Why book
For Versailles-style romance and the sensation that you are in a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film about Paris – imagine gold leaf boiserie, monogrammed pillowcases, and a chorus of capped doormen who look like they could manage a dance number. ‘When in Paris,’ said Ernest Hemingway, ‘the only reason not to stay at the Ritz is if you can’t afford it’ which sums up the solitary fly in the ointment.
Set the scene
In the northwest corner of the Place Vendôme, in the starry first arrondissement, the Ritz has one of the most commanding positions of any hotel in town. When your taxi pulls up to the 17th-century façade with curlicue lanterns – it’s around a 15-minute drive from the Gare du Nord train station and 45 minutes from Charles de Gaulle airport – you’ll be greeted by name and guided past the lollipop topiaries to the check-in desk and then up to your Grand Siècle-style bedroom.
The backstory
César Ritz opened the Ritz Paris in the summer of 1898 to enormous fanfare, offering his guests unheard-of luxuries like private bathtubs and personal telephones. The hotel became a place where duchesses and Hollywood actors sat in the same dining room, where Coco Chanel lived for decades, and F Scott Fitzgerald warmed a bar stool. The Ritz Paris is an independent hotel and is unaffiliated with the Ritz London or the Ritz Carlton hotel group.
The rooms
Opulent and traditional: leagues of ormolu, non-working marble fireplaces, silk curtains, crown canopy beds with oil paintings in the hangings, and honeyed lighting to flatter complexions. The bathrooms have gold taps in the shape of swans and peach bathrobes that César Ritz picked out himself. Views are of stately neighbouring buildings and rooftops, the 1600 square metre internal garden trimmed with boxwood, or from the best suites, the limestone expanse of the Place Vendôme. Up-to-date technology is present but discreet so as not to spoil the mood.
Food and drink
The 30-seat fine dining restaurant Espadon, has recently reopened under new head chef, Eugénie Béziat – the first woman to hold the position. In the summer, Espadon’s tables will spill out into the garden beneath wide umbrellas. Bar Vendôme is an all-day brasserie with a retractable glass roof (in good weather, it becomes an instant patio), and the wood-panelled, book-lined Salon Proust serves afternoon tea. The Ritz Bar and the Bar Hemingway are only a few strides apart – the former, an amber-hued hub with velvet bucket seats and cocktails dedicated to the zodiac, the latter outfitted like a gentleman’s club, with memorabilia from the American writer it is named after (peruse his letters, photos, and boxing gloves). Special consideration should be given to the superb hotel room service, which offers first-rate cheeseburgers and fries on the same hand-painted Haviland porcelain that’s used downstairs.
The spa
The 16-metre swimming pool, beneath a trompe-l’oeil ceiling, depicting a blustery sky, is a showstopper at the Ritz Club & Spa, which is open to hotel guests and also to locals with memberships. Products from Biologique Recherche are used for spa treatments, and there is a subterranean salon run by the Australian hairdresser David Mallett, known for his undone Parisian styling.
The neighbourhood
Bang in the centre of Paris. The Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, and the Jardin de Tuileries are all a picturesque walk away, as well as Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower if you don’t mind a longer stretch of the legs. The first arrondissement is the luxury shopping district, where valets collect cars outside of Chanel, and there’s a perpetual nightclub queue in front of Goyard.
The service
Deliberately warm and unpretentious. The historic appearance of the hotel suggests a buttoned-up atmosphere, and you can see the staff putting people at ease—proactively offering to take pictures of couples, giving directions to the Bar Hemingway, and trying to find lunch tables for walk-ins. Though arguably the grandest hotel in Paris, the style of service makes it one of the more welcoming.
For families
This is a family-friendly hotel, designed to accommodate multiple generations. There are interconnecting rooms, pull-out sofas, cots with sleep sacks for babies, nappy bins for the marble bathrooms, child-safe toiletries, and modestly priced children’s menus in both the Bar Vendôme restaurant and through room service (the spaghetti Bolognese is a winner). Children are welcome at the pool, where they can borrow foam noodles, flippers, and armband floaties.
Eco effort
70 per cent of the produce served in the restaurants is grown in the Ritz’s fruit and vegetable plot located in Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche, about 17 miles from the hotel. There are birdhouses in the formal courtyard garden, a bug hotel on the roof, and eight raised beds of herbs and edible flowers on site to supply the restaurants. In 2022, the Ritz Paris became the first hotel in France to obtain certification from the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.
Accessibility for those with mobility impairments
The hotel offers wheelchair-accessible rooms and bathrooms with more space. All bars and restaurants, as well as the Ritz Club & Spa, are also accessible to people with mobility issues: there is a wheelchair lift at the hotel entrance on the Place Vendôme, which takes guests directly to reception, as well as a ramp on the ground floor to provide access to the Bar Vendôme and the Salon Proust. Within the hotel are two other access ramps, one to reach the Galerie and the Ritz Bar and another to reach the Bar Hemingway. A lift is available to take guests down to the spa, and another takes guests an additional level down to the pool.
Anything left to mention?
Ritz Paris Le Comptoir – the Ritz’s answer to a patisserie and sandwich shop – has its own entrance on the Rue Cambon, a five-minute walk from the front entrance to the hotel. Many of pastry chef François Perret’s signature creations, like hazelnut Ritz au lait and marble cake, are available for takeaway, as well as seven flavours of madeleines (start with passion fruit). The ham, cheese, and cornichon sandwich is made for a picnic and a knockout at €13.