Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
and Prince Bernhard sought refuge in the
basement of the hotel whenever London
was bombed. They were not alone. The
Kings of Norway, Greece and Yugoslavia
all had a residence in Claridge’s. The story
goes that when people would ask for the
king on the phone, the operator would ask:
“Which one?”
Peter II of Yugoslavia and his wife stayed
in Suite 212, and their son was actually
born in the hotel room in July 1945. The
new parents were upset that their exile
meant the heir to the thrown would not be
born in their native land. Prime Minister Sir
Winston Churchill came to the rescue. He
declared Suite 212 Yugoslav territory and
legend has it that a spadeful of Yugoslav
earth was put under the bed so that the
Crown Prince Alexander could literally be
born on Yugoslav soil.
Churchill and his wife Lady Clementine
were living in Claridge’s at the time. After
losing the general election on July 5, 1945,
and finding themselves temporarily without
a home, they took up residence in the sixth-
floor penthouse suite. Lady Clementine
loved their new home, but Churchill was
apparently uncomfortable about living so
high up.
And after the royals came the celebrities
and entertainers. American actor Spencer
Tracy famously said that he’d rather go to
Claridge’s than to heaven when he dies.
Despite the opulence and grandeur, or
perhaps because of it, Claridge’s has always
maintained its reputation as a place to party.
Kate Moss’ 30th birthday party at Claridges- themed ‘The Beautiful and the Damned’
reportedly deteriorated into some very rock
‘n’ roll behaviour.
http://www.claridges.co.uk
THE RITZ PARIS
The Ritz has been a byword for luxury since it
opened in 1898. It was the first hotel to have
en-suite bathrooms, telephones and electricity
in every room. And with the luxury came
some high-rolling guests with expensive, and
sometime eccentric, tastes. The glamorous
Marchesa Casati kept two pet cheetahs in her
suite. And as if that wasn’t enough wildlife, she
also had a pet python that she kept drugged
and would wear out, wrapped around her
neck. The bar staff apparently sent up live
rabbits to feed the snake.96 AsiaSpa July/August 2017Tr avelDestination
The war years didn’t put a stop to all that
glamour. But it’s no wonder the hotel doesn’t
like to talk about this period – it became the
home of the enemy. When the Germans took
Paris in June 1940 the Luftwaffe, the air force
of Nazi Germany, set up its headquarters
in the hotel. Declaring themselves guests
of the French people, the Germans gave
themselves a 90 per cent discount. The
Luftwaffe chief Herman Goring took
the opulent Imperial Suite and lived a
debauched lifestyle in those rooms. He
had a penchant for cross-dressing – lavish
silk-trimmed gowns, diamond earrings and
perfume – and was so addicted to morphine
tablets a doctor had to be called regularly
to treat him.
While the war raged outside, the Ritz
was still serving steak topped with truffles