The Hotel Ritz opened in 1910 on the famous Paseo del Prado, the prominent tree-lined avenue in Madrid, Spain, that is a UNESCO World Heritage site and known for its cultural and artistic importance.

Its construction was at the behest of King Alfonso XIII (1886-1941) after he had returned from a tour of Europe and had been impressed with the Ritz in Paris and the Ritz in London. He decided Spain needed a similarly grand hotel to welcome visiting dignitaries.

His own wedding to Princess Victoria Eugenia de Battenberg, (1887- 1969) a granddaughter of Britain’s Queen Victoria (1819 - 1901), was a further excuse to provide Madrid with a luxury hotel, the first in the Spanish capital.

The sumptuous building was designed in 1908 by the French architect Charles Frederic Mewes and built between 1908 and 1910 under the direction of the architects Luis de Landecho and Lorenzo Gallego. 

The Belle Epoque hotel was a hit with Madrid society and quickly became one of the Spanish city’s cultural and social landmarks.

The El Jardin terrace – beautifully illustrated on this menu cover – offered open-air dining to wealthy guests.

In 2015, five years after the hotel celebrated its 100th birthday, the Hotel Ritz was bought by the Mandarin Oriental group. Closed for renovation for two years, it re-emerged after several years of costly and complete renovation.

The hotel’s historic façade has been named one of Spain’s national monuments.

Near the Madrid Stock Exchange and the Prado, Reina Sofía, and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums, it retained part of its original name – the Mandarin Oriental Ritz – and is once again one of Madrid’s most luxurious hotels.

The El Jardin terrace still offers guests a refined and shady dining spot during Madrid's balmy days and evenings.

Courtesy Cody Shearer