Lifetime Experience

This past year has been eventful, to say the least and the last two weeks were especially special. My husband’s colleague won a one-night stay at the Ritz Carlton at their company holiday party and offered it to us since they would not be able to use the gift certificate. We gave in after trying to refuse multiple times; and were truly touched by their sweet gesture.

The certificate had to be used by the 31^st of this month; we had travel plans for New Year’s and had friends visiting for the Christmas weekend. Our only option was Christmas Eve and we were lucky to find a room. The person making the reservation asked, “Will you be flying in, Sir?” and all I could do was laugh!

Was I excited? Maybe…was I amused? YES! 

The Ritz Carlton is just about 4.4 miles from our house; yes, that’s how near it is! We booked a room at a hotel that is practically in our backyard. Anyway, we got the house ready for our guests and left with a little suitcase. At the entrance, we were welcomed by a host of cars, valet parking services, women in gorgeous dresses, and men in classy suits. I was wearing a pair of jeans, a blouse, and luckily a sweater (not my favorite shabby hoodie). Mr. P was also in jeans, t-shirt, and a sweater. We got out of the car feeling extremely underdressed and slowly made our way to the reception; the check in was smooth and the guy there asked us, “Have you had a long day of travel?” and we said, “Not really!” unless you consider 4.4 miles very far… so far that we had actually walked past the hotel to the beach.

The walk to the room was even more embarrassing, there was a huge holiday party going on and every person there was exceptionally dressed; we let out a sigh of relief only after seeing another family (probably tourists), walking around in casual clothes.

Our room had been upgraded from a Garden/Pool view to Ocean View, not that it mattered at 8 in the night. But anyway, I opened the door expecting opulence to hit me in the face but I was not that impressed. The room, unfortunately, looked like any other good quality hotel room.

The only difference was that this one came with a big price tag, an ocean view room costs anywhere between $650 and $800…rubbing your eyes? Believe it or not, that’s what these rooms go for. Please don’t get me wrong, I am truly grateful to our friends who gave us this opportunity; I was simply underwhelmed by the whole set up.

We settled in and to decided to order room service. The lady who brought our food asked, “Are you here on vacation?” I said, “Not really.” “So is it business and vacation?” “No, we are just relaxing”. “Oh, that’s nice, are you from LA?” “No, we are from right here…” She must have thought we were filthy rich folks who had decided to spend the night at The Ritz just for fun! If only she knew the truth.

The Dinner

The food was warm, tasty, beautifully presented, and delivered on time.

Room Service

Pita and Hummus Platter

Pizza

Ritz Carlton Chocolate Cake

The best features of the room in our opinion: The gorgeous view and the marble bathtub, the rest of the amenities are available in rooms that cost a fraction of this.

Relationships!!!

I don't want to sound like an old person, but I think that some people just take relationships very lightly. Everyone has his or her reasons, I agree. But it is still very saddening to see bonds break and relationships go sour. In the past year, I have heard about a few that have left me disheartened. That was when I got to interact closely with an amazing couple that lived next door. Until last week, we had only spoken to them as the lady rolled her laundry past our house to the common machines or when our path crossed at the parking lot. We recently came to know that they were moving away. Isn’t it interesting how people whom you haven’t known that long or too well can inspire you? This couple, in their mid-late 70s, is truly inspirational. They have their share of health issues and other problems, but we have never seen them without a smile on their faces. When we met them last Saturday, they mentioned that they were moving out on Monday afternoon. The reason for their move is as interesting as them…they want to save money to move to Europe for good (their plan is perfect too since they will be saving a lot on rent alone). I do hope they can get to their dream destination soon.  
I went by their apartment on Monday morning to say goodbye and saw the man, let’s call him Mr. G, rolling out boxes on a big trolley. The wife, Mrs. G was in the house, clearing up some last minute stuff. I was expecting to see everything packed and set for their departure but there was quite a bit of stuff strewn about. I asked them when their flight was and she said, “Now wouldn’t that be nice?” That’s when I realized that they were going to drive. Mr. G was going to drive the big rental truck with their stuff in it and she would take the car. The drive time was roughly 7 hours. While I was there, Mrs. G chuckled and said, "Do you know that I can only see with one eye?" I was like, "yeah, you had mentioned it once." her husband came in and said, " So she can really only drive in one directions." Mrs. G went, "You bet! And I am going to drive as fast as possible, so there will be lesser to see!"  
My husband and I are not comfortable driving through the night and also find it difficult to get up early and leave before the sun is up. This adventurous, young couple was planning to leave at 3.30 AM. The reason was simple; they just wanted to get onto the main freeway before the traffic started. 
After talking to them for a while and offering any possible help, I returned to my daily chores. I could hear them rolling boxes almost throughout the day and he was still at it at 6 PM when both if us went by to give them some muffins. They were extremely happy to see us again and the muffins. I told Mrs. G she could have them while speeding on the freeway :-).

This is the story of two lovely individuals who have been married for about 40+ years, are so much in love, and know how to lead an extremely positive life. I am writing this piece, hoping that people will read it and find the same inspiration that we found. Not all relationships are rosy and it is not just between couples, friendships can go bad too. So when you hit a patch of thorns, fight through; don’t just take the easy route out and let the flowers wither. Relationships are important, work on them, get them back on track, and move forward happily.