The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the

luxury hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108

luxury hotels Luxury may refer to: *Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, tax on products not considered essential, such as expensive cars **Luxury tax (sports), surcharge put ...

and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addition to 46 hotels with 8,755 rooms planned for the future. The current company was founded in 1983, when the previous owners sold the Ritz-Carlton

brand name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

and the Ritz-Carlton hotel in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. The brand was subsequently expanded to other locations. The company is a subsidiary of Marriott International.

Accommodations

Historical

From 2015

Predecessor company

Ritz, Carlton and Ritz-Carlton in Europe

The story of the Ritz-Carlton brand begins with Swiss hotelier

César Ritz César Ritz (23 February 1850 – 24 October 1918) was a Swiss hotelier and founder of several hotels, most famously the Hôtel Ritz in Paris and the Ritz and Carlton Hotels in London (the forerunners of the modern Ritz-Carlton Hotel Compan ...

, who was well known in the hotel industry as the "king of hoteliers and hotelier to kings." He redefined luxury accommodation in Europe with his management of The Ritz in Paris and the Carlton Hotel in London, among others. He and the renowned chef from his hotels,

Auguste Escoffier Georges Auguste Escoffier (; 28 October 1846 – 12 February 1935) was a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated traditional French cooking methods. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of Marie-Antoi ...

, opened

a la carte A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes' ...

restaurants known as "Ritz-Carlton" on board the Hamburg-Amerika Line ocean liners SS ''Amerika'' in 1905 and SS ''Imperator'' in 1913. The restaurants on those ships ceased operating in 1914 with the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Although Ritz died in 1918, his wife Marie continued the tradition of opening hotels in his name.

The Ritz-Carlton in North America

The Ritz-Carlton Investing Company was established by Albert Keller, who bought and franchised the name in the United States. The first

Ritz-Carlton Hotel The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addi ...

in the U.S. opened in New York City in 1911. It was located at 46th Street and Madison Avenue.

Louis Diat Louis Felix Diat (May 5, 1885 – August 29, 1957) was a French-American chef and culinary writer. It is also believed that he created vichyssoise soup during his time at the Ritz Paris. Biography Childhood Diat was born in 1885 in Bourbon-l' ...

ran the kitchens and invented

Vichyssoise Vichyssoise ( , ), also known as potage Parmentier, velouté Parmentier, or crème Parmentier, is a thick soup made of boiled and puréed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream, and chicken stock. It is traditionally served cold, but it can be eaten hot ...

there. In 1911, the Ritz company announced its intention to expand to Philadelphia and Atlantic City. The Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia followed in 1913 at Broad & Walnut streets, designed by Horace Trumbauer and

Warren & Wetmore Warren and Wetmore was an architecture firm in New York City which was a partnership between Whitney Warren (1864–1943) and Charles Delevan Wetmore (June 10, 1866 – May 8, 1941), that had one of the most extensive practices of its time and w ...

. The

Ritz-Carlton Montreal The Ritz-Carlton Montreal is a luxury hotel located at 1228 Sherbrooke Street West, on the corner of Drummond Street, in Montreal, Quebec. Opened in 1912, it was the first Ritz-Carlton hotel in North America. Its name was originally licensed by ...

opened in 1912, not owned by Keller as it was located in Canada. Keller's

Ritz-Carlton Atlantic City The Ritz-Carlton Atlantic City, located at 199 S. Iowa Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey, began as a hotel on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, built at the beginning of the Roaring Twenties and renowned for its luxurious decor and famous guests. I ...

opened in 1921.

The first Ritz-Carlton chain

In the early 1920s, the Ritz-Carlton chain consisted of 15 hotels: Argentina * Plaza Hotel Buenos Aires France * Imperial Hotel,

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

* Royal Hotel,

Évian-les-Bains Évian-les-Bains (), or simply Évian ( frp, Èvian, , or ), is a commune in the northern part of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. In 2018, it had a population of 9,100. A high-market holid ...

* Splendide Hotel,

Italy * Grand Hotel Excelsior, Rome * Grand Hotel, Rome (today The St. Regis Rome) * Grand Hotel and New Casino,

Rapallo Rapallo ( , , ) is a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, located in the Liguria region of northern Italy. As of 2017 it had 29,778 inhabitants. It lies on the Ligurian Sea coast, on the Tigullio Gulf, between Portofino and Chiav ...

* Grand Hotel et des Iles Borromees,

Lake Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; it, Lago Maggiore ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh Maggior; pms, Lagh Magior; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; la, Lacus Verbanus) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest l ...

* Excelsior Hotel,

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Switzerland * Grand Hotel National, Lucerne United States * Ritz-Carlton Hotel, New York City * Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Atlantic City

The Boston hotel

In October 1926, 29-year-old Edward N. Wyner bought a third-acre parcel at the corner of Arlington and Newbury streets and formed a partnership called The Ritz-Arlington Trust with his father, George, and business associate, John S. Slater. The trust sold $5.8 million of bonds to finance the construction of an apartment building to be called the Mayflower. The 18-story, brick building, designed by Strickland, Blodget & Law Architects, was far taller than anything else along Newbury Street at the time. Construction had started on the second floor when Wyner was persuaded by then-Mayor

James Michael Curley James Michael Curley (November 20, 1874 – November 12, 1958) was an American Democratic politician from Boston, Massachusetts. He served four terms as mayor of Boston. He also served a single term as governor of Massachusetts, characterized ...

to make the Mayflower a world-class, 300-room

, which opened May 19, 1927. Room rates were $5 to $15 per night; $40 per night for suites. After a hugely successful opening, the stock market crash of 1929 and ensuing Depression brought financial difficulties. The Wyner family funded the hotel's operating losses during the early 1930s, although the interest on the bonds went unpaid. Still in 1933, when only 30 guests were registered in the hotel, Wyner turned on the lights in every guest room to give the appearance that the hotel was full.

Decline of the first Ritz-Carlton chain

The Philadelphia location was converted to an office building after only a few years in operation. The Atlantic City hotel was sold to Schine Hotels in the late 1940s, and later

Sheraton Hotels Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is an international semi-luxury hotel chain owned by Marriott International. As of June 30, 2020, Sheraton operates 446 hotels with 155,617 rooms globally, including locations in North America, Africa, Asia Pacific, Ce ...

in 1959. The New York hotel was demolished in 1951, leaving only the Boston location. Edward Wyner died of a heart attack on December 5, 1961. His six sons tried to continue operation of the Boston hotel, but were unable to overcome difficulties, and decided to sell.

The Blakeley years: 1964–1983

The unpaid interest on the bonds dissuaded many from trying to buy the hotel. But Cabot, Cabot & Forbes principal Gerald F. Blakeley Jr. was interested. After more than a year of legal work, Hale and Dorr succeeded at clearing the bond obligations, and in October 1964 Blakeley and associates Paul Hellmuth and Charles Spaulding acquired the Ritz-Carlton Boston for $5.8 million. "Out of the 20 years I owned it, it made money three years. The other years it broke even, but from a public relations standpoint for CC&F, it was a tremendous asset," said Blakeley, who constructed a 19-story addition to the hotel in 1981, which included more function space, 80 more guest rooms, and 52 condominiums. In the late 1960s Blakeley obtained the rights to the Ritz-Carlton name in North America (with the exception of Montreal and New York). In June 1978, Blakeley was awarded the rights and privileges of the Ritz-Carlton trademark in the United States and was given a US Service Mark Registration. In the 1970s, the Ritz-Carlton name was licensed to the builders of a new hotel in Chicago. The Ritz-Carlton Chicago opened in 1975 in a tower atop

Water Tower Place Water Tower Place is a large urban, mixed-use development comprising a shopping mall, hotel, theater, and condominiums in a 74-story skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The mall is located at 835 North Michigan Avenue, along the Mag ...

. It joined the Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts chain in 1977, as there was no Ritz-Carlton chain at the time. Confusingly, it remained part of Four Seasons for decades, marketed as "The Ritz-Carlton Chicago (A Four Seasons Hotel)". It had no association with the modern Ritz-Carlton chain, though it used the name and the iconic logo. The property was sold in 2013 and left Four Seasons, joining the modern Ritz-Carlton chain as a franchise on August 1, 2015. In 1982, Blakely licensed the name to hotelier John B. Coleman for two hotels he was renovating, The Fairfax in Washington, D.C. and the Navarro in New York City. Coleman renamed them The Ritz-Carlton Washington D.C. and The Ritz-Carlton New York in April 1982. Coleman paid Blakely a fee of 1.5 percent of each hotel's annual gross revenue for use of the name. The two hotels eventually joined the modern chain that would be founded a few years later.

Current company

In August 1983, Blakeley sold The Ritz-Carlton Boston and the US trademark for $75.5 million to William B. Johnson, a major Waffle House franchisee who was once the largest owner. He assembled a four-person development team in Atlanta, headed by hotelier Horst Schulze, to create the Ritz-Carlton hotel brand and established The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in its current form. In 1988, Johnson subsequently obtained the exclusive rights to The Ritz-Carlton brand name throughout the world except for the

Hôtel Ritz Paris The Ritz Paris is a hotel in central Paris, overlooking the Place Vendôme in the city's 1st arrondissement. A member of the Leading Hotels of the World marketing group, the Ritz Paris is ranked among the most luxurious hotels in the world. T ...

, The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago, and the

. Unlike The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago and the

is not associated with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, instead joining

The Leading Hotels of the World The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. (LHW) is a marketing organization, representing more than 400 hotels in over 80 countries. Established in 1928 by European hoteliers, LHW is headquartered in New York City. History The company was establ ...

The corporate years: 1983–1999

From 1951 to 1975, The Ritz-Carlton Boston had been one of only two Ritz-Carlton hotels in the US. The other was the independently owned

which had since been converted to condominiums. Johnson's company paid the Atlantic City establishment to abandon its name and rename itself The Ritz Condominiums. Johnson would later enlarge the company from just the Boston property to 30 hotels worldwide in just 10 years. He obtained financing to do so from Manufacturers Hanover Trust of New York in 1983 in the amount of $85 million secured by The Ritz-Carlton Boston. This loan was refinanced in 1989 by Manhattan Tops USA of New York for $136.5 million and again in 1994 by

The Sumitomo Bank was a major Japanese bank based in Osaka and a central component of the Sumitomo Group. It merged with Sakura Bank on April 1, 2001 to form Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. History Sumitomo Bank was established as a private enterprise ...

of Japan. By 1996, this mortgage was in default and the interest and penalties brought the total debt to $214.8 million. By splitting this mortgage note into three parts, Sumitomo Bank was able to unbundle The Ritz-Carlton Boston from the trademark rights to the Ritz-Carlton brand worldwide. Blackstone Real Estate Acquisitions bought The Ritz-Carlton Boston at auction for $75 million in February 1998. A month later, Marriott International acquired the hotel from Blackstone for $100 million. Marriott International, which franchised and managed over 325,000 rooms, then bought The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. and rights to the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain worldwide from Johnson for $290 million in a two-part transaction completed in 1998.

Disposal of the historic Boston property

In 1998, Christopher Jeffries, founding partner of Millennium Partners, obtained The Ritz-Carlton franchises from Marriott for four hotel properties under construction: two in Washington, one in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, and one in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

. In addition, Jeffries was searching for a brand affiliation for the new 155-room hotel and 270-luxury condominiums he was constructing as part of Boston's Millennium Place, a mixed-use complex on lower Washington Street. Due to noncompetition clauses, the only way he could obtain a second Ritz-Carlton flag in Boston was to own the existing Ritz-Carlton. Millennium Partners acquired the original Ritz-Carlton Boston for $122 million (though it had sold for just $75 million less than two years prior) and spent $50 million for renovations. Marriott agreed to allow The Ritz-Carlton affiliation for the condominium complex, known as The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, sharing all of the services of the hotel. From 2001 to 2007, Boston was home to two Ritz-Carlton hotels that faced each other across Boston Common. The Ritz-Carlton, Boston Common opened in 2001. In November 2006,

Taj Hotels Taj Hotels is a chain of luxury hotels and a subsidiary of the Indian Hotels Company Limited, headquartered in Mumbai, India. Incorporated by Jamsetji Tata in 1902, the company is a part of the Tata Group, one of India's largest business cong ...

, a subsidiary of the India-based

Tata Group The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continents ...

, purchased The Ritz-Carlton Boston from its owners, Millennium Partners for $170 million. The Ritz-Carlton Boston became the '' Taj Boston'' on January 11, 2007.

Today

Los Angeles, California, street lamp with Ritz-Carlton Hotel

Dolmabahçe Mosque and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel

The company grew under the leadership of President and COO Horst Schulze. Schulze instituted a company-wide concentration on both the personal and the data-driven sides of service: He coined the company's well-known customer/employee-centered motto, "We are Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen" and the set of specific service values (standards) on which The Ritz-Carlton employees base service through the present day. Under his leadership the hotels earned an unprecedented two

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recognizes U.S. organizations in the business, health care, education, and nonprofit sectors for performance excellence. The Baldrige Award is the highest formal recognition of the performance excellen ...

s and grew from four to forty U.S. locations. During this time, The Ritz-Carlton also became known for its influence on service in a wide range of industries, through the creation of The Ritz-Carlton Learning Institute an
The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center
created by then-Ritz executive Leonardo Inghilleri, who was an architect of the Ritz's second Baldrige award, where executives from other companies worldwide in many disciplines come to learn The Ritz-Carlton principles of service. In 1995, Marriott International purchased a 49% stake in The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, and in 1998, they purchased an additional 50% stake in the company, giving it 99% ownership of the company. Schulze and other executives (including Leonardo Inghilleri, Robert A. Warman and Peter Schoch) left to form the West Paces Hotel Group, which took the name of its primary brand, Capella Hotels, in December 2011. In 2007, the partners also formed Solís Hotels. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company claims it is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, though the headquarters address is the Marriott address in Bethesda, Maryland, located in the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

MSA. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company partnered with Bulgari in 2001 to operate a chain of hotels owned by and operated under the BVLGARI brand. The company currently has marketing agreements with Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, the

Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas (commonly referred to simply as The Cosmopolitan or The Cosmo) is a resort casino and hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The resort opened on December 15, 2010, and is located just south of the B ...

, the privately owned

and The Ritz Hotel London. In 2011,

The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong (), is a Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company five-star hotel, located on the top floors of the International Commerce Centre, West Kowloon, Hong Kong, near Kowloon station. Offering 312 rooms, it occupies the 102nd to 118th f ...

was opened. It was at the time the highest hotel in the world (later surpassed by Rosewood Guangzhou). Simon Cooper joined Ritz-Carlton in 2001 as President and

Chief Operating Officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the " C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if ...

, taking the helm from Horst Schulze. Cooper's mandate was to grow the chain through hotel expansion and product diversification. Under Cooper's watch the company has aggressively expanded its hotels and added The Ritz-Carlton Residences, private residential units, and The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club, fractional ownership residences, to the company's development program. August 12, 2010, Ritz-Carlton announced its new President and Chief Operations Officer would be Herve Humler, one of the founders of the 1983 company, who will be responsible for leading brand operations and global growth strategy. In 2015, The Ritz-Carlton, Macau was opened. It is located at the

Galaxy Macau Galaxy Macau (, Portuguese: Galáxia Macau) is a casino resort located in Cotai, Macau, SAR of People's Republic of China. Construction on the Cotai project began in 2002. Its opening was rescheduled several times. Its developer, Galaxy Ente ...

. The Ritz-Carlton, Macau is designed as a gold palace. On July 10, 2020,

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

mentioned how luxury brand collaborated to attract luxury buyers, Asprey and Ritz Carlton partnered for their 'purple water beauty amenities,' which includes body lotions and shampoos within the hotel room

Awards

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company has been featured on

Zagat Survey The ''Zagat Survey'', commonly referred to as Zagat (stylized in all caps; , ) and established by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979, is an organization which collects and correlates the ratings of restaurants by diners. For their first guide, coverin ...

Top Lists for dining, hotels and service. The

Dallas, TX Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...

and Wolfsburg, Germany locations both received top honors from Zagat in 2009, including Top Large Hotel for the Dallas location. The Ritz-Carlton is the only company to date to win two

s (1992 and 1999). Ritz-Carlton's President and COO Horst Schulze was recognized for Ritz-Carlton's contributions during his tenure with Corporate Hotelier of the World Ishikawa Medal for contributions to the Quality movement.

Other accomplishments

The Ritz-Carlton is notable for attempting to share its knowledge of quality as it applies to service. Initially this was done at the request of the Baldrige committee, but The Ritz-Carlton ultimately adopted this as a central mission through the creation of The Ritz-Carlton Learning Institute and The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center. In October 2011, Angella Reid, the General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in

Pentagon City Pentagon City is an unincorporated neighborhood (also called an "urban village") located in the southeast portion of Arlington County, Virginia, near The Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery. Location Pentagon City is located less than a mil ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

was appointed as

White House Chief Usher The White House chief usher is the head of household staff and operations at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States of America. The position is currently held by Robert B. Downing, wh ...

, becoming the first woman to serve in that post. It also has major service training operations in its Ritz-Carlton Learning Institute and Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center, created by Ritz-Carlton executive ''(emeritus)'' Leonardo Inghilleri, where nearly 50,000 executives from other companies worldwide have been trained in The Ritz-Carlton principles of service.

Notable current properties

The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong Level 103 Lobby

The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia's capital city, opened in 1997. It is the only 'all butler hotel' operating in the city, offering butler service to all of its 300+ rooms and suites and has since been ranked among the "Gold List" of hotels by Condé Nast, ranked as "one of the top five butler hotels" by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' and regarded by Travel and Leisure as one of "The World's Greatest Hotels". 2014 Moskva Ritz-Carlton building

In 1999, Ritz-Carlton acquired the former Hotel St. Moritz in

, re-establishing a presence for the brand in New York City for the first time since the former Ritz-Carlton New York left the Ritz-Carlton stable in 1997 (it later became a Westin, then an InterContinental, then condominiums). The first Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Russia, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Moscow, opened July 1, 2007, on

Tverskaya Street Tverskaya Street ( rus, Тверская улица, p=tvʲɪrˈskajə ˈulʲɪt͡sə), known between 1935 and 1990 as Gorky Street (russian: улица Горького), is the main radial street in Moscow. The street runs Northwest from th ...

. The Ritz-Carlton Suite, billed at per night, is listed at number 13 on ''World's 15 most expensive hotel suites'' compiled by

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

in 2012.

The Ritz-Carlton, Tianjin (20200515103110)

On March 29, 2011, The Ritz-Carlton opened the highest hotel in the world,

on floors 102-118 of the

International Commerce Centre The International Commerce Centre (abbreviated ICC) is a 118- storey, commercial skyscraper completed in 2010 in West Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is a part of the Union Square project on top of Kowloon station. It was the 4th tallest building in ...

Tsim Sha Tsui Tsim Sha Tsui, often abbreviated as TST, is an urban area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hung Hom Bay now east of Tsi ...

on Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong. The lobby is above the ground. Asian Headquarters of

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

, Credit Suisse, and

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

are also located in the same 118-story building. The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte which opened in October 2009 is the first Ritz-Carlton property to earn LEED Gold Certification and the youngest Ritz-Carlton property to earn five-diamonds, and is the only five diamond property in Charlotte (and one of only three in the state of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale (AAA Five Diamond Award) which opened in August 2008 opened as a St. Regis just one year prior. The Ritz-Carlton and

JW Marriott Hotels JW Marriott is a luxury hotel brand owned by Marriott International. History The JW Marriott brand was established in 1984, with the opening of the first hotel in Washington, D.C. It was named as a tribute to J.W. Marriott, the founder of Mar ...

L.A. Live L.A. Live is an entertainment complex in the South Park District of Downtown Los Angeles, California. It is adjacent to the Crypto.com Arena and Los Angeles Convention Center. L.A. Live was developed by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), Wach ...

opened February 2010 and share the first skyscraper built since the early 1990s in Downtown Los Angeles. The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles was awarded a LEED silver certification. The readers of Condé Nast Traveler elected The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong as "The Best Hotel in Asia" from 2012 through 2014. The Ritz-Carlton operates fractional residences at several locations in the United States under the name Ritz-Carlton Destination Club. Properties include Aspen Highlands and Vail in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands,

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and

Jupiter, Florida Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the town had a population of 61,047 as of April 1, 2020. It is 84 miles north of Miami, and the northernmost community in the Miami met ...

. On Friday, July 17, 2009, at 7:47 a.m. Jakarta time, a bomb exploded in The Ritz-Carlton Mega Kuningan, Jakarta,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

destroying the first floor of the hotel. The explosion occurred 2 minutes after the explosion at the nearby JW Marriott Jakarta. The hotel was scheduled to host the Manchester United football club the following Monday during the Indonesia leg of its Asia tour, but the visit was canceled due to the bombing. Nine people including 2 suicide bombers were killed. On August 26, 2013, members of the

Filipino diaspora An overseas Filipino ( fil, Pilipino sa ibayong-dagat) is a person of full or partial Filipino origin—i.e., people who trace back their ancestry to the Philippines but living or residing outside the country. This term generally applies to ...

protested at The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles and JW Marriott Hotels at L.A. Live against the

Priority Development Assistance Fund scam The Priority Development Assistance Fund scam, also called the PDAF scam or the pork barrel scam, is a political scandal involving the alleged misuse by several members of the Congress of the Philippines of their Priority Development Assistance ...

. It is believed that the family of the alleged mastermind of the scam

Janet Lim-Napoles Janet Lim-Napoles (born Janet Luy Lim; January 15, 1964) is a Filipina businesswoman who is believed to have masterminded the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) Scam. She was convicted of plunder for her involvement in the PDAF Scam a ...

owned a condominium unit in the building said to be worth $2 million. On October 31, 2013, The

Ritz-Carlton Bangalore Ritz Carlton Bangalore is a five-star hotel in Bengaluru, India. It is the first Ritz Carlton hotel in India, with an investment of 750 crore. It is located in Bangalore Central Business District Residency Road, Shanti Nagar. Ritz Carlton i ...

opened as the group's first property in India. On November 4, 2013, the Ritz-Carlton Kazakhstan opened in Almaty. The 145-room hotel sits on the top floors of the Esentai Tower, the tallest building in Central Asia. In January 2014, Ritz-Carlton opened a hotel in

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; he, הֶרְצְלִיָּה ; ar, هرتسليا, Hirtsiliyā) is an affluent city in the central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it h ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

featuring a spa and the brand's first kosher restaurant. In May 2017, Ritz-Carlton opened a hotel in Jeddah,

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, the hotel was also opened as a conference hall making it one of the largest conference halls in Jeddah. The Hotel is located in Al-Hamra district, a place famous for its luxury hotels and nearness to the Corniche. In February 2022, Ritz-Carlton will open its second

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

hotel, located in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

inside the

West Side Place West Side Place is an approved A$1 billion complex of four buildings, when built, will become some of the tallest buildings in Melbourne. The project is located on 250 Spencer Street, Melbourne. The complex The tallest of the buildings withi ...

complex. The hotel spans floors 61-81 of the 81-storey building, with its sky lobby located on floor 79.

Cruise ships

In 2018, Ritz-Carlton announced that it would enter the cruise market. Construction problems at the Spanish shipyard and

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

delayed the launch of the first ship, the Evrima, originally set to January 2020. Inauguration cruise has been moved numerous times due to pandemic: April 2021, November 2021 and currently May 6, 2022. The cruising arm of Ritz-Carlton would operate under the brand "The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection". It was announced that The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection would join the Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International's travel program effective November 9, 2021. After a number of delays, Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection finally took guests onboard its first ship, Evrima, in October 2022. The ship sailed from Barcelona, Spain.

Former properties

Asia

Jimbaran Jimbaran is a fishing village and tourist resort in Bali, Indonesia. Located south of Ngurah Rai International Airport, the beach has seafood restaurants and luxury hotels, including the five-star Le Méridien Bali Jimbaran, Kayumanis Private E ...

, Bali,

: The Ritz Carlton Bali, Resort & Spa—Opened on November 29, 1996, as the first Ritz-Carlton resort in Asia, management terminated on March 31, 2009. Property reopened on April 1, 2009, as Ayana Resort & Spa Bali, with sister hotels also opened within the 90-hectare integrated resort such as Rimba Jimbaran - Bali (opened 2013), The Villas at Ayana Resort Bali, and Ayana Residences Bali. All hotels managed by the Capella Hotel Group. * Gangnam,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

: Renovated and reopened as the Le Méridien Seoul in 2017. *

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

in Ferdowsi square during the 50s. The upper floor of the site are now abandoned but the ground floor has converted to a towel shop since the mid-70s.

Europe

Enniskerry Enniskerry (historically ''Annaskerry'', from ) is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. The population was 1,889 at the 2016 census. Location The village is situated on the Glencullen River in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains in the ea ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

: Ritz-Carlton

Powerscourt Hotel Powerscourt Estate ( ga, Eastát Chúirt an Phaoraigh), located in Enniskerry, County Wicklow, Ireland, is a large country estate which is noted for its house and landscaped gardens, today occupying . The house, originally a 13th-century cast ...

: Management terminated October 1, 2013

North America

: Buckhead Ritz-Carlton - reopened as The Whitley December 2017 *

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Moun ...

: Ritz-Carlton Aspen—Management terminated August 2, 1997 * Cancún, Mexico: Ritz-Carlton Cancún—Opened 1993 and rebranded as Kempinski on September 1, 2022 * Dearborn,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

: Ritz-Carlton Dearborn—Management terminated June 2, 2010 * Houston, Texas: Ritz-Carlton Houston—Management terminated August 2, 1997 * Kansas City, Missouri: Ritz-Carlton Kansas City *

Lake Las Vegas Lake Las Vegas in Henderson, Nevada, refers to a reservoir and the developed area around the reservoir. The area is sometimes referred to as the ''Lake Las Vegas Resort''. It is being developed by 5 companies including Lake at Las Vegas Joint ...

Ritz-Carlton: Opened 2003; closed May 2, 2010 * Montego Bay,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

: Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall—Management terminated July 2013 * Palm Beach, Florida: Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach—Management terminated July 1, 2013 * Pasadena, California: Ritz-Carlton Huntington—Opened 1991; management terminated January 2008 *

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

: Ritz-Carlton Phoenix—Opened 1988; management contract ended July 24, 2015 *

Washington, District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morga ...

: Ritz-Carlton Washington D.C.—Management terminated August 2, 1997 * White Plains, New York: The Ritz-Carlton New York, Westchester--- Opened December 2008 Management Terminated September 2020

Australia

* Sydney Ritz-Carlton Double Bay: management terminated 2001

In popular culture

In E.B. White's 1970 children's novel ''

The Trumpet of the Swan ''The Trumpet of the Swan'' is a children's novel by E. B. White published in 1970. It tells the story of Louis (pronounced "LOO-ee" by the author in the audiobook, a reference to trumpeter Louis Armstrong, a point that is made explicit in the ...

'', the main character Louis (a

trumpeter swan The trumpeter swan (''Cygnus buccinator'') is a species of swan found in North America. The heaviest living bird native to North America, it is also the largest extant species of waterfowl, with a wingspan of 185 to 250 cm (6 ft 2 in to 8 ft 2 ...

) stays at the Ritz-Carlton Boston, where he eats watercress sandwiches and sleeps in the bathtub. Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, California

On the HBO original series '' Boardwalk Empire'', the character of Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (portrayed by Steve Buscemi), the treasurer of

Atlantic County Atlantic County is a County (United States), county located along the southern coast of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the county had a population of 274,534.

, occupies the entire 9th floor of a fictionalized version of the hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The real

Enoch "Nucky" Johnson Enoch Lewis "Nucky" Johnson (January 20, 1883December 9, 1968) was an Atlantic City, New Jersey, political boss, a sheriff of Atlantic County, New Jersey, a businessman and a crime boss who was the leader of the political machine that control ...

on which Nucky Thompson was based did in fact occupy an entire floor of suites at the

until his arrest in 1941 on charges of

tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the tax ...

. A 1922 novella by

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

is titled ''

The Diamond as Big as the Ritz ''The Diamond as Big as the Ritz'' is a novella by novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was first published in the June 1922 issue of ''The Smart Set'' magazine, and was included in Fitzgerald's 1922 short story collection ''Tales of the Jazz Age'' ...

''. The 2003 film ''

American Wedding ''American Wedding'' (known as ''American Pie 3: The Wedding'' or ''American Pie: The Wedding'', in some countries) is a 2003 American sex comedy film written by Adam Herz and directed by Jesse Dylan. It is the sequel to '' American Pie'' (1999 ...

'' used the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, California, as the filming location for the wedding venue. The Ritz also features in the

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russ ...

song " Puttin' On the Ritz" in which the hotel chain served as an inspiration for the titular expression, meaning to live opulently. In 2015, the rapper Plies released the song "

Ran Off On Da Plug Twice "Ran Off On Da Plug Twice" (originally titled "Ritz Carlton") is a song by American hip hop recording artist Plies. It was released on January 29, 2016 by Big Gates Records, Slip-n-Slide Records and Atlantic Records, as a single from his mixtap ...

", originally titled "Ritz Carlton". In the song, he raps about his affinity for routinely spending time at the lavish hotel.

Michael Hutchence Michael Kelland John Hutchence (22 January 1960 – 22 November 1997) was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Hutchence co-founded the rock band INXS, which sold over 75 million records worldwide and was inducted into th ...

of INXS, aged 37, was found dead at the

Ritz-Carlton The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addi ...

hotel in Double Bay, Sydney on November 22, 1997, in Room 524. American telenovela and drama ''

Jane the Virgin ''Jane the Virgin'' is an American romantic comedy-drama and satirical telenovela developed by Jennie Snyder Urman. The series premiered October 13, 2014, on The CW and concluded on July 31, 2019. It is a loose adaptation of the Venezuelan t ...

'' uses the Ritz-Carlton Marina Del Rey's property as the setting for the show, while the storyline is based in Miami (whereas that Ritz-Carlton Marina Del Rey is in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, California). The 1939 song "

A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" is a British romantic popular song written in 1939 and published in 1940, with lyrics by Eric Maschwitz and music by Manning Sherwin. Setting Berkeley Square is a large leafy square in Mayfair, a part o ...

" includes the line "There were angels dining at the Ritz," referring specifically to the Ritz London's restaurant. This is in turn referenced by scenes in

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his '' Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first no ...

and Neil Gaiman's novel ''

Good Omens ''Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch'' is a 1990 novel written as a collaboration between the English authors Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. The book is a comedy about the birth of the son of Satan and the c ...

'' and the miniseries based on it in which an angel and a demon (or fallen angel) have lunch at the Ritz London.

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

2017 soap reboot ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'' features The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee in Greensboro, GA as the set for Season 2, Episode 11 "The Sight of You" which aired on January 25, 2019. For this episode, the hotel serves as a destination for a "girls' trip" to a ski lodge in Idaho.

References

External links

Ritz-Carlton Hotels Official Website

Ritz-Carlton Destination Club Official Website

Ritz-Carlton Corporate Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company Hotel chains in the United States Companies based in Bethesda, Maryland American companies established in 1983 Hotels established in 1983 1983 establishments in Massachusetts Luxury brands Marriott International Marriott International brands American brands 1998 mergers and acquisitions