PARIS EST UNE FÊTE: THE MOST ICONIC HOTEL IN THE WORLD + PARIS BASED BOOKS & SHOWS THAT INSPIRE
I traveled to France in early November on a two week mother-daughter trip (my mother, her sister, her daughter and me), starting in the South of France and ending in Paris. This was one of those trips that you plan and discuss and daydream about well in advance and then continue to talk about for years to come.
In a word, it was wonderful.
And it came at a time when what we needed most was something to look forward to and not just any old trip – we needed an adventure.
My number one priority for this trip was the hotel. And that hotel had to be the Ritz on Place Vendôme. There were so many reasons for wanting to stay there but mainly it was this book below and a few others like it.
The problem was, of course, the cost. Our visit to Paris was scheduled at the end of an already expensive trip, and we knew we wanted to shop and dine at the best places so we all agreed we wouldn’t blow our budget on the hotel.
But then I remembered: due to Covid and a year or more of not traveling like we used to, I had loads of unused Amex points and from there a solution was born. We cashed in all of our points and were able to stay in the most luxurious two connecting rooms for three glorious nights, basically free of charge.
Next up: Part Two, where we dined, drank & shopped. Bon Voyage and Bon Appetit!
“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”
Ernest Hemingway
First opened in 1898, the Ritz (a former Prince’s residence) closed for extensive renovations in 2012 and re-opened in June of 2016.French chef Auguste Escoffier, seen here at a cafe in 1921, helped to found the Ritz Hotel, where Ernest Hemingway was a longtime regular.
Alexander Calder sculpture, right outside the hotelThey were already starting to decorate for Christmas while we were there.
This is where the hotel provides their tea service; it is right as you walk in on the right hand side.
There is nothing I love more than a silver bucket full of ice and wine.
Snacks and a bite to eat at the Ritz bar.
Front hallway
A literal stairway to heaven.
Perfect little reading light on the right hand side of the bed.
I don’t actually know if these pulls work to ring the Valet or Maid (look to the left by the tub) because I would never have dared to try but how amazing it is that they are there.
Iconic Ritz Peach Towels. My friend told me that they chose this color because women’s complexions look the most flattering in this shade.
Our Welcome Gift
Plenty of storage for two people in our room, which was very large – bigger than at least one of my first apartments.
Not so mini mini-bar.
I think what I love most about this hotel is the history – I like to imagine this fireplace working and who might have stayed here and what they would have been doing in Paris at that time.
Balcony in our room and the view.
This was our daily breakfast table.
The Beasley Sisters
Croissants & Pastries
Hallway that leads to the back of the hotel and the famous Hemingway Bar. Luxurious shops line both sides, thereby giving it the name “Temptation Walk”. In the words of Madame Ritz, the wife of the César Ritz, it was designed to “tempt one at every step to buy, buy, buy…”
Beautiful outdoor courtyardFountain at the end of the courtyard.
Courtyard at night
Ritz Bar
Bar Hemingway and yes a that’s a white rose in my drink.
A peak inside the chicest elevator in Paris…an upholstered bench if you need to sit down on the way up to your room.
And this is the indoor pool on the Spa level. We did not have time to go to the spa but clearly I need a reason to go back.Paris, je t’aime.
