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#FabDesignFriday
By Barbara Hahijary
The combination of marvellous architecture, great service and various luxurious qualities in a hotel qualifies it as “ritzy”. The word itself was derived from a man named Cesar Ritz, founder of the famed five-star hotel chain Ritz-Carlton. But long before he established that, he had founded two other hotels in London. One of them is the pinnacle of ritziness, a hotel called The Ritz.
This hotel has an excellent design to pair with their premium service and strategic location at the corner of Piccadilly and Arlington Street, London. Built during a post-war era, the façade shows strong Neoclassic architecture. The Ritz also shows French design influences just like its sister Hotel Ritz in Paris, which was established eight years prior. Like Savoy Hotel (where Cesar had worked as a hotel manager), The Ritz is one of the first buildings in London with substantial steel frame construction.
For his excellence in hospitality, Cesar is well known as “the king of hoteliers and the hotelier to kings”. At Ritz, he introduced hot and cold-water plumbing, built-in cupboards, fireplace and heated towel bar in every guestrooms. The opulence is found in the marble columns and floors. All the 111 guest rooms and 23 suites in the hotel are individually designed and this has garnered The Ritz substantial compliments. Cesar had all bedrooms painted in white with brass beddings due to his high attention to cleanliness. The hotel now has numerous colour schemes with the same floral pattern on its upholsteries, draperies and metal ornaments.
The Ritz was the first and only hotel to receive a Royal Warrant, awarded by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales in 2002 for Banqueting and Catering Services. Among its famous dining rooms, the hotel has an iconic venue for an afternoon tea called The Palm Court. Its “Tea at The Ritz” is served in a decorous ivory room with Louis XVI interior scene and the cityscape of London framed on the windows. They also have a casino at the basement, known as The Ritz Club, with baccarat, black jack, poker, roulette and slot machines.
The hotel, opened in 1906, has become a world-class symbol of ritzy stay. Visit the dreamy hotel and you will have the bellboy, decked in their iconic gold-striped penguin tuxedo, tip their hat to greet you.
Photos by The Ritz