The Ritz Paris: Inside the World's Most Famous Luxury Hotel

On Place Vendôme, where the light is regulated by Mansart façades and the sound of traffic softens to a murmur, The Ritz Paris continues to define what a hotel can mean to a city. Founded on June 1, 1898 by Swiss hotelier César Ritz with chef Auguste Escoffier, it was never conceived as mere lodging, but as a complete system for living well away from home.

The Foundation: César Ritz and an 1898 Invention

A member of The Leading Hotels of the World, the hotel was founded in 1898 by the Swiss hotelier César Ritz in collaboration with the French chef Auguste Escoffier. The building itself traces to 1705, when a mansion was erected at 15 Place Vendôme under the direction of Jules Hardouin-Mansart. In 1896 the Hôtel de Gramont was purchased by Ritz Hotel Syndicate Ltd on the initiative of César Ritz, with the official opening on June 1, 1898.

What Ritz introduced was technical as much as social. The Ritz Paris was the world's first to offer en suite bathrooms, telephones and electricity in every room, a standard that seems elementary now but reorganized expectations for privacy and autonomy. It was also among the first Paris hotels to feature elevators alongside private bathrooms and electricity. That decision attracted the luxury jewelers and watchmakers to Place Vendôme, as ultra-high-net-worth guests of the day required proximity to both security and discretion.

Literary and artistic residence followed. Charlie Chaplin, Marcel Proust, Ernest Hemingway and Coco Chanel each made the hotel a secondary domicile. The word ritzy itself entered English as shorthand for the hotel's particular blend of ease and exactitude.

Architecture of Permanence on Place Vendôme

The hotel occupies the full length of the southwestern side of Place Vendôme, its limestone façade regulated by the square's original 17th-century ordinance. Behind that façade, the plan is a long corridor with suites opening to either the square or the inner garden courtyard — a classic Ritz enfilade that preserves silence.

In 2012, the hotel closed for the first time since its opening in 1898 for a complete restoration. It reopened in June 2016 after a four-year, $225 million restoration masterminded by architect Thierry W. Despont. The room count was reduced from 159 to 142 rooms and suites, with 50 percent configured as suites. The new inventory includes 71 suites, including 16 Prestige Suites named in honor of loyal friends of the hotel: Marcel Proust, Ernest Hemingway, Coco Chanel, the Duke of Windsor, Charlie Chaplin, the Prince of Wales, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Maria Callas.

"When I dream of afterlife in heaven, the action always takes place in the Paris Ritz."

— Ernest Hemingway, on Bar Hemingway

The Rituals That Define the House

Restoration unveiled in 2016 returned the grande dame's luster with Empire furniture, floral silk fabrics and marble fireplaces in 142 guest rooms. The public spaces were recalibrated rather than reinvented. Bar Hemingway, thoughtfully restored, remains a cornerstone of Parisian social life, its namesake author having been a frequent guest and, in 1944, among the soldiers who helped reclaim the hotel when it had served as headquarters. Three restaurants and two other bars complete the dining framework, including one with a retractable roof added during renovation.

Coco Chanel's former apartment — her residence for 34 years, recorded in some accounts as 35 years — has been preserved as a dedicated suite still housing the designer's art collection, velvet banquettes and Chinese lacquered screens echoing her apartment on nearby rue Cambon. It is the most requested suite for fashion editors during couture week, not for novelty but for continuity.

Below ground, the Ritz Club & Spa is the only Parisian wellness space offering treatments by La Prairie, and the hotel now houses the world's only Chanel Spa, accessed via a discreet VIP tunnel entrance — a detail that speaks to the hotel's understanding of privacy as infrastructure.

Practical Guidance for a First or Return Stay

Arrive via Place Vendôme rather than Rue Cambon if you want the full axial reading of the façade. Morning light favors the garden courtyard suites; late afternoon favors Place Vendôme-facing rooms where the square glows amber. Bar Hemingway operates with limited seating and no standing room — reserve early, particularly during fashion weeks. For dining, request the restaurant with the retractable roof when weather permits; it restores the original Ritz intention of dining under Paris sky while maintaining climate control.

The hotel is within walking distance of the Louvre, Opéra Garnier and Rue Saint-Honoré. Yet its most valuable proximity is internal — to a corridor where Chanel, Proust and Hemingway each found a room that allowed work to continue without interruption. That corridor still exists.

Editorial FAQ

When Was The Ritz Paris Founded?

The hotel was founded in 1898 by César Ritz with Auguste Escoffier, officially opening June 1, 1898, in a mansion at 15 Place Vendôme originally built in 1705 and purchased by Ritz Hotel Syndicate Ltd in 1896.

What Made The Ritz Paris Historically Significant?

It introduced en suite bathrooms, telephones and electricity in every room — the first hotel in the world to do so — plus elevators and private bathrooms that set the template for Paris luxury hotels.

How Many Rooms Does The Ritz Paris Have After Renovation?

142 rooms and suites after the 2016 reopening, reduced from 159 previously. 71 are suites, with 16 Prestige Suites named for former loyal guests including Proust, Hemingway, Chanel and Chaplin.

What Is The Connection Between Coco Chanel And The Ritz Paris?

Coco Chanel resided at the hotel for 34 years, making a second-floor suite her home. That suite is preserved today as the Coco Chanel Suite with her art collection, velvet banquettes and Chinese lacquered screens.

What Is Bar Hemingway At The Ritz Paris?

Bar Hemingway is the intimate bar named for Ernest Hemingway, a regular whose quote about dreaming of afterlife in the Ritz remains inscribed in its lore. It reopened as a cornerstone of the hotel after the 2012-2016 restoration.

To enter The Ritz Paris is to enter a building that has already decided what matters — proportion, privacy, and the preservation of rituals that allow a guest to feel at ease, at home, and utterly comfortable, as César Ritz first intended. In a city that reinvents itself seasonally, that constancy is the rarest form of modernity.