page_title: The Ritz Hotel, London
section_title: The Ritz Club
hierarchical_section_title: The Ritz Hotel, London / Architecture / The Ritz Club
caption_attribution_description: English: A view of the sign above the western entrance to Ritz hotel Ritz arcade on Piccadilly. The image was taken with a Canon EOS D30 with a Sigma 70-300mm lens.
context_page_description: The Ritz London is a Grade II listed 5-star hotel located in Piccadilly in London, England. A symbol of high society and luxury, the hotel is one of the world's most prestigious and best known hotels. It is a member of the international consortium, The Leading Hotels of the World. Over the course of its history the Ritz has become so associated with luxury and elegance that the word "ritzy" has entered the English language to denote something that is ostentatiously stylish, fancy, or fashionable.
  The hotel was opened by Swiss hotelier César Ritz in May 1906, eight years after he established the Hôtel Ritz Paris. After a weak beginning, the hotel began to gain popularity towards the end of World War I, and became popular with politicians, socialites, writers and actors of the day in particular. David Lloyd George held a number of secret meetings at the Ritz during the latter half of the war, and it was at the Ritz that he made the decision to intervene on behalf of Greece against Turkey. Noël Coward was a notable diner at the Ritz in the 1920s and 1930s.
context_section_description: The Ritz Club is a casino in the basement of the hotel, occupying the space which was formerly the Ritz Bar and Grill. In the original structure, this was where the Ritz ballroom was located.  A May 1906 edition of Truth magazine described the basement with the Grill Room and Banqueting Hall as palatial, ivory-white in decor, with "mirrors on all the walls reflecting an endless intersection of arched ceilings". The rooms were used for dinners, balls and theatrical shows, with a stage at the south end of the Banqueting Hall. By the mid 1920s the Grill Room had been relocated into the Banqueting Hall, and furnished with circular tables with oval back wicker chairs. One 1926 brochure stated that it was the scene of "some of the finest private and public balls ever given in London".
  During World War II it became known as the nightclub La Popote. The interior of the club was made to simulate a combat dugout complete with sandbags.  The club's chandeliers were made out of various types of empty liquor bottles with candles in their necks for light. The dance floor was crowded during wartime, but it later declined in popularity. Laurie Ross was in charge of the Ritz Bar and Grill for many years.  The bar, known to its regulars as "Laurie's Bar", closed when Ross retired in 1976. By the 1970s the basement rooms were closed to the public.
  In 1977, Trafalgar House agreed to lease the basement to Mecca Sportsman and Pleasurama, and the Ritz Club was opened the following year,  under separate management from the hotel. The basement was restored in the hotel's Louis XVI style of 1906, and the decorations included 6,000 sheets of gold leaf. Gold leaf was not spared on moldings, cupids and garlands and a blue sky with fluffy clouds painted on the ceiling above the gaming tables. The restoration consisted of repainting, cleaning and recovering all in the original color scheme. Furniture was restored to its original state and replicas replaced what could not be restored.  Stephen Pulman was appointed Head Chef, after being recruited from the exclusive club and restaurant Annabel’s. When it opened, the Ritz Club was open to members and hotel guests only. However, unlike most casinos, it charges a fee to enter. The games are considered "high stakes" in that the minimum bet is usually very high. They offer roulette, black jack, baccarat, and poker, as well as some slot machines.
  In 1998, the club was purchased by London Clubs, who moved their premises from the Devonshire Club on St James's Street to the basement of the Ritz. A new company was formed in June 1998, the Ritz Hotel Casino Ltd., which was granted legal permission to open a casino. After very quick refurbishment, it reopened on 12 September with exclusive membership, although members are permitted to invite a guest. As of 2006 the Ritz Club was divided into four main areas—the restaurant, bar, lounge and the private gaming room, situated in the former Banqueting Hall.
caption: Sign above the western entrance to the arcade
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