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Victor J (Trader Vic) Bergeron was an irascible, one-legged genius, who founded a multimillion-dollar food and drink empire called Trader Vic’s. While everybody believed his restaurants originated in Polynesia, Victor was actually born in San Francisco. He had not lost his left leg to a shark, but amputated when he was six to prevent his death from tuberculosis of the knee.
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Putting on the Ritz and others: Have you ever asked yourself what “Puttin' on the Ritz“ means? Or where the name „Ritz-Carlton“ originated. Glad you asked.
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Rarely has the creativity of a single personality left such a deep impact on an industry. At 14, he was a lift boy at the Viennese Hotel Sacher. From there he took a large portion of Austrian wit across the Atlantic. At 30 he managed the largest hotel chain of the United States.
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In 1916, at the height of the so called Great War, the 'God of Dance', Vaslav Nijinsky, found himself and his little family stranded in Vienna.
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Kai Speth, the general manager of the Hotel Metropole in Hanoi was all excited. Many years ago I had written a book about the history of the Hotel Metropole in Hanoi. There were rumours about a bunker in the courtyard, a relic from the American War.
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Timbuktu is widely used to describe a place extremely far away and regarded by many as a myth. In reality it's a city in Mali, West Africa, of such great historical importance that in 1988 it was designated a World Heritage Site.
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Wilde scorned the idea of plumbed-in washstands with running cold and hot water at the Savoy: ‘What is it good for? If I want hot water, I call for it.’
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If you think you have seen them all, read this one. Around 1960, it was sent to the proprietress of the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, Germaine Krull, who remembers: ‘Our bill collectors had their problems. One debtor had left the French Embassy as an address and, ...
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The display of monumental architecture was a powerful Western means of visualising the East as a land of lost civilizations. ‘Ruines Khmères du Cambodge’, a water colour by Lucien Fournereau,is a perfect sample of this theory.
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During the takeover of Austria in 1938, the Imperial's general manager is considered unfit to receive Hitler.
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César Ritz, born in the Swiss village of Niederwald on 23 February 1850, began his hotel career at the age of 15 in Switzerland. He was considered until for the trade, and rose to become the world’s first true international hotelier.
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Aloha Wanderwell – nomen est omen – was a Canadian adventurer and the first woman to drive around the world in a customised Model T Ford.
In 1952, a group of wealthy individuals including Donald Deskey, the fabled designer (among his works the Radio City Music Hall); Harvey Firestone,...Read More
You don your safari gear during the day, but you always dress for dinner. Because Mount Kenya Safari Club Nanyuki is an exclusive retreat. High on...Read More
Grand Hotel Lviv in 1894 Grand Hotel Lviv – the book – available shortly. Reserve your personal autographed book now...Read More
We found records of the Galle Face Hotel dating back to 1864, five years before the Suez Canal came into operation. A journey through the Suez...Read More
This is Zurich's oldest grand hotel. When it opened on December 24, 1838, it marked a milestone in the history of the hotel industry. In...Read More
