Four Seasons vs Ritz Carlton: Which Luxury Hotel Brand Deserves Your Loyalty in 2026?

My friend Orli tracks her Marriott Bonvoy points in a spreadsheet. I'm not talking about a note on her phone, I mean an actual Excel file with color coding and formulas. Updated every Sunday night. She showed it to me once at her kitchen table while Dov was making shakshuka and honestly I didn't know what to say. Six years of Platinum Elite status. Six years of routing every work trip and vacation through Ritz-Carlton properties specifically.

Then last March, Dov surprises her with a birthday trip to Four Seasons Maui.

She called me from the airport parking lot when she got back. Still hadn't driven home yet. "I think I've been doing this wrong," she said, and her voice had this weird quality to it, like she'd just found out something she didn't want to know.

What happened was the staff remembered she'd asked for oat milk on morning one. Day two it was just there. Day three, there. Nobody mentioned a loyalty program. Nobody asked if she wanted to hear about upgrade opportunities. They just paid attention.

I don't know what to make of that honestly.

The basic situation

I travel enough that I need to pick a lane soon and I keep going back and forth. Ritz is Marriott, fully integrated, points work, credit card deals, 120-something hotels. Four Seasons is 133 properties but no loyalty program at all. None. Which sounds crazy until you think about it and then it sounds, I don't know. Different.

Bill Gates owns most of Four Seasons now. They don't own any of the hotels, they just manage them. Ritz is this whole thing with Gold Standards and "we are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen" which, okay, sure.

Orli said Four Seasons felt like staying at a friend's house. The friend has incredible taste and also staff, but still. Ritz feels like being a guest somewhere important.

Both are fine? That's not the question though.

The rooms and the Club Level thing

My colleague Ephraim stays at both constantly, maybe 80 nights a year, he's one of those road warriors who has opinions about airport lounges. I asked him about rooms specifically. He said Four Seasons feels residential, calmer. Ritz leans into the luxury thing harder, richer colors, that whole vibe. He actually prefers Ritz which surprised me but then he started talking about Club Level and I lost him for twenty minutes.

Club Level is this hotel-within-a-hotel thing Ritz does. Private lounge. Five food situations throughout the day, breakfast through cordials. Ephraim showed me pictures of the afternoon tea spread at the one in Laguna Niguel and I'm not going to lie, it looked insane. Reserved pool chairs. Allegedly secret menus.

Costs 50 to 350 extra per night depending on where and when.

The loyalty math nobody mentions

Here's what nobody tells you though. Orli has Platinum status. Six years. At regular Marriotts that means free breakfast, lounge access, the whole thing. At Ritz? No free breakfast. No lounge access. Ritz carved out exceptions because Club Level is where they make money. So she's been loyal for six years and still pays every time.

Meanwhile Four Seasons has this Preferred Partner thing where if you book through certain travel agents you get breakfast included and a hundred dollar credit automatically. No status required. No spreadsheet.

I keep thinking about that.

Specific places compared

The specific destination comparisons are weird too. Maui: Four Seasons is sunnier, Ritz Kapalua has better views but wind. Atlanta: Four Seasons for leisure, Ritz for business apparently. Orlando gets complicated because Four Seasons has the lazy river and free kids stuff but costs basically double.

It's kind of like the question of whether luxury bags hold their value. The math tells you one thing, the feeling tells you something else.

What people who've done both actually say

Ephraim told me if he was starting fresh, no existing points, no status, he'd pick Four Seasons without thinking about it. Then in the same breath he said he'd never actually switch because the switching cost is too high now.

Orli said almost the exact same thing. Word for word almost. Four Seasons felt better, not switching, too much invested.

So what am I supposed to do with that information.

The Marriott universe has more properties. The credit card math works if you travel enough. Points are flexible. Four Seasons is trading all that for something else, like they remember your oat milk instead of your member number, which sounds nice but I don't know if it's worth giving up the whole system.

Orli hasn't switched. Ephraim hasn't switched. Both of them say Four Seasons is probably better.

Maybe the Ritz Carlton vs Four Seasons debate is like asking about jewelry as investment. Depends entirely on what you're optimizing for.

I keep looking at Ephraim's Club Level photos though. Five food presentations. Every day.

Haven't decided anything yet.