Why book the Ritz Paris

There are few places in a league of their own, the ones that set the benchmark for everything else. The Ritz Paris is one of them. There are only two standalone Ritz hotels left in the world – Paris and London – and Paris is the original: the hotel César Ritz opened on Place Vendôme in 1898, and so synonymous with a particular kind of glamour that “ritzy” became a word. (A quick PSA: it has nothing to do with the Ritz-Carlton chain, which is a separate company, though César did lend it his name in the early 1900s.)

Any hotel lover has it on their list, and the reasons are easy to tally: gilded, pastel-pink interiors that look exactly as you imagine they should, one of the most famous bars in the world, a spectacular underground pool and spa, a Michelin-starred restaurant and an address that puts the best of Paris on your doorstep. What surprised us was how warm it all feels. For somewhere carrying this much legend, the Ritz is remarkably intimate, playful and full of tiny rituals that make it feel unlike anywhere else.

The legend at 15 Place Vendôme

César Ritz partnered with the chef Auguste Escoffier to open the hotel, and it was radical from the start: private bathrooms, telephones and electricity in every room were unheard of in 1898. Over the following century it became a second home to the people who defined their eras. Proust, Cocteau and F. Scott Fitzgerald were regulars. Hemingway’s name now hangs on both a suite and a bar. And Coco Chanel called it ma maison, living here for 34 years, from 1937 until her death in 1971.

In 2012 the hotel closed for the first time in its history, re-emerging four years later brighter and lighter, but still gilded to the core. The best part is how much of César’s original vision survived. The 1898 valet and maid bell cords are still in use in the rooms, alongside the original light switches – small, eccentric details you can still touch, and the kind that make you feel part of the story.

The vibe: who actually stays at the Ritz

Arriving is surprisingly discreet. There’s no huge signage and nothing ostentatious – just white awnings, a cerulean carpet bearing the logo and smartly dressed doormen. One of them wore the flashiest pair of glittering Chopard sunglasses we’ve ever seen, a gift from a generous guest. It sets the tone: the hotel feels exactly like that doorman, warm, friendly and personable, yet supremely elegant and every inch the grand Parisian palace.

Inside, it’s a bustle. Outside guests drift through for tea and cocktails, elegant Parisians and well-heeled travellers cross the lobby, and on our first afternoon a fluffy Burmese cat with a pink bow trotted past on a lead. There is nothing stuffy about the welcome, the service or the staff. For all the grandeur, the Ritz makes you feel at home.

Location: the Place Vendôme effect

Few addresses in Paris compare. The hotel fronts Place Vendôme, the octagonal square lined with the city’s great jewellers, with Rue de la Paix running north towards the Opéra and Rue Saint-Honoré’s boutiques a block south. The Tuileries and the Louvre are a short walk away, and Rue Cambon – home to Chanel’s original maison – runs along the back of the hotel. This is the Paris of the first-time visitor’s dreams, and the Ritz sits at its very centre.

Rooms & suites

There are 142 rooms and suites, in a colour scheme of creams and pale pinks or blues, with rich brocades, Louis XV furnishings, chandeliers, marble fireplaces and bathrooms finished with the famous 24-carat gold-gilded swan taps. The palette is the point: pastel pink, gold and white, at once warm, sexy, fun and elegant.

We stayed in a Deluxe Junior Suite, and it was magical. At 65 square metres it feels like a private apartment, with the plumpest bed, the plushest pink robes, buttery cream slippers, a lovely sofa, a separate soaking bath and those signature pink towels and Ritz Paris toiletries, so distinctive and fun. A long balcony ran along the suite, overlooking the gardens and out across the city. A bottle of Louis Roederer was waiting as a welcome.

The moment that summed up our stay came that evening. Craving a Dumbo burger – a modern Paris icon – we asked the concierge to have one sent up to our balcony. No raised eyebrows, no questions asked, only an approving nod that it was a good choice. That, to us, is what luxury really means: choice, freedom and doing exactly what you want, without stuffiness, judgement or barriers.

At the top of the scale sit the Prestige Suites, each designed around its namesake: antique books line the Marcel Proust, while the F. Scott Fitzgerald holds a collection of worldly souvenirs. The Coco Chanel and Windsor suites complete a collection that reads like a guest list of the 20th century.

Food & drink: from Bar Hemingway to afternoon tea

Bar Hemingway is the hotel’s beating heart, and it is a genuine standout. It’s tiny – just a handful of tables with chairs packed close together – takes no reservations and, brilliantly, plays no music, leaving only conversation and the clink of ice. Bartenders in white jackets mix a menu of almost exclusively strong, proper drinks, and the Dry Martini is a rite of passage. Following tradition, every lady’s drink arrives with a flower. Some guests prefer a seat at the bar to chat with strangers, which is exactly how it should be. Arrive early. You feel part of history in here.

The Ritz Bar is the more theatrical counterpoint: a lantern-topped space opened in 2021, where mixology director Romain de Courcy shakes some of the most inventive cocktails in Paris. In summer it moves outdoors into the Grand Jardin.

Not feeling the occasion of Espadon, we dined at Bar Vendôme and it was charming – everything you want from a French brasserie, with red walls, velvet booths, an undeniably sexy atmosphere and the classics done really, really well. Espadon itself, set across from the garden, has held a Michelin star since 2024 under chef Eugénie Béziat, the first woman to lead the Ritz’s fine-dining kitchen. Afternoon tea is a draw for non-guests in its own right, served in the Salon Proust and at Bar Vendôme, with pastry now in the hands of Olivier Lainé, who took over in January 2026 after seven years teaching at the hotel’s cooking school.

That school, the École Ritz Escoffier, is an ode to Auguste Escoffier, and runs pastry and culinary classes for curious guests, children included, as well as professional courses.

Breakfast was the one note we found a little behind. Rather than an open menu, your room rate includes a choice of just three set breakfasts – American, Japanese and Detox – and anything outside that set is chargeable. A bowl of berries or a few extra sides for your eggs come at a cost, which surprised us: most luxury hotels in 2026 let guests order freely, and the Ritz’s peers certainly do. We’d love to see it replaced with a breakfast offering worthy of the property. That said, after two weeks of hotel hopping, and hotel breakfasts, the Japanese breakfast was a fun start to the day: glazed teriyaki seabream, a fluffy bite-sized Japanese omelette, steamed rice, miso soup – a nice change from my usual boiled eggs.

The Ritz Club, the pool & the spa

Below the hotel, the Ritz Club is magnificent. Open to hotel guests and members, it centres on a beautiful swimming pool, among the largest in Paris, framed in white beneath a frescoed ceiling and a grand staircase, with plush white loungers around its edge. There are three fitness rooms (two of them private), steam and sauna, a Floral Bar for a healthy break between activities the Chanel au Ritz Paris spa, whose massages left us feeling woozy, and a David Mallett hair salon for a blow-dry before dinner. Nobody minds if you wander back to your room through the gilded corridors in your dressing gown.

Things nobody tells you about the Ritz Paris

The Grand Jardin, the hotel’s central garden, is one of the loveliest hidden spaces in the city. Access comes by booking Espadon or the Ritz Bar, so plan a meal or a drink to enjoy it.

The hotel is a destination for shopping, too. Marie-Louise Ritz, César’s wife, added a gallery inspired by the covered passages around the Palais Royal, and today its gilded walkway is lined with luxury boutiques, from jewellers to the first European outpost of Bacha Coffee.

Then there’s the Ritz Paris concept store and its collaboration with FRAME, first launched as the hotel’s first-ever fashion partnership. It’s an unexpected pairing that proves this storied hotel has no interest in being stuffy: think caps, navy crewnecks and gold-embroidered velvet slippers. We are still eyeing up the sweater.

Is the Ritz Paris worth it?

Yes. The Ritz Paris is historic and grand, but also warm, discreet and playful, a palace that takes its legend seriously without ever taking itself too seriously. Few hotels let you sip a Martini where Hemingway drank, sleep amid César Ritz’s original bell cords and swim beneath a frescoed ceiling, all in one day. For hotel lovers, it is the one to tick off, and it more than lives up to the name above the door.

Ritz Paris, 15 Place Vendôme, 75001 Paris. ritzparis.com | @ritzparis. Rates from approx. €2,100 per night.

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