Ritz Hotel, London
The Ritz was founded by famed Swiss hotelier César Ritz, who was the first manager of the equally luxurious Savoy Hotel from 1889 until 1897. He opened the Ritz on 24 May, 1906. The Ritz was built in neoclassical style, in the Louis XVI manner, during the Belle Époque to resemble a stylish Parisian block of flats, over arcades that consciously evoked the Rue de Rivoli. Its architects were Charles Mewès, who had previously designed Ritz's Hôtel Ritz Paris, and Arthur Davis, with engineering by Swedish engineer Sven Bylander. The Ritz was the first substantial steel-frame structure in London.
Ritz personally managed much of the hotel's operation for many years. He hired world-famous chef Auguste Escoffier to provide cuisine to match the opulence of the hotel's decorations. He placed a special bell in the entryway so that the doorman could notify the staff of any impending arrival of royalty. The high standards he expected of his staff precipitated a dramatic shift in that industry's focus.
The Ritz is famous for its Palm Court, an opulently decorated cream-colored Louis XVI setting for "Tea at the Ritz", (although, strictly speaking, it modelled after Tea at the Savoy) and illustrious diners included King Edward VII, Charlie Chaplin, Sir Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, Noel Coward, Judy Garland, Gary Glitter, Evelyn Waugh and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. The Rivoli Bar, built in the Art Deco style, was designed in 2001 by interior designer Tessa Kennedy, to look like a bar on the orient express. A table at the Restaurant still needs to be booked weeks in advance. The hotel has two private dining rooms, the Marie Antoinette Suite and the Trafalgar Suite.
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