Hotel Ritz

The Hotel Ritz is a hotel located at 15 Place Vendome, in the heart of Paris, France. The building was constructed in the early part of the 18th century as a private dwelling. In 1854 it was acquired by the Pereire brothers who made it the head office of their Credit Mobilier financial institution.

The facade was designed by Jules Hardouin Mansart. Converted to a luxury hotel by Cesar Ritz, it opened on June 1, 1898. Together with the culinary talents of minority partner Auguste Escoffier, Cesar Ritz made the hotel synonymous with opulence, service, and fine dining.

The Hotel Ritz consists of the Vendome and the Cambon buildings with rooms facing Place Vendome and on the opposite side, rooms overlooking its famous garden. The hotel became a favorite of many of the world's wealthiest people, with luxurious suites named for some of its notable patrons from the past. These include Ernest Hemingway, for whom a bar in the hotel was named, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Marcel Proust, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, Elton John, Rudolph Valentino, Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo plus couturier Coco Chanel who made the Ritz her home for more than thirty years.

In 1979, the Ritz family sold the hotel to Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed who refurbished it and in 1988 added the Ritz-Escoffier School of French Gastronomy. The hotel was where the owner's son, Dodi Al-Fayed and his companion, Diana, Princess of Wales, had visited when employee Henri Paul drove them from the hotel and crashed in the nearby Pont de l'Alma road tunnel.