simpletastes

This Flyertalk - Luxury Hotels forum has given me countless hours of pleasure, and I am delighted to make my first contribution to the forum.

I recently had the privilege of staying in the Cesar Ritz Suite at the Ritz Paris. To help put my review in context, this was an indulgence for me , as I do not usually stay at this level.

I was received by a lady carrying a "Ritz" sign at Gare Du Nord, who escorted me out of the train station and on a short walk to meet the driver. (There were no parking facilities attached to the station.) She offered to handle my luggage but, of course, I couldn't have possibly accepted. Expecting our arrival, the driver was standing next to the vehicle (rather than being seated inside it), and shook my hand. When arranging the car transfers with the concierge earlier, I was informed that Mercedes E Class cars would be used but S Class cars were in fact used on both journeys. On the return trip, the driver parked the car near the station but insisted on helping me with my luggage and escorted me into the station.

I have to confess that I felt very special as the car pulled up in front of the Ritz at the impossibly glamorous place Vendôme. I love the beauty and majesty of the square; I even have the book Place Vendôme by Alexis Gregory.

A guest relations officer was already standing outside of the hotel to greet me. The whole arrival experience was very well coordinated. My luggage was taken care of; I didn't have to worry about a thing. He introduced me to a colleague who handled the check-in formalities. When this was completed, I accepted his offer of a tour of the hotel. Staff members we encountered courteously wished me good afternoon.

The Cesar Ritz Suite was one of the Prestige Suites. At 126 sqm (1356 sqft), it consisted of two similarly sized rooms: a living room and a bedroom. The suite was located on the third floor of the main building, overlooking place Vendôme.

However, the third floor was the mansard roof floor and, although the ceilings were very high, the windows were small and located close to the top of the rooms. This meant that it was not possible to see much of interest except when standing on a raised part of the living room. This might have bothered some guests. For me, I enjoyed looking out to place Vendôme at different times of the day so much, eventhough I could only do so in that part of the suite! Below the Cesar Ritz Suite, on the first and second floors, were the much more impressive (and expensive) Windsor, Vendome, Coco Chanel, and Imperial Suites.



Night view of Place Vendome from living room



Living room



A raised part of the living room allowed direct views into place Vendôme


The living room is accessed from the common hallway through an impressive pair of doors. There was a closet and minibar to the left and a powder room (which also included a shower room) to the right. The living room featured a seating area, a desk, and a sofa in the raised area which allowed a good view outside. It did not have a dining table.



Bedroom



Another view of the bedroom


The bedroom was supremely comfortable and beautiful. On its own, it would have been a (very impressive) self-contained junior suite (however it was not offered as such). It was possible to access the bedroom directly from the hallway through its own set of double doors. The bedroom comprised of a large bed, a desk and chair, a seating area and a dressing table. There was a large and very well furnished walk-in closet, bathroom (featuring a jacuzzi bathtub, double sinks and shower room with body jets) and a separate toilet (featuring a water closet, bidet and sink). I suspect that the bathroom was not larger than what could be found in a regular room, albeit possibly with a standard bathtub and shower.



Bathroom



Downlights


I wanted to especially mention the downlights used in the bathroom, which I thought were brilliantly designed. There were pairs of recessed downlights, one angled slightly left and the other angled slightly right, to avoid shadows. This was just one of many well designed features of the suite.

Another special mention would be for the master switches which were disguised as keys -- very ergonomic and no need to fumble in the dark! It was clear that everything was thought through carefully throughout the suite.



Master switch disguised as a key!


Only close-up photos can do justice to the incredible attention to detail expended and the high quality of the materials used in the suite.










In summary, I was very pleased with my stay. I was treated well and made to feel very welcomed, even for a short stay and even when it was clear that I was not Middle Eastern royalty. I do not take the opportunity for granted -- to experience a top suite overlooking place Vendôme in one of the most storied hotels in the world.


Some additional thoughts:

• Fresh flowers were presented in the living room and bathroom
• A mature Bordeaux was accompanied by a handwritten (rather than printed) welcome note from Director General
• Stationery were engraved (rather than printed or thermographed)
• Envelopes were tissue lined
• Drawers were suede lined
• Ritz-branded large sized toiletries were offered in abundance; I didn't like them enough to keep them (and I don't use very top products at home either; my bathroom is stocked with L'Occitane products, and my guest bathroom is stocked with Penhaligon's Quercus products)
• LED lights were used in the suite which meant no sparkle but a calmer atmosphere (a trade off)
• How much do you think it would have cost to design and furnish this suite given the quality of the materials and workmanship? There were some antiques and art from the hotel's collection
• What I really rather disliked was the corridor linking the main building to the Cambon wing which consisted entirely of full length cabinets on both sides advertising various luxury goods; for a moment, I thought I was in Las Vegas; the cabinet lighting was very glaring especially in the evening; I would not have liked walking past that long corridor multiple times had I stayed in the Cambon wing
• There was an occassion when I was walking down one of the narrower guest (not staff) staircases; there was a staff member holding a lamp who stood right in the middle of the staircase speaking on his phone; he didn't attempt to move and I had to carefully navigate around him; perhaps he didn't see me or he expected me to say excuse me?
• The pool area looked very bland to me, though the reception staff were very cheerful
• Reservations and concierge teams responded to e-mails very quickly
• Breakfast at L'Espadon was a pleasure; I only asked for half of the items included; the service was on the formal side but the staff had the right personality for it; truly, the best breakfast I've had
• Light meal at Bar Vendome was very good but not exceptional; a staff member asked whether I would like to be seated inside or outside and when I expressed my preference, told me there were no tables available outside ; when I settled the bill and wrote the room number, they asked "333?" (I detected/imagined some skepticism) and I had to say, "Yes, the Cesar Ritz suite"
• After-dinner drinks at the Hemingway Bar was a pleasure; the staff there were very charming
• There were many patrons enjoying the restaurants and bars who were very casually dressed (the weather was warm) but I didn't mind that as I would rather have more people feeling welcomed to see and enjoy the hotel
• Service was charming, refined, discrete and graceful; staff had personality and were not overly deferential (I'm not a VIP and don't expect to be treated as such; I don't need everyone to know and memorize my name; I just wanted to be treated well by good-natured, positive-minded and personable staff)

Very pleased to be part of Flyertalk - Luxury Hotels. Look forward to hearing your thoughts!

DaveChapin

Thanks for that great info.

I was also concerned about these aspects:
1) big chunks of the hotel (not just the Spa) being inaccessible due to construction.
2) noise that goes with tearing out walls and putting in new ones.

Has the FSGV arranged their work to make those non events? I infer from "not have any concerns whatsoever" though that Management has achieved just that.

stimpy

Excellent review simpletastes and one that makes me look forward to a stay at the new Ritz. Welcome to Flyertalk!

scented

Great trip report and I loved the details. Wonderful pictures too! Hope this will not be your last contribution to this forum.

It really sounds like you had a great time there.

I was pleasantly surprised by their arrival protocols!

This is something though that should not have happened. Unprofessional.

Kagehitokiri

another reason forum is great - occasionally some great 'first posts' - welcome!

seems there are some opening discount rates? only through aug 31? (12 days)

2700 - proust / de galles
3000 - chaplin
4000 - chopin / ritz / opera
5000 - mansart / fitzgerald
5500 - callas
8000 - vendome
9000 - windsor
13000 - chanel / imperiale

wonder how they handle one-category upgrades

standard practice is 'not guaranteed'

they might add categories for them

if speaking to non-management they may also just not know (often the case) , although >

unacceptable and rude. can lead to stereotypes regarding luxury travel.

i would be curious re (good) management response to that experience.

they asked about outside then immediately said no table? presumably one of those bizarre procedural [hotel scripting speech] issues.

Pierre&Cédric

Indeed
I tried to book one for end of October but they refuse to confirm the exact room/suite I want and they just say that they will do their best to accommodate our request. And the way they say it is not really nice (kind of condescending but impossible to translate from French to English). Having a separate and clear category would be much better than trying to play with potential guests.
I give up.

Kagehitokiri

= walk up booking

there is a reason many here deal with GM and other management level

separate categories not always possible, except in very small properties
(although in this case it would be 'possible' from technical perspective)

BENLEE

Thanks simpletastes for sharing this great review on Ritz. Looks promising! ^

Very curious to see pics of those special exclusive rooms mentioned earlier by Pierce/Cedric. So far, the nicest room based on just website photos is the Chanel suite.

Pierre&Cédric

You can see the rooms/suites I am speaking about on this picture. They are on the right side, above the gallery linking Vendome and Cambon. They have terraces and on the last floor you have a glimpse of their private roof gardens.



Do you know who is the GM?

scented

Pierre&Cédric, last time I checked it was Christian Boyens. I dealt with him when he was at Peninsula Beverly Hills, he's okay. What I do not understand is the attitude that many at the Ritz seem to have, especially front line staff. Never had this anywhere throughout the years! Terrible.

simpletastes

Thank you for the warm welcome and the kind words.

The desirable rooms Pierre&Cédric indicated appear to be "Deluxe Rooms" based on website photos (as they show the same terrace, and I believe very few rooms have terraces). As Pierre&Cédric said, those rooms are located above the ground floor corridor linking the main Vendome building with the Cambon wing with all the luxury display cabinets that I didn't like. It is possible that there are Deluxe Rooms scattered throughout the hotel, and it is worth checking with the Reservations department, who was very responsive to my emails.

Room prices appear to fluctuate significantly depending on the occupancy dates, especially for suites.

You may wish to investigate booking via the Leading Hotels of the World website (http://www.lhw.com). Take a look at the "Special Promotion" rate, which includes the following benefits at the "Best Available Rate" price:

Best available rate, Inclusive of breakfast, Upgrade guarantee at the time of booking, No check-in time, no check-out time, Complimentary fiber optic WIFI.

Please note that you should not look under "Special Offers" on the website because the "Special Promotion" rate seems not to be considered a special offer but a different rate type. In other words, just book the room as normal and, towards the end, you should have a choice between "Best Available Rate" and "Special Promotion".

Interestingly, in my case, the hotel insisted that roundtrip car transfers were included. However, this may have been so because I booked a Prestige Suite.

I'm not quite sure what to make of the two minor service slips in Bar Vendome. The waitress could have been so used to asking the seating preference question and only realised that they were fully occupied outside when I indicated a preference for a table there. As to the waiter asking me "Room 333?", it could have just been an innocent question because the room number had the same digit repeated thrice!

In most cases, I suspect it is not easy to tell by sight whether someone is a walk-in patron, staying in a room, or staying in a suite. How do hotels deal with cases of people walking in and signing food and beverage bills to rooms dishonestly?

In general, I try to give some allowance for service staff to be "human" (and those seem like spontaneous reactions). Let me know if you disagree! If anything, I was rather more annoyed by the staircase incident.

Overall, it really was a superb stay, and I wish the hotel and the staff every success because they deserve it.

Here are more photos for your viewing pleasure



Living room foyer



Living room



Walk in closet



Goodnight...

simpletastes

You should know that the Prince De Galles suite and the Fitzgerald suite are on either side of the Cesar Ritz suite, and they are all on the masnard roof third floor of the Vendome building.

The Prince De Galles suite is a smaller one-bedroom suite (relative to the Cesar Ritz suite). I believe the Fitzgerald suite may be offered as a two bedroom suite. Reservations can confirm.

I believe the most "wow" one-bedroom suite if history, quality and view of place Vendome are priorities (rather than spaciousness, access to rooftop terrace and view of the Eiffel tower) would be the 68sqm Chopin suite on the first floor with the incredibly high ceilings. The ceiling of the suite is a national monument, I read somewhere. The LHW website http://www.lhw.com/hotel/Ritz-Paris-Paris-France/rooms has photos of some suites which are not available on the Ritz website.

For me, I would be most tempted to try the Chopin suite and the Prince De Galles suite the next time. I realized that I actually might prefer a smaller suite and I didn't need 128sqm!

obscure2k

Welcome to Flyertalk, simpletastes. Thanks for the outstanding photographs and comprehensive review.

Kagehitokiri

rates i posted seem to be sale ending aug 31, directly on ritz site. i have not checked LHW.

curious re any guaranteed upgrades, what the highest possible upgrade is.

anything mentioned on LHW site could also be referred to if booking direct.

nice that ritz has 2 rate calendars, one in reservations, and one when looking at webpage for suite itself.

at least 1 (prestige suite) has terrace on roof of hotel >
http://www.ritzparis.com/en-GB/luxur.../mansart-suite
LHW sales should not be underestimated. years ago i saw 2nd best unit at setai miami on sale for $4000 which was 50% off lowest normal rate of $8000. can take time to check though. obviously most sales are not that great.

i recall this coming up before, perhaps only from Pierre&Cédric after tour? or also vuittonsofstyle?

scented

I agree, I often find that the layout and floorplan make more of a difference. My issue with the Ritz is that the layout is somewhat odd in many categories. I was very interested in their Deluxe Suites, but after seeing the floorplan and pictures I am cured... never seen such a small bedroom and closet. In general it seems that closet space is was afterthought while renovating. Same with Peninsula -- endless corridors that eat up space and square footage. Even the entry-level suites at FS George V are so comfortable and have big closets. I do understand that the actual buildings of both Ritz and Pen have much more history, more than FS, but that is at the cost of comfort.