Reinventing an icon

The Ritz Hotel in Madrid, now part of the Mandarin Oriental family of hotels, is a legendary establishment that has been welcoming guests through its doors for over one hundred years. But even icons sometimes need a fresh approach…

The man appointed to ‘reinvent’ the Ritz Hotel in Madrid was General Manager, Bailli Christian Tavelli. An experienced hotelier, Christian Tavelli first developed an interest in gastronomy watching his mother cook in his native Buenos Aires. He later studied at the Glion Hospitality Management School in Switzerland and has held various managerial positions in hotels across Europe as well as North America and Mexico.

The project to breathe new life into the Ritz in Madrid was a challenge that many would find difficult to resist. The hotel was living on its name and had lost sight of the need to attract the public through its doors by linking the experience of staying there with the many attractions that Madrid as a city has to offer. These attractions include gastronomy, art, shopping and football, all of which feature in a range of packages created for the Ritz in Madrid under the umbrella of the new product invented by Christian Tavelli: MadRitz.

A clever play on words in the English language, MadRitz became a global success. Say it quickly and it sounds like Madrid, so putting the Ritz at the heart of the city. Mad for Madrid became the theme for a range of guest experiences hosted by the Ritz. These included Madrid (or simply Mad) for Romance, Madrid for Art, Madrid for Football and Madrid for El Greco.

These packages link the Ritz Hotel with some aspect of the city of Madrid, its culture and its people. The Madrid for Art experience involves an agreement with the Prado and Thyssen museums that gives hotel guests free entry to the museums, with no need to queue, simply by showing their room key.

Madrid for Romance reinstates some almost lost traditions, such as the ‘art of the fan’; a way in which couples can communicate with a fan. A guide to this lost art, produced by the Ritz Hotel, never ceases to amaze its foreign guests.

Gastronomy also features in these themes. Madrid for Wine strongly promotes wine from the community of Madrid and includes trips to wineries. The hotel’s restaurants recommend wine from Madrid and its gastronomic restaurant, Goya, offers the best fish and meat from the region.

The introduction of gastronomic seasons has taken this one step further. Last winter, products that genuinely showcase the best of Spain, such as game, mushrooms, truffles, asparagus and oily fish, featured strongly.

The Ritz has also drawn on its own rich heritage. It has resurrected the Dalitini - the first cocktail that Dali had in his life - and serves it in the Bar Velázquez. On the walls of the bar, a hall of fame displays 50 portraits of famous personalities who have stayed at the hotel in its 100+ years’ history.