If The Ritz hotel were a woman it would definitely like admiring itself in the glass, there are mirrors everywhere and oodles of 24 carat gold leaf. Walk through the revolving doors of The Ritz London and you have time-warped into her world of elegant over the top excess. She may be in the heart of London but this flamboyant hotel, modelled on a French chateau with furnishings in the style of Louis XVI, prefers to flirt like the French than maintain an English reserve, no stiff upper lip here.

There is a reason the word 'ritzy' was coined after the luxury hotels of legendary hotelier Cesar Ritz* and this opulent hotel lives up to the name. The Ritz is perfectly placed for a London sojourn, right across the road from the Royal Academy and a diamond sparkle from De Beers and the designer delights of Old Bond Street.

Rooms at the Ritz are decorated in shades of pastel to go with the creamy curved furniture. Below my window couples stroll in Green Park and double-decker red buses and black taxis like shiny beetles plough along Piccadilly -a consummate London scene.

Taking tea at The Ritz is one of London's consummate experiences, at one of London's best known luxury hotels; which is probably why these days it is wise to book at least a month in advance even if you are staying at the hotel. There are now four sitting,The Luxury Travel Bible likes the idea of the champagne tea at 7.30pm but somehow feel we should stick with tradition and go with the afternoon version. Cakes, scones and cucumber sandwiches (of course) sit serenely on tiered cake stands and only the finest tea, such as Darjeeling First Flush or Ritz Royal English is served. All around is the hum of polite conversation and the gentle clinking of silver spoons in bone china cups. The Queen mother was fond of taking tea here. This is the kind of hotel that still has a formal dress code in its restaurants and bars, "gentlemen are required to wear a jacket and tie" and no jeans/and or trainers are permitted. If you have a bespoke Saville Row suit, this is the place to wear it.

A bright Ritz-Blue Rolls Royce Phantom is on hand to take guests wherever they want to go. It glides to a halt underneath the hotel's matching blue canopy and I step in. Like the hotel, the car is a reminder of more elegant times with its polished mahogany, deep leather seats and windows that whisper shut to silence the city. However the chauffeur , who obviously loves the car with a passion points out it has a far from old-fashioned engine under its beautiful bonnet, "0 to 60 in 5.7 seconds," he say proudly. Sadly the London traffic won't allow him to prove it and we proceed at a stately pace. There is a Queen's garden party on at Buckingham Palace so the police checkpoint is stopping cars. Not us though. They salute the car as we purr past and the chauffeur salutes back, I am tempted to give a royal wave. "They know me, I often take people to the palace", says the chauffeur.

Of course you do,  you work for The Ritz, the queen of luxury hotels.

Check in: 150 Piccadilly,London, W1J 9BR, United Kingdom. Tel:+ 44 20 7493 8181

Ultimate Luxury: The Royal Suite with its secret staircase

Most Indulgent Moment: Walking through the revolving door and being greeted by frock-coated staff

Insider Secrets: The Queen Mother hated to use a stick even in her advancing years and was once rumoured to have remarked when walking done the Palm Court steps," One could do with a handrail here" -hence the elaborately curved brass rail there now.

The Little Things: Service like you were aristocracy and the staff were your own

Junior Luxies: Surprisingly well tolerated, just watch their sticky fingers on all that glass

Dress code: Jackets and ties in the restaurant, formality rules

Perfect luggage: traditional and expensive

Dent in the platinum:

Luxury Hotels Link: www.theritzlondon.com