Entries tagged with: Rome

A Palace on the Strand Adrian Mourby

A Palace on the Strand

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 ...

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Feuilleton 333 Feuilleton

Feuilleton 333

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 ...

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Feuilleton 347 - Ritzy Things You Should Know Andreas Augustin

Feuilleton 347 - Ritzy Things You Should Know

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...

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1932: Flying from Europe to Asia TRAVEL

1932: Flying from Europe to Asia

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...

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Bristol - who or what’s behind the popular hotel name HOTELS

Bristol - who or what’s behind the popular hotel name

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 ...

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Bucher and Durrer PERSONALITIES

Bucher and Durrer

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...

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From India in Style (7): Residing Abroad L. Aruna Dhir

From India in Style (7): Residing Abroad

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...

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Mourby of Rome Adrian Mourby

Mourby of Rome

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...

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Mourby of Rome — Eden Adrian Mourby

Mourby of Rome — Eden

  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 ...

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Mourby of Rome — Hotel Minerve Adrian Mourby

Mourby of Rome — Hotel Minerve

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...

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Summer Time / The Best Concierge Stories HOTELS

Summer Time / The Best Concierge Stories

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...

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Mandarin Oriental Savoy Zurich (former Savoy Baur en Ville)

Mandarin Oriental Savoy Zurich (former Savoy Baur en Ville)

Zurich can take great pride in having had such a farsighted entrepreneur, who managed to leave the world two of its most famous hotels. His name was...Read More

Raffles Hotel

Raffles Hotel

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

The Mandarin Oriental Bangkok

The Mandarin Oriental Bangkok

Since decades “The Oriental”, as it is affectionately known by travellers from all over the globe, leads the lists of most...Read More

Half Moon

Half Moon

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

Mount Kenya Safari Club

Mount Kenya Safari Club

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