Platinum, Titanium and Ambassador members can pick breakfast as their welcome gift at most Marriott brands, so a lot of people show up at a Ritz-Carlton expecting the same. At a Ritz-Carlton the welcome gift is 1,000 points, with no breakfast option. Ritz-Carlton Reserve work the same way.
Status doesn't get you into the Club Lounge either. Ritz-Carlton keeps its lounges for guests who have booked a Club room.
Breakfast runs $50 to $80 per person at most Ritz-Carlton hotels and more at the resorts. For two people over four nights, that's $400 to $640 on the bill.
TLDR: book through Marriott STARS and breakfast for two is included at the same price as booking direct. The other four options below are for when STARS doesn't fit your stay.
1. Book Through Marriott STARS
This is how I book Ritz-Carlton stays for my clients and my own personal travel. STARS is Marriott's program for its luxury brands, and only travel advisors Marriott has invited can book through it. A STARS booking comes with daily breakfast for two, a $100 property credit once per stay, a room upgrade if one is available when you arrive, priority for early check-in and late checkout, and a welcome amenity.
Marriott counts it as a direct booking, so you earn Bonvoy points and elite night credits as usual, and your status benefits still apply. A Platinum member booking STARS at a Ritz-Carlton gets the STARS breakfast and the 4pm checkout that comes with Platinum.
One caveat is that STARS can't be used on stays booked with points, or on discounted rates such as advance purchase, AAA or senior rates. Breakfast covers two people per room, so a family of four pays for the kids unless they book two rooms. The upgrade depends on what's open that day, although STARS guests are near the front of the line.
2. Book a Club Level Room
Club Level rooms come with access to the Club Lounge, which serves food and drinks five times a day: breakfast, a light lunch, afternoon snacks, evening hors d'oeuvres with a full bar, and desserts and cordials. Many guests eat most of their meals there.
You pay for this in the room rate. A Club room is most often $200 to $300 a night more than a standard room. It can be far lower in quiet weeks and far higher at resorts over the holidays. It pays for itself for a couple who would otherwise buy breakfast, a couple of drinks and a light dinner each day. It's poor value if you're out of the hotel from morning until late.
You can book a Club room through STARS, which adds the $100 credit and the chance of an upgrade.
3. Use a Premium Credit Card's Hotel Program
Many Ritz-Carlton hotels are in American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts, which is open to Platinum cardholders. It includes breakfast for two, a $100 credit, an upgrade when one is available and a guaranteed 4pm checkout. The Edit, Chase's program for Sapphire Reserve cardholders, includes breakfast for two, a $100 credit and an upgrade if there's space.
Both are worth using when a card credit brings the cost down. Not every Ritz-Carlton is in these programs, though, and when rooms are tight the hotel gives upgrades to its own STARS bookings first.
4. Book a Rate With Breakfast Included
Every Ritz-Carlton sells a bed and breakfast rate on marriott.com. It's the simplest route and usually the worst value, because the gap between that rate and the room-only rate is often close to what breakfast costs anyway.
It's worth booking when the hotel has put the package on sale. In low season it's sometimes priced only $30 or $40 above the room-only rate. Compare it with the room-only rate and with the standard flexible rate, which is the one that includes breakfast through STARS.
5. Club Upgrade Certificates From the Ritz-Carlton Card
The Ritz-Carlton credit card from Chase gives three Club Level upgrade certificates a year, each valid for a paid stay of up to seven nights.
They're awkward to use. The card is closed to new applicants, so you'd need to hold another Chase Marriott card and ask to be switched. The certificates can't be redeemed online. You call, book an eligible paid rate and pay with the card, and the hotel has to have Club space available. They're useful if you already carry the card, and I wouldn't get the card just for them.
What Doesn't Work
Nightly Upgrade Awards, which Platinum and Titanium members can choose as an annual benefit, can now be used at Ritz-Carlton. They move you to a better room.
You can ask at check-in, and a front desk will occasionally add breakfast for a special occasion, but I wouldn't plan around it. Points stays don't include breakfast, so budget for it if you're redeeming points.
So Which One Should You Pick?
For a normal paid stay, I'd book through STARS. It costs nothing extra, you keep your points, and you get the credit and a chance of an upgrade along with breakfast.
If the member rate or a prepaid rate is much cheaper than the flexible rate, do the math first. Breakfast for two plus the $100 credit is worth $200 to $260 on a one-night stay, and breakfast adds another $100 to $160 for each extra night, so saving two or three percent on the room rarely beats it. A deep advance-purchase discount on a long stay sometimes does.
If you'll spend a lot of time in the hotel, book Club Level through STARS. If you hold an Amex Platinum and need a late checkout, use Fine Hotels + Resorts. On a points stay you'll have to pay for breakfast.
STARS covers Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, St. Regis, EDITION, Luxury Collection and BVLGARI. You can see how it works on the Marriott STARS page, or browse hotels and book in the client portal.