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The Ritz-Carlton Naples
Naples, Florida, United States · Ritz-Carlton · Grand Luxury
The Ritz-Carlton Naples opened in 1985 on Vanderbilt Beach, the Gulf stretch Cornelius Vanderbilt III opened to roads in the 1950s. It was one of four houses that launched the modern American Ritz-Carlton, with Atlanta, Buckhead, and Laguna Niguel. AAA has named it Five Diamond every year since 1987. A Vanderbilt Tower added in 2023 put a rooftop pool over the Gulf, and chef Satish Yerramilli runs Sofra, the coastal Mediterranean room built around whole fish. Forbes rated the house Four-Star in 2026.
- 474 rooms
- Opened 1985
- Neighborhood: Pelican Bay
About The Ritz-Carlton Naples
- Vanderbilt Beach takes its name from Cornelius Vanderbilt III, a grandson of 'the Commodore,' who first opened the area to development in the 1950s.
- It was one of the original four hotels that launched the modern American Ritz-Carlton brand in the early 1980s.
- The hotel has held the AAA Five Diamond award every year since 1987, one of the longest unbroken streaks in Florida.
- A Naples News writer once put its decades of Forbes Five-Star recognition in 'the Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro category.'
History
Vanderbilt Beach takes its name from Cornelius Vanderbilt III — a grandson of the Commodore — who first developed the area north of downtown Naples in the 1950s, cutting roads through the slash pine and buttonwood to open Gulf-front lots for sale. It was still a remote stretch of Southwest Florida coastline, separated from the established Naples community by several miles of undeveloped land, when the Ritz-Carlton opened at the north end of Vanderbilt Beach Road in 1985.
The hotel was one of the original four properties that launched the modern American Ritz-Carlton brand in the early 1980s, alongside Atlanta, Buckhead, and Laguna Niguel, and it became the brand's defining example of Gulf Coast resort luxury. The AAA Five Diamond designation arrived in 1987, two years after opening, and has been maintained every year since — one of the longest unbroken Five Diamond records in the state of Florida and among the longest in American hospitality history overall. A Naples News writer covering the property's 25th Forbes Five-Star anniversary famously described this streak as "the Meryl Streep and Robert DeNiro category," a line that the hotel has worn with some pride ever since.
The Forbes Five-Star designation has been held for more than four decades, making the Naples Ritz-Carlton one of only a handful of American hotels to maintain both AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Five-Star status for that duration simultaneously. A 2023 expansion added a Vanderbilt Tower to the resort's footprint, including a rooftop pool with a Gulf-view observation deck that extends the hotel's verticality into a part of the Naples coastline that had previously been entirely horizontal. The dining program is led by Sofra, a coastal Mediterranean restaurant with an emphasis on whole-fish service under chef Satish Yerramilli, and Gumbo Limbo Bar and Grill for casual poolside dining — the gumbo limbo being the broad-canopied Florida native tree, peeling red bark and all, that shades the resort's garden paths and represents, in its patient tropical resilience, something of the hotel's own forty-year tenure on this stretch of the Gulf.
The setting
Sits on Vanderbilt Beach north of downtown Naples, named for Commodore Vanderbilt's grandson, who first developed the area in the 1950s.
Restaurants and bars
- Sofra — Restaurant · Mediterranean · Chef Satish Yerramilli
- Gumbo Limbo Bar & Grill — Poolside
- Nolita — Restaurant · Italian
- DUSK — Restaurant · Sushi
Experiences
- Impact Experiences — On-property community activities, plus a signature off-site volunteer option, including an Everglades National Park trail-maintenance activity.
- Group Leisure Activities — Group sailing excursions, yacht charters, dolphin encounters, shopping tours and private fashion shows, arranged for groups.
- Private excursions and destination-inspired adventures — Destination Services arranges private excursions, themed events and offsite activities for groups.
Amenities
- Full-service spa
- Multiple pools including rooftop pool with Gulf views
- Gulf of Mexico beachfront
- Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge
- Tennis courts
- Kids club
- 24-hour fitness center
- Sauna
- Hot tub
Awards
- AAA Five Diamond (2026)
- Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star (2026)
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