Ritz/Plaza Athénée-other suggestions
 

Which of this do you prefer? Other suggestions in the same price scale? <BR>Thank you.

I have not stayed as a guest, but have visited. The Ritz in my personal opinion is a little, well, ritzier, glitzier, showier. The Plaza Athenee is gprgeous but more discreet. I think the Ritz has a better location. Other suggestions: <BR>George V (newly renovated, and the restaurant just got a Michelin star), the Bristol, or the Crillon.

I'll take the Ritz. <BR> <BR>We just got back from Paris 2 days ago, and stayed at the Ritz for the entire time we were in Paris (4 nights). For me, the intimacy, the personal attention to detail, the elegance, the quietness and reserved attitude in the public rooms, the history, and the lightning speed at which my desires were met, made all the difference in the world. <BR> <BR>I'll give you a couple of examples. There is a doorman at the revolving door who is greeting you upon entrance and exit. As we were exiting on Saturday morning for a walk, it looked like it had been raining, and I stuck my hand out to catch a few drops, and as I did that, the doorman was out the door with 2 umbrellas "would Madame like an umbrella for the walk?" <BR> <BR>Second example, there are huge coffee-table books titled: "Le Ritz Paris" displayed behind the Concierge desk. I wanted one. One evening when I came back in alone and picked up the key, I asked "may I have this book please? The concierge looked up at it and said, "As you wish, I will send it to your room." Within 8 minutes, a young porter was at my door delivering the book. Now, it was very late, so he had to send someone to the hotel shop to retrieve a copy, wrap it, and send it up. That's service. <BR> <BR>Breakfast at the Ritz each morning: male waiters in tux and tails, ready with the jus orange and jus pamplemousse, menu, table ready, total class. <BR> <BR>Took a hydrotherapy massage for 30 minutes in the Ritz Health Club. The pool is beautiful. <BR> <BR>I also read an entire history about the Ritz hotel (blue book found in shop) on the plane home. Cesar Ritz was the first hotelier to truly ask the advice of women: what do we want? in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He catered to his clients, dukes and duchesses, celebrities, nouveau riche, and they followed him around Europe from grand hotel to grand hotel . . . he was in Monte Carlo, he was at the Savoy, and then to Paris, where the Ritz was his crowning glory and was the final, magnificent gift to Europe. WWII plays into the history of the Ritz, with German occupation, with Hemingway "liberating" the Rue Cambon bar. <BR> <BR>We took our niece, who is 19 years old, with us on this trip, and if staying at the Ritz hasn't ruined her for life, I don't know what will. She saw how elegance and beauty and discreet behaviour can be a grand alternative to the rowdy behaviour exhibited by her college friends. We were continually coaching her, how to act, what to say, in what manner, etc... She told her parents that "this vacation was so awesome, it just killed her." so the current phraseology goes, I guess. <BR> <BR>I'm so glad someone is finally asking about the Ritz. Hope you choose it. You will not be disappointed. It made this trip to Paris our best yet. The cost was inconsequential in view of the way I felt every day walking out the front door of the Ritz to discover more beauty in Paris. <BR> <BR>Best wishes!

I just need to make a couple more comments. You cannot even walk into the Ritz unless you are a client of the Ritz: translated: staying there. You will be turned away at the door. Don't even try. It will embarrass you to be turned away. Arrive in a taxi, complete with baggage. It is for the protection of the clientele . . . it is for the protection of the reputation of the hotel. <BR> <BR>You also need to dress appropriately . . and European appropriate is definitely different from the casual attitude Americans have toward dress. I can say this, I'm American. We dressed beautifully for breakfast: no jeans, no sneakers, no wet hair from the shower. It is a class above. It is not a resort hotel. Some will call it snobbery? I call it class. You earned it, you chose to go there, you deserve to have elegance around you in human form as well as in the physical surroundings. <BR> <BR>The words ritzy, glitzy, and showy in the earlier post may take on different meaning for you after you stay there. <BR>The word "ritzy" comes from the comparisons made of being a patron at the Ritz or not being a patron. Try "elegance." <BR> <BR>The word "showy" has a superficial connotation. The glamour and beauty and history of this hotel goes much deeper than that. This is serious business.

Donna, I really enjoyed your descriptions of life at the Ritz, but I think one tiny correction is in order. You don't have to stay at the Ritz in order to be a customer. You can also have reservations for breakfast, lunch, tea or dinner in one of their restaurants.

I have stayed at the Bristol, also in that price range, and do not recommend it. The service was slow and the rooms not well decorated or special for huge rates. The indoor pool is small but the little garden is nice, with the restaurant overlooking it. The hotel is relatively quiet and understated, but I wouldn't go back.

What about Lancaster?Has anybody stayed there?

We're staying at the Lancaster in May based on the enthusiastic recommendation of our travel agent who just got back from Paris and has stayed there twice. Obviously, it is smaller than the other hotels you're discussing but the rooms are supposedly relatively spacious and it has great service. Ellen