The owner of the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach has written the town trying to dispel any gloom from its $30 million suit against the hotel’s operator.
“I want to assure you that the lawsuit will have no effect on the operation of the hotel, Eau Spa, the La Coquille Club or any related facilities,’’ Eva Hill, president of hotel owner RC/PB Inc., wrote Mayor Basil Diamond, town commissioners and La Coquille members on July 11.
The RC/PB group sued Marriott International, its Ritz-Carlton subsidiary and Avendra affiliate to get the companies to reduce their fees to levels specified in their contract and to document any additional charges, Hill wrote.
“They continue to, as the lawsuit puts it, treat our hotel as a cash machine that they can use to withdraw money whenever they see fit to do so,’’ Hill continued.
The amount in dispute is substantial.
“As the lawsuit states, we believe the companies have overcharged us by $30 million over the past five years,’’ Hill wrote.
Hill noted the ownership group has invested $120 million since buying the Ritz-Carlton in 2003 “to make sure that everything about the hotel is world-class.’’
Diamond said it was too early to predict the outcome of the legal dispute.
“Will it affect the Ritz-Carlton being in Manalapan? I don’t know,’’ Diamond said.
The mayor said he does not think the lawsuit will affect the annual party the Ritz-Carlton hosts for town residents.
“It’s an expense on the hotel, but it’s a minimal expense,’’ he said.
In her letter, Hill seemed to indicate that was the case.
“While we work out our dispute with Marriott about its corporate practices, our guests will, as I’ve said, find that the mood is ‘business as usual’ at the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach,’’ she wrote. “The hotel is simply too special a place to allow any sort of cloud to hang over it.’’
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