In a recent Cleveland.com feature examining the role of The Ritz-Carlton in shaping downtown Cleveland’s hospitality landscape, our own David Sangree, President of Hotel & Leisure Advisors, was included as an industry source. The article explores how this iconic luxury property has influenced the city’s hotel market and contributed to broader downtown revitalization efforts — offering insight into both historical context and current trends from one of the field’s most respected voices.
Published by: Susan Glaser/Cleveland.com
Published: December 2025
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Thirty-five years ago, there was no Progressive Field downtown, no Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, no Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland.
There was, however, a Ritz-Carlton, which opened in December of 1990, part of the upscale Tower City Center complex.
Tower City has had plenty of ups and downs since then, as has downtown. But through it all, the Ritz-Carlton has been welcoming the city’s most well-heeled visitors to town, acting on its long-standing motto, “ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.”
When it opened in 1990, the
Ritz-Carlton Cleveland joined just a handful of hotels operating downtown, including the Bond Court and Stouffer Tower City Plaza (later the Renaissance and now Hotel Cleveland).
“Our hotel product downtown was considered a weakness,” said Tom Yablonsky, a long-time downtown advocate, who worked for the region’s chamber of commerce, the Greater Cleveland Growth Association, in 1990.
The opening of the Ritz-Carlton, he said, had an impact beyond its 206 luxury hotel rooms.
“It was the beginning of a sea change in the way Cleveland thought of itself,” said Yablonsky, who later went on to lead the Historic Gateway Neighborhood Corp. for three decades.
When it opened in 1990, Cleveland’s Ritz-Carlton was just the 16th Ritz-Carlton operating in the United States. Even today, it’s one of just 44 in the U.S. and 115 in the world.
“It’s still the premier brand in the United States,” said David Sangree, president of Hotel and Leisure Advisors, a Cleveland-based hospitality consulting firm. “At the time, there really wasn’t anything of that level in Cleveland.” He added, “There really wasn’t anything of that level in the entire state of Ohio.”
History of the Ritz-Carlton
The hotel chain’s roots date back to the late 1800s, when the Ritz Hotel opened in Paris, named after Swiss hotelier Cesar Ritz. A decade later, a related firm expanded into the United States, with hotels in New York City, Philadelphia and Boston.
The current iteration of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. was founded in 1983.
Five years after that founding, in 1988, the Ritz-Carlton announced a partnership with Forest City Development Co. to bring a $35 million luxury hotel adjacent to the historic Terminal Tower. It was not without controversy, given that developers asked for $10 million in federal grants for the project.
Ruth Ratner Miller, who was president of Tower City Center at the time, said it was important to get a “world-class” hotel into the city, according to a Plain Dealer article on March 6, 1988. “It sets a standard,” she said.
When it opened in 1990, Plain Dealer Travel Editor David Molyneaux noted that overnight rates started at $150 and up – “a price certain travelers are willing to pay.”
That’s the equivalent of about $375 in 2025 dollars.
Today, the Ritz-Carlton Cleveland routinely commands rates of $500 and up, easily the highest in the city. And though there are several other luxury-brand hotels in Cleveland now, the Ritz-Carlton is still the lodging destination of choice for top athletes, entertainers and others visiting the city.
General Manager Todd Temperly declined to provide a list of the hotel’s most prominent guests over the years, but said, “It’s not uncommon to be in our bar and see someone you know from the screen or TV.
“Their privacy is so important to us,” he added. “That’s why they choose us.”
Initially, Ritz-Carlton hotels, part of the Marriott chain since 1995, were envisioned with some uniformity, said David Rabinsky, the director of social catering, who has been with the hotel since 1999. Design elements were similar across properties, as were meeting rooms, with names like Plaza, Diplomat and Ambassador.
In more recent years, hotels have been encouraged to develop their own sense of place.
Every night at 6 p.m., for example, the Cleveland hotel’s Turn Bar & Kitchen signals the end of the workday with a steam whistle. “It’s our way of telling guests they’re off the clock,” said Rabinsky.
Nor is the Ritz-Carlton exclusively a destination for out-of-town visitors. The hotel draws plenty of locals downtown for festive holiday teas, weddings and other special events.
“One of the joys of working here is meeting multiple generations,” said Rabinsky, for weddings, anniversaries, baby showers and other celebrations. “It’s amazing the loyalty we have.”
The Gilbert years
In 2011, companies affiliated with Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert bought the Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland, along with the nearby historic Higbee Building, which became the Horseshoe Casino a year later.
For years, the Ritz-Carlton was the hotel of choice for casino high rollers, although that hasn’t necessarily been the case since Gilbert sold off the casino in 2020.
Andrew Leber, senior vice president of hospitality for Bedrock, said the company is proud of the hotel’s reputation as one of the best hotels in Ohio.
“The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland has been a long-standing staple in the city’s hospitality market and a destination for the region,” he said.
The hotel has been updated and modernized numerous times over the decades. Restaurants have come and gone; an indoor pool was taken out years ago.
The hotel’s last comprehensive remodel was in 2017. It’s already prepping for the next one.
“We never rest on our legacy,” said Temperly, who joined the Ritz-Carlton Cleveland in 2023 after years at the Waldorf Astoria Chicago.
He said the hotel plans to make an announcement in the spring about the addition of a second restaurant.
Despite numerous changes over the years, Temperly said the hotel’s most important asset – its 179 employees – have remained constant.
“They’re our most important resource,” he said. “We invest in them. We are committed to them.”
Employees at the Ritz-Carlton are famously empowered to spend up to $2,000 per guest enhance the customer experience.
Recent employee actions include making sure a guest’s left-behind shoes were reheeled before they were sent back; having a specialty cake flown in from a New York City bakery; and transforming a ballroom into a private gym.
“These are not unique gestures,” said Rabinsky.
Sangree, the hotel consultant, noted that it’s expensive to maintain a Ritz-Carlton.
“The Ritz-Carlton requires massive renovations to be done constantly to keep the brand,” he said. “As an owner, you’re having to evaluate, ‘Is it worthwhile to keep this brand?’”
For 35 years and counting, the answer has been yes.
