In 1900 visitors to London were advised by Baedeker to find a hotel on the Strand. The choice began with 700-room Hotel Cecil, built on the site of Lord Cecil’s Thameside home, then the Savoy (built by Richard D’Oyly Carte who produced ...
My dear reader, In case you find this Feuilleton Ritz-heavy, you couldn't be more right. Since the early 1880s, the name Ritz is simply the better word for luxury. PUTTING UP THE RITZ … for sale. This time you ...
Some Ritzy Things To Spice Up Your Dinner Conversation During his career, Swiss born César Ritz (1850–1918) managed or owned the following hotels. A buffet in the Bois de Boulogne (his first private enterprise), ... and in l...
The last stop before Bangkok was Rangoon. After flying over dense jungle, the mountains gave way to flat irrigated paddy rice fields and soon Don Muang, Bangkok’s airport, was reached. In March 1924 the British formed Imperial Airways (the for...
We were not aware that it was somewhat difficult to document exactly why a hotel is called Bristol. Soon we realised that this was a dilemma all Bristol hotels around the world suffered from. They all told the same story. They were allowed to name ...
Franz Josef Bucher and Josef Durrer were among Europe’s leading hotel pioneers in the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1871 the two Swiss entrepreneurs bought a plot of land registered as “Alp Tritt“ high above the Lake of...
Jagatjit-Singh Bahadur, Maharaja of Kapurthala on his visit to Vienna's Hotel Imperial. Not just travel, Indian royalty were also creating second homes in the international playfields of the rich and famous or in the exclusively secluded plac...
Adrian Mourby travelled to Rome and landed in history. In search for a decent 'albergo', two books of The Most Famous Hotels library came to aid. At the time of Italy's Unification in 1870, Rome was already a city of hotels and inns. The...
Our Roving Contributing Editor welcomes the reopening of Rome’s Hotel Eden. When Cavalier Rufini took his census of Roman hotels for Pope Pius IX in 1855, the city was found to possess many small hotels and inns, some dating ...
The view of Rome from the rooftop terrace of Grand Hôtel de La Minerve is justly celebrated. In 1917 Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau and Picasso’ s future wife Olga went up there to take photos. At the time Picasso and Cocteau were staying a...
Concierge stories are traded at famous hotels like good Jewish jokes. They are always a success. Adolfo Facchin made his first steps in the trade at the Excelsior in Rome in 1965, when the colourful Adamo Cecchini was running the concierge show...
Johannes Baur, born in Austria in 1795, was a visionary entrepreneur who profoundly shaped Zurich’s hospitality industry. In 1837, at the age...Read More
The historic building (top, slide to the right): The "new" Raffles main building in 1899. It opened on 18 November 1899, featuring the all new...Read More
Since decades “The Oriental”, as it is affectionately known by travellers from all over the globe, leads the lists of most...Read More
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
