One of the new luxury suites at the revamped Ritz Paris, which now has 71 of them. Photo: Vincent Leroux
The world is full of iconic hotels, from London?s Savoy to Venice?s Cipriani to Hong Kong?s Peninsula, but it is fair to say that the Ritz Paris is the most iconic of them all. It was the first namesake launch by the most revered main in hospitality history, Cesar Ritz, ?The King of Hoteliers and the Hoteliers of Kings,? in partnership with one of the most famous culinary figures ever, Auguste Escoffier. Ritz, who a was credited with coining the phrase, ?The customer is never wrong,? wowed so many with this property that it eventually gave us the word ?ritzy? for glamorous things and the notion of rolling out the red carpet by ?putting on the Ritz.? While the Ritz Paris is not part of the Ritz-Carlton hotel group, that famous luxury brand also derives its name from Cesar Ritz and in turn his Paris landmark, the luxury hotel that spawned a world full of luxury hotels. The Ritz Paris opened in 1898, and entertained heads of state, royalty and celebrities for well over a century. But it has been closed for almost four years for a massive multi-million renovation by famed architect Thierry Despont, employing roughly a thousand workers and craftsmen. The renovation took longer than expected thanks to some unexpected construction mishaps including a rooftop fire, but The Ritz Paris finally reopened this past Tuesday, June 14.
The number of suites was greatly increased, and th...