London Hotel Review: The Ritz London

This is the third in a short series about my travels to London, England.  When I was trying to plan this trip, I Googled “London Hotel Reviews” and came up with very little, so my hope is that this post will be helpful to others who are planning a trip to London.

THE HOTEL:  THE RITZ LONDON– established in 1906

• Location:  The Mayfair and St. James District- right in the heart of London.  Both Piccadilly Circus and Buckingham Palace are an 8-minute walk from the hotel.  I stayed here two nights, which were arranged by the company I was working with (Grey Poupon in partnership with DowntonAbbeyKitchen.com).  I also stayed at The Halkin by COMO and The Bull and the Hide.

Upon entering the hotel, I was greeted by a gorgeous display of flowers, unbelievably professional staff who took care of our every need, and a very old-fashioned, ornate lobby area.  If you’re an everyday person like me, you would only stay at this hotel if you’re celebrating a special occasion (or if you’ve saved up to experience such grandeur).  I’ve stayed in quite a few amazing hotels over the years, and The Ritz London is definitely the most fancy of them all.

This is a peek down the hall from the lobby toward the elevators and the restaurant.

This is Palm Court- where they host afternoon tea.  In order to obtain a reservation for tea, you must try to reserve about 6 months in advance.  The Ritz is a very popular destination for tea!

There are elevators to the upper floors, but of course there are grande staircases too.

I stayed in a lovely suite with my travel partner Sandy.  The rooms felt very old-fashioned and fancy.  They really have thought of everything- slippers, robes, bath accessories, etc.  For the turndown service at night, they remove the bedspreads and pull back the covers, place a linen towel at your bedside (slippers placed on top), and they stock your bedside table with bottled water and a glass.

The bathroom is very grand with peach marble, brass fixtures, a large bathtub and monogrammed towels.

The towels sit on a warming rack so you get to grab a nice, warm towel as you step out of the shower!

The suite we were in felt like an apartment- a lovely sitting area, a fireplace and a separate table (not shown) with fresh flowers. There was free wifi and a large flatscreen television with satellite channels.  I had a little trouble with my electrical outlets because I hadn’t brought an adaptor, and the concierge promptly found me an adaptor I could borrow and brought it up to our room.

There was also a lovely little sitting desk and work area.

Once we were settled, we decided to venture down to the hotel bar:  The Rivoli Bar- another fancy room.  There were hotel guests in the bar and there were locals having after-work cocktails.  I’ll be quite honest with you here– The Ritz London is not an inexpensive hotel.  We realized this quite quickly when we browsed the menu for wine and appetizers.  Our glasses of chardonnay were about $32 American dollars- each.  We just kind of said, “Well… this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so let’s just go with it!”  I savored every sip of that glass of wine 🙂

We ordered a fondue appetizer to go with our wine.  It was all very good!

That evening we walked to an Indian restaurant down the street for dinner.  Indian food is known for being very good in London.  It did not disappoint.  I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant, but it was literally just a couple of blocks away.  They had just started to put up these holiday decorations in the streets- so pretty!

Here’s what The Ritz London looked like when we returned at night.

The next day, we discovered that they changed the flowers– they do so every few days.  Gorgeous!

This is what The Ritz Restaurant looks like.

We were lucky enough to eat breakfast one morning in the restaurant.  Delicious food and impeccable service.

It did not rain the entire time that we were in London until the last day.  Apparently we were very lucky as this is not typical for fall.  We stayed at The Ritz London for two nights.  They were two of the loveliest nights I’ve ever spent at a hotel.  It was comfortable and luxurious in every way.  This is not a hotel that my husband and I could typically afford (I was hosted by the company I was working with in London- Grey Poupon), but having experienced it… I definitely would like to save up and try to come back and stay again someday with my husband- maybe for an anniversary.  It’s quite an experience!

More things to note:

• Gentlemen are required to wear a jacket and tie for afternoon tea in The Palm Court and for lunch and dinner in The Ritz Restaurant and Terrace. In all other areas of the hotel (The Ritz Restaurant breakfast service, The Rivoli Bar, The Long Gallery) and The Ritz Club, smart casual attire is suitable.
• The Ritz London is a family-friendly hotel and will work with you to see what is needed to make your stay with your kids more comfortable.
• There is both a salon and a fitness room on the premises.
• The Ritz London has a total of 136 guestrooms comprised of 111 bedrooms and 25 suites.
• Room rates begin somewhere in the £300+  per night range.

Disclosure:  Grey Poupon arranged for my stay at The Ritz London as part of my collaboration with DowntonAbbeyKitchen.com.  All opinions shared are my own.