The Ritz London

England
Europe

The Experience

This dowager duchess of London hotels is past its hundredth year yet retains the twinkle and spirit of its heyday in the 1920s. The exuberant glamour of Palm Court, with its gilded decor, tinkling piano and sugar-almond palette of pastels, continues to attract hordes for no less than five sittings of high tea a day, served on fine Limoges china complete with tea strainers, lemon squeezers and tiered silver trays of crustless sandwiches, cakes and scones. This is classic London, where jackets and ties are a must. Yet while it should feel intimidating, it does not; the old-fashioned grandeur combines with a seductive intimacy that can't help but feel welcoming.

The Rooms

Bedrooms are uniformly large and stately and suites are palatial, decorated in florid French-château style with traditional details like carriage clocks, writing desks and clothes brushes hanging on brass hooks in the vast closets. Triple-glazing on the windows keeps the rumble of double-decker buses on Piccadilly at a discreet hum, which is fortunate, since you'll want to look out from the best rooms (321, 421, 521) over the lime trees, wrought-iron benches and ornate Victorian street lamps of Green Park.

The Service

This is old-fashioned service at its best: seamless, solicitous and soothing. Staff, many of whom have been there for years, are impeccably mannered and helpful but will (politely) give you your marching orders if you dare to show up in jeans and sneakers.

The Highlights

The Ritz has moved with the times and now offers a gym and a miniature spa with ginger-and-black-pepper hand treatments for men and rose-oil foot polishes for women. As gorgeous as a tiny tortoiseshell jewelry box, the art deco Rivoli Bar features Lalique paneling, animal-print upholstery and a repertoire of cocktails that includes one with real gold leaf. But the main draw is the exotic confection of the Ritz dining room—all cloudy-painted ceilings, pink columns, gilded statues and huge French windows giving onto the Italian Garden and terrace, where you can get a table in good weather if you're lucky.

 

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