This & That, Ceci et Cela

Mystery is swirling around Berlin’s five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel on Potsdamer Platz. The Ritz opened to great fanfare in January, but has since been plagued with odd problems. An unexplained fire took place two weeks after the hotel opened, and now a deadly bacteria infects the pipes. On July 8th, the hotel suddenly stopped taking bookings, insisting they were full despite obviously empty rooms. Guests were quietly shuffled to competing establishments, with “technical problems” offered as an explanation.

Speculation abounded and finally the truth was revealed: the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease—a respiratory infection which can lead to fatal pneumonia—had been detected in the hotel’s water. The Ritz insisted all is safe and that no guests were infected. The bacteria grew, hotel officials said, because water temperatures had been lowered to prevent guests from scalding themselves. Nonetheless, on July 30th health authorities closed the hotel indefinitely. Walter Junger, the hotel’s director is out of a job; Rainer Bürkle, head of the Istanbul branch of the Ritz, now has the job of making the Berlin Ritz ritzy again (The Economist).