THE RITZ OF PARIS

by Stephen Watts ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Report repeated from p. 33 when scheduled for earlier publication as follows: ""The elegant hotel on the Place Vendome receives a rather formal bow in this book about it. We are introduced to Cezar Ritz, the man who started it all, and follow him from his Swiss origins through waiterships in Paris- (at Voisin, he ministered to great names), the managership, at 27, of the largest and most luxurious hotel in Switzerland, on to the Savoy in London and to his own enterprises--of which the Ritz in Paris was to be only one star in a cluster of hotels throughout the civilized world. Unfortunately M. Ritz was forced to retire midway in his career at fifty-two; then the story of the Ritz becomes that of other men, including his son Charles, now President, and M. Auzello, ""the anchor man."" There is a sprinkling of anecdote here, a loast to some famous characters such as Olivier, the maitre d'hotel who was the original for Antoine in Le Sexe Faible, and for such institutions as the Ritz Bar. But regrettably the stance is official, with much referring to Mme. [tia: Ritz diary], and the result is a portrait too stiff to project any joie de vivre.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Norton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1964

Categories: NONFICTION