Hotel Splendide

“An uproarious account of his life as a waiter at the thinly disguised Ritz-Carlton in the 1920s . . . He is a canny observer with a wry sense of humor, an innocent bystander who simply looks on. He’s like P.G. Wodehouse, with a touch of the Marx Brothers. . . . a delight from beginning to end.”
--The Wall Street Journal

"Hotel Splendide, Bemelmans’s 1941, out-of-print memoir, which is being reissued by Pushkin Press this month, is a delightful passport to a long-lost era"
--Air Mail

“The original bad boy of the New York restaurant/hotel underbelly. Bemelmans is always funny, insightful and dead on target.”
--Anthony Bourdain

“Freshness and vitality…wit, humor, pathos, and the inimitable Bemelmans’ touch.”
--Kirkus Reviews

“The kitchen memoir to end them all.”
--Slightly Foxed

“A seemingly light-hearted yet deceptively dark memoir of [Bemelmans'] time working in a luxury hotel in 1920s New York. A gently flowing, delightfully gossipy read, I could easily picture the entirety shot in black-and-white vignettes, Woody Allen style.”
--Irish Times

“A charming memoir.”
--Independent

“Immensely fun and an absolutely charming book... a beautiful classic” 
--WAMC North East Public Radio Book Picks.