Mohamed Al Fayed, the flamboyant Egyptian-born businessman whose son was killed in a car crash with Princess Diana, died last week. He was 94 years old. He was notably the owner of the prestigious Ritz hotel.
Mohamed Al Fayed was convinced that a murder was carried out by the royal family
He had been devastated by the death of his son Dodi Fayed in the Paris car crash with Diana 26 years ago. He spent years mourning the loss and fighting the British establishment which he blamed for their deaths. Mohamed Al Fayed was convinced that Dodi and Diana were killed as part of a conspiracy orchestrated by the royal family.
Mohamed Al Fayed still owned the Ritz
The Egyptian billionaire entered the world of luxury in 1979, when he bought the Ritz Hotel in Paris, on the verge of bankruptcy, for $30 million.
He spent about $250 million on a 10-year renovation without ever closing the hotel’s doors. He hired a French architect from 1980 to 1987 to beautify the establishment from top to bottom, including the famous Ritz Bar, where Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald drank in the 1920s. The bar was added in the Cambon wing, opposite Chanel.
The Ritz, a prestigious hotel
Located on Place Vendôme, the Ritz Paris is much more than a prestigious address. It has an indescribable charm and history that makes it one of the most legendary hotels in the City of Lights. Its rooms and suites are superbly appointed. Under the glass ceiling, in the shade of the lime trees of the Grand Jardin, the Ritz Paris is a place where dreams come true. Michelin-starred restaurants are a journey into haute cuisine. The Proust lounge is the ideal place to have “French” tea. And no visit to the Ritz Paris would be complete without a visit to Bar Hemingway. The Ritz Club, with its sumptuous swimming pool and its “Chanel at the Ritz Paris” space, elevates well-being to the rank of art. If “Paris is a party,” the Ritz is the key: a key that opens the doors to a private home where dreams never stop coming true.
