Ever Bustling Montreal
Has a Real "Ritzy" Touch

By George & Ninette Medovoy

King Edward VIII called her "The Grand Dame of Sherbrooke Street."

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor were married here, checking into the Royal Suite with a request, dutifully honored, for two crates of champagne and a dozen glasses.

She is none other than Montreal's Ritz-Carlton Hotel, a classy establishment that forms an integral part of the city's history. The nine-story landmark hotel at the corner of Sherbrooke and Mountain Streets near the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is recognized for a refined elegance and an unmatched attention to service.

An example of the service, given in "No Ordinary Hotel," a history written by Canadian writer Adrian Waller, recalls a request by actress Sophia Loren, who was staying in the Royal Suite with her husband Carlo Ponti, and their son during the filming of "Angela" in Montreal.

Ms. Loren had asked the housekeeper for some pots and pans so that she could cook her own pasta.

"No problem at all," replied the housekeeper, and the hotel promptly sent someone out to but Ms. Loren a brand new set of cooking utensils.

"Believe me," said the Italian actress, " this is no ordinary hotel."

The Ritz-Carlton opened in 1912, the creation of Montreal's well-to-do families, who lived in what was then known as the Golden Square Mile. Their aim was to build a hotel to match their tastes. The hotel has 157 rooms and 43 suites.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy the hotel is to partake of the tea service, a Montreal tradition served in the Ritz Garden in warm weather and inside when it gets colder. The garden dining area, transformed to look like New York's Russian Tea Room for the movie "Dreamworld," surrounds a small duck pond with 12 ducklings.

For more information about the Ritz-Carlton, call 1-514-842-4212, or visit www.ritzcarlton.com.