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César Ritz managed to make every guest feel like royalty.

He established the famous approach – the customer is always right.

Swiss hotelier César Ritz, who opened his namesake hotel in Paris, wasn’t someone who did things halfway. The Ritz welcomed its first guest on June 1, 1898, and quickly became Paris’s most elegant and modern hotel. “I want this place to be clean, beautiful, and comfortable” – this was the task 48-year-old César Ritz gave to his architects. The Ritz was the first to install bathrooms in every room, which later became standard, though initially, this was done just to impress the Prince of Wales.

César Ritz is rightfully called the king of hoteliers and hotelier to kings. The shepherd’s son, who arrived in Paris at age 15, started as a waiter and soon became a hotel manager. He had the ability to observe much and speak little, which earned him useful connections and helped in his business.

“When I dream of afterlife in heaven, the action always takes place at the Ritz Paris,” wrote Ernest Hemingway.

The Ritz Hotel, founded by César Ritz in 19th century Paris, never lacked well-deserved recognition or famous guests. Ernest Hemingway, Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Coco Chanel – these are just a few of the people whose lives were connected to Paris’s most famous hotel.

It all began in 1898 when César Ritz opened the most sophisticated hotel of its time on Place Vendôme. Among the guests were the French royal family, businessmen, and famous writers. One of them was 27-year-old Marcel Proust, who wrote his most famous works within the walls of the Paris Ritz.

Cole Porter would sit at the Ritz’s grand piano, while at the bar you’d often find F. Scott Fitzgerald, accompanied by his wife Zelda or his friend Ernest Hemingway. The hotel was frequently visited by Somerset Maugham, Graham Greene, Bernard Shaw, and Oscar Wilde, who was apparently dissatisfied with why every room needed its own bathroom.

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During its 120-year existence, the Ritz Hotel changed owners only once. In 1979, Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed purchased the hotel.

Notably, the new owners turned the hotel into their own residence – they used family antiques in the interior and even personally participated in creating the menu. In 2016, the hotel’s 4-year reconstruction was completed, reducing the number of rooms from 159 to 142. The renovation brought changes – for example, they relocated Coco Chanel’s suite, where Mademoiselle lived for the last 34 years before her death. The reconstruction was overseen by Chanel house representatives, including Karl Lagerfeld, whose drawings now adorn the entrance.