The Ritz Paris Reopens

Photo: Moonik

The iconic Ritz Paris reopened last week after undergoing a four-year, multi-million-dollar renovation, and surviving a blaze that roared through its roof this spring.

The hotel’s design pays homage to its famed guests, including Ernst Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Coco Chanel, with 15 themed suites. Hemingway’s favorite bar—now named Bar Hemingway—has been kept largely the same, though new memorabilia including his fishing rods and original passport photos have been added.

Also updated is the building’s centuries-old infrastructure, which has gotten new plumbing, heating and cooling system, telephones, and Wi-Fi. The 159 rooms were made over and reduced to 142, all with antique furnishings and heated floors in the bathrooms, and 71 suites.

Upgrades were also made to the Ritz Club, with a state-of-the-art fitness facility and sauna, and the first-ever Chanel Spa. The Chanel au Ritz Paris features seven treatment rooms stocked with Chanel products.  

There’s a new underground ballroom, a 21,500-square-foot garden, and an area for afternoon tea, called Salon Proust. A new underground tunnel connects the hotel to the parking garage, allowing high-profile clientele to enter in complete privacy.

The hotel closed for the first time in 2012. “Closing down the hotel was not an easy decision to make, but it was necessary to maintain the pre-eminent position of the Ritz Paris,” Mohamed al-Fayed, the Egyptian businessman and the current owner, told The New York Times.

The reopening was originally scheduled for March, but was delayed after an electrical fire roared through the building, scorching part of the roof. At least 50 rooms are still unusable.

The Ritz Paris originally opened in 1898, after Swiss hotelier César Ritz bought the private palace with a goal of making it the most luxurious hotel in the world.