The Ritz Paris - the agony of an ecstasy

In summer 2005 I stayed at the Ritz Paris for a week. Established in 1896, it was the oldest of Ritz hotels, and is one of the most prestigious hotels in the world (with prices to match – a room starts at Euro730 per night and suites from Euro3000 to 12,000). Maybe so, but I would have been just as happy staying in a more modern and practical hotel like The Four Seasons! Pardon moi, French chauvinism! And for the record mon cherie, back in 1991 I stayed in another landmark hotel in Paris, The Crillon! (The Hôtel de Crillon is one of the oldest luxury hotels in the world located on the foot of the Champs-Elysees on the north end of Place de la Concorde). Famous at it was, the Ritz gained further attention when in August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales and her suitor Dodi Al Fayed, son of the owner of the hotel, Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al Fayed who bought the hotel in 1979, stayed in the hotel. On 31 August both died in a horrible car crash as the driver of their limousine drove them away from the hotel, chased by paparazzi.

I was given a compact but extremely well-appointed room with classic furniture and furnishings at the end of a long corridor. There was another room next to mine and I had a view of a courtyard garden. To get to my room which was at a back wing and not facing the famous Place Vendome, I had to walk a very long corridor with many windows displaying luxury products, and take a lift to the third (top) floor. To my delight, all the staff in the hotel , even the chambermaids, spoke English.

On the first night of my stay, I heard strange noises as I lay trying to sleep in that plush, cushy bed. At first I could not make out what it was but it was clearly audible and went on and on. I was tired and wanted to sleep badly, having just flown in from Athens after three days in that sweltering hot, noisy and chaotic city. The noise sounded like some cooing of a child! Finally I discerned that it was actually the sound of a woman in throes of ecstasy (pardon moi again!). Obviously a couple was making love in the next room. I fell asleep eventually. The next night as I was trying to sleep, that noise came again, this time louder and quite shameless! I thought to myself, couldn't they be more discreet even if they were having a whale of a time! It got to the point of being so annoying and disgusting that I finally called the Front Office Manager who said he would come up immediately.

Another guest was obviously as annoyed or more than I was, for suddenly there was three very loud thumping on a wall, like telling the amorous coupling to cool it! You may be in ecstasy madame but listening to you is sheer agony.....

And voila, the noise stopped!

A few minutes later the Front Office Manager knocked on my door and asked me where exactly did I hear the noise coming from? I replied that I didn't know, probably next door. Calmly he replied that the room next door was empty and unregistered, and that my room was not connected to any other....

At breakfast I related the incident to some members of my party and thereon they kept teasing me about the ghosts of a famous couple.

I never heard the noise again the rest of my five nights in The Ritz.

I visited Paris again in April this year and stayed in a modest hotel near Gare du Nord. I did not hear any noise whatsoever....