Ask a black cab driver to recommend a London hotel and many would instantly come up with the Ritz hotel on Piccadilly. Few London landmarks embody glamour quite like The Ritz. Since opening its doors in 1906, this grand hotel has stood as a symbol of elegance, innovation, and high society. Conceived by legendary hotelier César Ritz, it was designed to redefine luxury and it did exactly that.
Designed by the same architects behind the Hôtel Ritz in Paris, the building introduced Londoners to a new kind of opulence. Its neoclassical Louis XVI style and sweeping arcades brought a distinctly Parisian sophistication to Piccadilly, instantly setting it apart from anything the city had seen before.
From the moment it opened, The Ritz became the place to be seen. King Edward VII was such a devoted patron that he famously declared, “Where Ritz goes, I go.” Aristocrats, artists, and world leaders followed suit, turning the hotel into a glittering crossroads of influence and indulgence.
One of the hotel’s most charming tales comes from the 1920s. While America was deep in Prohibition, wealthy Americans fled to Europe in search of the pleasures they couldn’t enjoy at home. The Ritz quickly became their sanctuary. So many American guests ordered champagne by the case that staff jokingly referred to the wine cellar as “America’s Embassy.” It was a place where the bubbles never stopped flowing, no matter what the law said across the Atlantic.
Another amusing story from the hotels past recalls how in the 1930s a wealthy American heiress checked into The Ritz with her pampered Pomeranian dog, who reportedly travelled with its own trunk of custom‑made outfits. The dog dined from silver bowls, had its own velvet cushion in the Palm Court, and even received a handwritten welcome note from the manager. Staff later joked that the dog was “the only guest who never complained.”
More than a century later, The Ritz remains a beacon of timeless elegance. Its name even gave rise to the word “ritzy,” now shorthand for anything stylish and luxurious, a linguistic nod to its enduring influence.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia. Image by Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
See the Ritz Hotel, Piccadilly on a London black taxi tour!