The building that became the Ritz Hotel, at 15 Place Vendome, was built in 1705 as a mansion for the Duchess de Gramont. It was designed and built by Jules Hardouin-Mansart - the architect of the palace of Versailles - and was the final statement of his overall grand concept for the Place Vendome, a corner of Paris he'd designed and started to build some nineteen years earlier.

With the death of the Duchess the mansion became the home of Marshall de Lautrec, and then that of the Marquis de Villette, before becoming, in the second half of the 19th century, the Hotel de Gramont.

Ceasar Ritz was born in Switzerland in 1850, and after leaving school went straight into the hotel and restaurant business. He worked extremely hard and soon found that his reputation had preceded him when, out of the blue, he was offered a position at the Grand Hotel in Monte Carlo. This was followed by an administrative position at the Savoy Hotel in London.

When the Hotel de Gramont came up for sale Caesar was able to persuade several London investors and wealthy guests of the Savoy to raise the required cash. The Hotel de Gramont was purchased in 1896 by the Ritz Hotel Syndicate Ltd, with Caesar Ritz as the initiator, and subsequent manager.

The Paris Ritz Hotel opened on the 1st June 1898, with The Ritz Hotel in London, a newly designed building, opening in 1906. There would soon be many Ritz Hotels world wide.

The year 1910 saw the Paris Ritz extended to take in number 38 rue Cambon, and 17 Place Vendome. Two years later saw the opening of the famous 'long gallery' that linked the rue Cambon to the Place Vendome. In 1915 the Cambon Wing was handed over to the state for use as a military hospital.

Caesar Ritz died in 1918 and the business was taken over by his wife Marie, and then by her son Charles. In 1930 the hotel's facade was listed as a national monument, and in 1934 Coco Chanel moved in and made the hotel her home for the next thirty years.

A year after Coco moved in the chef, and founder of the hotel's kitchens, Auguste Escoffier, died, and soon after his funeral the hotel's bars were at last opened to women.

With the fall of France in 1940 the Ritz was occupied by many high ranking officials of the German government and armed forces, who used the hotel as their administrative base.

When Ernest Hemingway and his party of armed French irregulars arrived at the door of the hotel on a Friday afternoon in August 1944 the Ritz was deserted. There was no sign of Charles, or his imposing mother, just the imperturbable manager, Ausiello, waiting at the door to welcome his latest guests.

Hemingway asked for the best rooms, and fifty dry martini cocktails.

In the sixty-five years since Hemingway made the Ritz his base during the latter stages of World War Two the Paris Ritz has remained one of the finest hotels in the world.

Learn more about this author, Steve Newman.
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