Hotel Ritz, Paris

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money
Quality of Rooms
Standard of Service

Advantages:	World famous in the centre of Paris
Disadvantages:	Pricey

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Date of stay 19 & 20 June 2003

Well it was my birthday so off we went to Paris, for a long weekend in the Ritz.
I haven’t stayed in many world renown 5 star hotels, and I was told by several that this wasn’t the best in Paris (go the George V they said), yeah, but it’s the “Ritz” I said, Dodi and DI, Co Co Chanel etc, etc. oh! and the Hamiltons .
I stayed at the Dorchester, Park Lane. last year so that was my benchmark for judging this hotel.
The Ritz’s central location, near the bottom end of the Champs Elysee, in the Place Vendome could not have been better.
The service, well lets start at check in. I arrived early at 11 a.m (check in is officially at three, although when booking I told them I would be arriving early) I expected to dump the bags and return nearer to three when a room was ready, the lady behind the desk said no problem the room will be ready in twenty minutes take a seat, we waited after half an hour, we were then asked to move from the seats where we were sitting (there was an important delegation arriving), after I explained that we were waiting for the room to be made ready I was told (rather brusquely) check in was at three, I said I was aware of this but was told a room would be ready in twenty minutes and this was why we were waiting. Ah, that man will go and see what’s happened to our room (I thought, wrongly).
Well after 1 hour of waiting I went back to check in, and the room was ready (almost).

The word that best describes the hotel is “opulence”
High ceilings, luxurious drapes, grand proportions, beautiful furniture, quality all round. The bedrooms were spacious I think about 325 sq ft, there was an entrance vestibule, with bathroom to one side and bedroom straight on. PS I booked the standard hotel room 490 Euro’s per night.
The bedroom had a queen size bed, some fine silky cotton type sheets and was incredibly comfortable, mirrored wardrobes to one side of the room provided more than enough hanging space even for all the girlfriends clobber, there were a couple of chairs and table in one corner of the room, a large ornate fireplace, and a high window to the remaining side. PS Some of the skirting board was scuffed, and the windows needed a good sand and paint.
The TV had the usual 100 odd channels; there was also a wireless Internet keyboard on which info re Paris and the hotel could be found (pity no one told us about this, we found out just before we left).
The bathroom was a good size, but not huge, double sinks with swan neck taps, large cream marble bath with shower (the shower didn’t work properly), slippers were provided as were bath robes (both were to small for me, I’m a 32 inch waist 42 inch chest with size 9.5 feet, not exactly Mr Large).
After a soak and a change of clothes we were ready for a cocktail, so off we went to the terrace in the centre of the hotel. Now this place impressed me, an oasis in the heart of Paris, serene, beautifully tended, with a harpist plucking away in the foliage somewhere, service efficient, staff courteous and friendly. I had a golden Ritz cocktail, champagne and something else with real gold flake floating about in it (I’m easily impressed, £17 a shot) it was served with some small canapés, this is what its all about I thought.
Well, just one small criticism here, the tables were not cleared away fast enough after people left, consequently the birds would swoop to clear the left overs, now call me fussy but I didn’t like pigeons swooping over my head when I just coughed up £30 for a couple of drinks.
There is another bar in the hotel the Hemingway bar, which looked quaint and atmospheric, but it had no natural light in there and as the weather was so fine we didn’t have a drink in there. Also there’s the Ritz club in the basement, opens at 11, or was it 12, and is free for guests, it looked like a nightclub come cabaret venue from the 30’s, I liked it, there was a mixed crowd in there mainly 20 – 40 years old, plenty of room to move around and a dance floor which was always packed, contempary disco music is played, the DJ refused to play “Dancing Queen” by Abba (that says a lot) as requested by my girlfriend so full marks to him.

The main restaurant looked delightful, all fine linen and immaculately dressed waiters, set in a beautifully proportioned room, apparently it has one Michelin star, the menu was classic French fare, and was reasonably priced considering, I think about £60 per person without wine would be enough for 3 courses. I regret not eating in there, we had already planned our meals elsewhere.

The health spa in the basement is free for guests, and has a small-scale workout studio with all the usual rowing/running, step machines, sauna, steamroom etc, and various treatment rooms.
The club also has a stunning pool which has a terrace area with bar above, done out in a Romanesque type décor, it is a great place for a swim or just to lounge around in.
The pool is of a decent size and never had more than four people in it.

To sum up, I would say that at £350 per night without breakfast (it is overpriced) I would expect the finer details (see complaints above) would be taken care of.
It is an elegant, beautiful hotel of character, with generally polite friendly staff, located in the heart of Paris, but, the service and detail is lacking as compared to the Dorchester in London, so if you have the money to burn give it a whirl, but I suspect there are better hotels in Paris for this price, I think they have been trading on the name for to long.