 The Ritz acquired the adjoining Wimbourne House in 2005 . On 27 January 2007 , around 300 people were evacuated to the nearby May Fair Hotel following a fire alarm in the hotel . No one was hurt in the blaze , which started in the basement casino kitchen 's extraction vents . The Ritz casino only suffered " minor damage " . Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was convalescing at the Ritz when she died following a stroke on 8 April 2013 . 
