FUTURE PERFECT

meeting place for the since its opening in 1906 by Swiss hotelier César Ritz, The Ritz almost needs no introduction. On arrival, the outside world drops away as I am introduced to my handsome French butler, Baptiste and taken up a frescoed staircase to the Royal Suite. Perhaps second only in grandeur to Buckingham Palace (glimpsed from the room’s long windows), the Royal Suite took my breath away at first sight. Carved from an 18th-century mansion, the lofty rooms, draped in 24-carat