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.