THE RITZ-CARLTON

First, some news of the day.

• President Donald Trump is in the UK today.
• There is a preliminary deal to divest TikTok from ByteDance.
• The wars in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine are not close to being settled.

• 
  The U.S. stock market slid today, awaiting the Federal Reserve interest rate decision on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 traded 0.13% lower to close at 6606.76, after hitting a fresh record earlier in the session. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.07% to finish the session at 22,333.96. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 125.55 points, or 0.27%, to close at 45,757.90.

• 
  Guns kill.  Florida finally allowed the open carrying of firearms, the LAST Republican state to do so.  Actually, only three states prohibits this:  California, Illinois and New York, plus Washington, D.C.  Hawaii is one of those states that allows, but you need to first obtain a county-issued license, which requires specific training and eligibility criteria, where you need to prove that you need protection.
• 
  Arthur Sze is now the 25th poet laureate of the USA.  
• Was born 74 years ago in New York City to immigrants from China.
• Very few people know this, but Senator Spark Matsunaga was the driving force behind this legislation to pass a bill creating the position in 1985, as signed by President Ronald Reagan.

• 
  In 1963, as a first-year congressman, he proposed this legislation.
• Continuing to fail, he re-introduced it for the next 22 years.
• I was working for him in three of those years.

Well, today I continue my nostalgic re-look at the best hotels I have experienced.  Today the Ritz-Carlton.

• The Ritz-Carlton brand began with Cesar Ritz, born in 1850, who managed The Ritz in Paris and the Carlton Hotel in London.
• I found it interesting that he seemed to gravitate to work where there were early World Expos, the 1867 Paris Universal Exhibition and 1873 Vienna World's Fair.

• 
  Had his problems, for he was sacked from the London Savoy for fraud.
• But he overcame that problem by forming with the wealthiest man in the world at that time, South African diamond magnate Alfred Beit, the Ritz Hotel syndicate.
• The Ritz Hotel opened in 1906 in London.

• 
  Also had a long partnerhip with famous French chef Auguste Escoffier.
• Retired in 1911 and passed away in 1918.
• Albert Keller bought and franchised the Ritz-Carlton Investing Company with his first hotel in the U.S., the New York City Ritz-Carlton Hotel in 1911, where vichyssoise was invented.
• By the 1920s, there were 15 world-wide Ritz Carlton managed hotels.

• 
  Then came the 1929 Depression, and the chain declined, to the point where in 1951 only the Boston location was operational.  From 1951 to 1975 there were only two Ritz-Carlton hotels in the U.S.
• From 1964-1983 the company only made money three years, and mostly broke even.
• Then came the corporate years from 1983 to 1999, where the number hotels expanded to 30 world-wide.

• 
  Marriott bought a 49% stake in 1995, and upping ownership to 99% in 1998.
• Since 2010, the company has flourished, centered around the motto, We are Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen.  Surely charged a lot, too, and succeeded.
• In 2011, opened the highest hotel in the world in Hong Kong on floors 102-118 in Tsim Sha Tsui.
• Today, Ritz-Carlton operates 115 properties, with 44 in the U.S. and Canada, 38 in the Asia-Pacific, 14 in the Middle East-Africa, 11 in Europe and 8 in the Caribbean and Latin America.

• 
  Entered the cruise market in 2022 as The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection.  Their second ship, Luminara, had its maiden voyage in July of 2025.  

• 
  We will board her at the end of this year in Singapore for a two-week cruise to Hong Kong.
• Will stay at Ritz-Carlton hotels in Singapore and Hong Kong.
• I asked Google AI Overview how much does a Ritz-Carlton cruise on the Luminara cost:

The cost of a Ritz-Carlton Luminara cruise varies significantly by itinerary, suite category, and sailing date, but generally starts around $1,000 per person, per day for entry-level suites and can go upwards of $5,000 or more for premium suites on longer or more popular routes. 

• You would think at that price everything would be free.  But, you pay extra for meals at premium restaurants, premium alcohol and all tours.

I've stayed in at least a dozen Ritz-Carlton hotels, but the best one to me is in Tokyo.  The price you pay/night is extravagant.  But if you spend so much, you might as well go to the ultimate, which means you sign up for a Club-level room, which comes with their Executive Club Lounge, the best there is.  I first experience this RC a decade ago, and their welcome gift was this:

The hotel was in the Midtown Tower, which in those days was the tallest building in the city at 814 feet.  The Tokyo Skytree is not a real building, and goes up to 2080 feet.  

I more recently went back when the Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower at 1068 feet was about to replace the Midtown Tower as #1.  There are 45 buildings in Tokyo higher than 656 feet, and 638 of them taller than 328 feet.  To quote from my posting in 2023.

The Ritz Carlton Tokyo is indeed a fine hotel.  Maybe even worthy of heaven-like status.  Or maybe, like 15 Craigside, at least Purgatory.  All things considered, this is the finest we've ever experienced.  While 15 Craigside has security, the Ritz Carlton Tokyo has tranquility, a higher order of comfort.  

This article was titled,  GAWA Day #12: Ritz Carlton Tokyo Club Lounge--One Step from Heaven.  For one, on a clear day, you can see Mount Fuji.

Just like in England or cruises, there is an afternoon tea time.

On entry to the Club Lounge, harp music.

As I yesterday featured K-Pop Demon Hunters, I did watch this movie last night.  Or at least tried to do this.  I have a new understanding of astronomically high Rotten Tomatoes ratings.  They can make no sense.  I would have given scores of 25/25, or lower.  You would probably agree with Rotten Tomatoes if you were of a younger generation.  Likewise, if you're old enough, this movie would be unwatchable.  I quit after 10 minutes.

Robert Redford passed away at the age of 89.

• Had a 60-year career, highlighted with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, The Way We Were and All the President's Men. 72 films. 43 ranked by Rotten Tomatoes.

• 
  Most recently on Netflix with Jane Fonda in Our Souls at Night.
• Meryl Streep, who starred opposite Redford in Out of Africa, said, One of the lions has passed.  Rest in peace my lovely friend.

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