In this week's episode, we ascend the great champagne tower of history and proclaim the existence of Continental Luxury, an evocative aspirational aesthetic that has bewitched the palates of tastemakers across generations. We discuss the history of luxury hotels, the evolution of the boutique hospitality industry, Old World cuisine and interiors as status symbols, and we summon a cast of characters including Anthony Bourdain, Nancy Drew, and Keith McNally to unpack the oyster-laden, gold-trimmed, cherry-garnished lifestyle of our collective dreams.

Links:
Image board
Ritz and Escoffier: The Hotelier, the Chef, and the Rise of the Leisure Class by Luke Barr
"Towards a Political Geography of Hotels" by Ruth Craggs
"A Legend as Big as the Ritz" – Vanity Fair
César Ritz: Life and Work by Chastonay, Adalbert
The History of Tourism: Structures on the Path to Modernity – Institute of European History
The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class by Dean MacCannell
“The Social and Material Life of Colonial Hotels" by Maurizio Peleggio 
Hotel: An American History by A. K. Sandoval-Strausz
Home on the Rails: Women, the Railroad, and the Rise of Public Domesticity by Amy G. Richter
The romantic journey; the story of Thomas Cook and Victorian travel
Travel influencer rice farm controversy in The Daily Mail
"The World's Revolt Against 'Bad Tourists'" – BBC

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nymphetalumni.com/subscribe