janeog

Just reading an Adam Gopnik essay about the Ritz - we are headed for Paris in a few weeks and I'm just wondering whether we would be able to get past the doorman in order to admire the lobby and public spaces. We have enjoyed checking out fancy hotels around the world and would like to add Paris to the list!

danon

Some years ago a group of us( three) went to different fancy hotels in Paris and took
pictures of the bathrooms ( o.k. O.k. , we were young and silly).
Don't carry a backpack and wear long pants was the advice given to us when we went for drinks at the Ritz
- we made it !

annhig

don't know about the Ritz, but we got into the Georges V in Paris easily enough. We'd booked lunch there and were reasonably smartly dressed [for us - no high heels or furs!!!] but they didn't examine our credentials before we walked in through the door, and we could just as well been onto the way to the lounge for a sandwich or to the bar for a drink, as to the restaurant for a meal. we were treated with great courtesy just like everyone else.

Dress reasonably, look as if you know where you're going even if you don't, and have fun!

[if you want a drink, reckon on a budget of €50. you might get away with less, but don't bank on it!]

WeisserTee

If you're basically civilized, why should you have a problem? When I'm in Paris, I like to go for tea at the Plaza Athenee or, more recently, dinner at 114 Faubourg, the Bristol Hotel's brasserie, and occasional drinks at the bars of other top hotels. Just be confident and polite.

denisea

You can certainly get in but I believe that the Ritz and the Crillion both are closed for renovations.

For the others, do dress well and be polite when asking where the bar is located.

MmePerdu

I have never been treated as well as I was when I stopped at the Meurice desperate for the ladies room. They were more than polite, kind and I resolved that if I'm ever in the market for a very nice hotel it would be the one.

kerouac

Yes, the Ritz and the Crillon are closed for renovation for the next two years.

Everybody says good things about their visit to the George V or the Plaza Athénée.

Patty

The Ritz is closed for renovation until mid 2014 but outside guests visit the bars and restaurants (or just the restrooms ) of these hotels all of the time.

nytraveler

You are more than welcome in any of these hotels as long as you are presentable.

Obviously they don't let vagrants in. But tourists are fine as long as they are neat and clean - even in casual clothing.

annhig

I have never been treated as well as I was when I stopped at the Meurice desperate for the ladies room. They were more than polite, kind and I resolved that if I'm ever in the market for a very nice hotel it would be the one.>>

Mme Perdu, when i used to work in London, I discovered that whenever I wanted to use the loo, the best place to go was the nearest big hotel, the swisher the better.

they are also the best places to go for a simple pot of tea, though ordering the latter tends to bring on the need for the former!

I have continued to stick by that principle, wherever I've been and it's rarely let me down.

MmePerdu

"...the swisher the better."

Annhig, it's become my policy as well. I'm sure you understand how my Meurice experience has become a fondest memory. It certainly explains why these places are at the top of the heap. I was even wished well on my way by a charming member of staff outside the hotel as I exited.

The part of the story I omitted was my first try for a loo was up the Rue de Rivoli at McD's. It was piled with trash in the corridor and a line out the door. In hindsight I could not have been more grateful to them for the mess that drove me to the Meurice.