Jun
1
The Ritz Hotel Paris
Filed Under Paris
Opened in 1898 by Cesar Ritz, this is probably the world’s most famous hotel. Now owned by Mohammed al-Fayed, this palace (as the Parisians call their most luxurious hotels) retains its cachet as the last word in hotel grandeur–Hemingway said he hoped heaven would be as good. The rooms are impeccably luxurious and range in style from Louis XV to Second Empire. Check into a room overlooking the place Vendome and then run down to the Hemingway Bar for a cocktail before dining at L’Espadon. To work it all off the next day, check out the Ritz’s superb swimming pool and health club.
Some people think it’s too stuffy. Others say that it’s not as good as it used to be. And certainly everyone agrees that it’s staggeringly expensive. But for our money there is no better hotel in Paris, or maybe even the world, than the Ritz.
To be sure, there are hotels that may have more movie stars or fashion models staying with them, or maybe even a more inventive kitchen or a bigger health club–but very few people who have ever stayed at the Ritz would voluntarily choose to stay anywhere else.
That’s because at one point during your stay there something will happen that will cause you to fall in love with the hotel. Whether it’s listening to the strains of the harp float up from the garden to your room, or the way the huge double doors fit together, or the fact that Hemingway and Fitzgerald used to haunt the bar, or that the concierge can do practically anything, or the way that the Place Vendome looks in the morning sunlight–or any of a myriad other reasons–but it happens and you don’t want to stay anywhere else. In fact, even leaving the hotel becomes a major decision because, charming as Paris is itself, the Ritz is a distillation of that charm down to its purest, and most luxurious, essence.
But there are practical reasons to love the Ritz as well. For one thing, it’s convenient. Whether you are in Paris for business or pleasure, the city’s best shops and the headquarters of the most important companies are only a short walk away. For another, the service is superb. Everyone speaks English–usually better than most native English speakers. Clothes are pressed immediately. Reservations are made at the most hard-to-get-into restaurants. Tickets are arranged. Cars are hired.
Then there are the magnificent rooms, all of which have enormous bathrooms with golden fixtures. The hotel’s restaurant is one of the best in the city and the fitness center boasts an indoor swimming pool and a squash court, as well as a range of spa services.
But of course none of this comes cheap. Rooms begin at around $500 per night and suites around $700. (Believe it or not, thanks to a good exchange rate, these rates are lower than they had been several years ago.) However, if it’s your first time visiting the hotel, don’t be put off by its deceptively austere entrance. The real beauty is on the inside.
The Hotel Ritz opened in 1898 and was named for its founder, Cesar Ritz, a Swiss hotelier whose name has since become synonymous with good living. The hotel’s façade was designed in the 18th century by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the creator of the “mansard” roof.
The Paris Ritz in the headlines
Pamela Harriman died the way she lived - glamorously. In February 1997, the 76-year-old U.S. Ambassador to France and companion to many famous men (including former husbands Randolph Churchill, diplomat W. Averell Harriman and Fiat heir Gianni Agnelli) died while swimming in the pool of the Paris Ritz. We can’t think of a more fitting way to go.
In August later that year, the Ritz was back in the headlines as the place of a more tragic death. Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed were staying at the hotel and exited through a back door, where they launched into a high-speed car chase away from the paparazzi. The chase ended in a fatal car crash. Fayed’s father, Mohammed Al-Fayed, owns the hotel as well as Harrod’s department store in London. The Paris Ritz was also the home of Coco Chanel for over 30 years, and Ernest Hemingway famously said he liberated the hotel bar from the Nazis.
Hotel Ritz
15, Place Vendome
Paris, France
Phone: (33) 43163070
Fax: (33) 43163668
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