A fire broke out yesterday at the famous Ritz hotel in Paris, which may cause a delay in reopening the luxury hotel, which was undergoing renovations.
Smoke from the fire could be seen around Paris, and according to media reports, much of the top floor has been destroyed by the fire.
The large luxury hotel in Paris’ 1st arrondissement was scheduled to reopen in March after three-and-a-half years of restoration, however, there may now be a delay due to the damage.
The renovations were to designed to change the 160 original rooms to 71 rooms and 71 suites, 15 of which will be one-of-a-kind prestige suites. The renovations were being done to bring the hotel up to standard to qualify for palace status, which was a categorisation brought in by the government to officially recognise the finest 5-star hotels.
The Ritz in Paris has long been a choice hotel for the rich and famous. Ernest Hemingway stayed at the hotel, which he featured in one of his novels, and the main bar was named after him. One suite is named for famed designer Coco Chanel, who called the suite home for decades.
The fire led to the evacuation of about 150 workers, reports the Telegraph, and about 15 fire trucks were on scene. The fire was brought under control after several hours of burning. The cause of the fire is still unknown.
