28 Feb The Ritz London

The Lowdown

Housed in a majestic neoclassical building overlooking London’s Green Park, the opulent Ritz London is a world-renowned hotel offering luxurious accommodation, exquisite British cuisine and the classic afternoon tea ritual. The exquisitely designed The Ritz London hotel offers an exceptional level of comfort with personalized service, a wide range of services and a superb location. In addition to luxurious rooms with great views, visitors are provided with services such as SPA and restaurant.

The Rooms

There are 136 rooms at the hotel, including 23 suites of which four are signature (such as the Royal Suite set over two floors), which lie off the stylishly wide corridors. Most feature the familiar Louis XVI style with pastel shades of peach, yellow, pink and blue and touches of gold leaf; each is lavishly furnished with antiques and thoughtful touches such as bowls of fruit (and an umbrella in the cupboard); the traditionally styled bathrooms feature Asprey products. Rooms on the seventh floor have a slightly more contemporary ‘apartment-style’ look with lower ceilings too. For the best views of Green Park go for one of the higher floors and if you want to make the most if your room, order the room service.

Services and facilities

The fact that the head hall porter, the ebullient Michael De Cozar, has been at the hotel for 46 years says it all – tradition and theatricality is everything at the Ritz and the staff are integral to the experience, be they chambermaids in pinnies and bellhops with white gloves tucked into their epaulettes, or the white-jacketed bar staff and waiters in morning coats or dinner jackets. Up on the seventh floor, there’s a small gym and the Ritz Salon with hair stylist Hiro Miyoshi and two treatment rooms (offering massages to facials).

Food & Drinks

The Michelin-starred restaurant – jacket and tie required – under executive chef John Williams really does match up to the sumptuous surroundings with classic, yet inventive, British dishes. He creates menus featuring great classic dishes alongside British specialities, precisely executed and impeccably presented, using the very best quality British produce in season. Breakfast is a mix of self-service and à la carte and rather special, while afternoon tea is a feature. The Rivoli Bar with its Lalique glass panels, lashings of gold leaf and ‘jewellery-box’ style is the place for a cocktail, such as bourbon-based Churchill’s Courage.

Finally the afternoon tea is served in their original ballroom, in The Ritz Club. The Rtiz London sets the standard for afternoon tea. Tea is served in the many-mirrored Palm Court salon, deliciously grand and swimming in gold. The salon is set between two palm trees, a good few steps higher than the rest of the hotel’s ground floor, like a stage, with everyone performing to the tinkling of the live pianist.

Essential info

Address: 150 Piccadilly, St. James’s, London W1J 9BR, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 20 7493 8181
Website: https://www.theritzlondon.com/