with John Pitman
A candid look at a day in the life of a grand hotel; upstairs and front of house with the clients, downstairs and behind the scenes with the valets, chambermaids, chefs and waiters who have to keep the clients happy.
The Ritz was once the stamping-ground of everybody who was anybody. But the attractions were fading. Now the grand old lady - 75 this year - has been given a £6-million facelift and it is hoped, a new lease of the 'high life'.
Some of the staff have spent half their lives in service here. Some of the clients have been coming for 60 years. But the Ritz can't afford to live in the past. And so it. tries to cling to the old traditions while still catering for the new Ritz people - businessmen, tourists and gentlemen from the Middle East. The Ritz is an oasis in Piccadilly, a legacy of opulence and elegance. It's a luxury most people today can't afford. But then, it always has been...
Research JILL MARSHALL Photography DAVID FEIG
Sound recordist DICK MANTON Film editor JIM LATNAM
Producer EDWARD MIRZOEFF