The Ritz London

Rooms were gorgeous, our rooms as well as the tea room and the restaurant, where the food was fabulous (the Beef Wellington was the best meal I’d ever had). Proximity to Buckingham Palace was a perk and the complimentary room upgrade was much appreciated.

We aren’t the most well-off family so we (my mother and 3 teenage sisters) were very excited to experience the luxury of the Ritz for a couple days. Unfortunately, I don’t think the staff was impressed with our GAP jeans and floral tops. First, we received horrible service at the Ritz Restaurant; staff took half an hour to bring us more water and would fail to bring us items (bread, butter, etc) after we asked for them. Second, we were frequently accosted by hotel staff when coming back from the city to our rooms. Walking down a single hall we’d have multiple people ask if we were in fact staying at the Ritz AND THEN they’d actually want to know our room number and see our keys as proof. We weren’t dressed in Gucci but we looked perfectly presentable and it did not make us feel welcome at all. At tea (and dinner) where other guests just put their room number and signed for the meal (to pay later) we were asked to pay immediately after.