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It took four
years and €429 million to complete …and finally the fabulous Peninsula Hotel will open in
Paris next week.
It’s the Hong
Kong-based company’s tenth hotel, joining properties in New York, Chicago,
Beverly Hills, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Bangkok and Manila.
The first guests are set to arrive on August 1st.
Just steps from the Arc de Triomphe and the
Champs-Elysées, at 19 Avenue Kléber in the elegant 16th
arrondissement, The Peninsula Paris sits close to some of the world’s
most-famous monuments, museums and luxury shopping. It has 200 rooms including
34 suites, five of which have private rooftop gardens with spectacular views
over the city.
The building itself is a late-19th-century
classic French-style beauty. It first
opened in 1908 as one of Paris’ most famous “grands hotels” and, for 30
years, it hosted the rich and famous--along with leading lights in the arts,
literature and music--during the Belle Epoque and “Années Folles.”
In 1922, five of the greatest artists of the 20th
century-- James Joyce, Marcel Proust, Pablo Picasso, Sergei Diaghilev and Igor
Stravinsky—had dinner together here. Other historical highlights include George
Gershwin composing “An American in Paris” here in 1928 and the Paris Peace Accords, negotiated by Henry Kissinger and Le Duc
Tho--which brought the Vietnam War to a close--being signed here in 1973.
Following the wartime occupation of Paris, the hotel
was converted into UNESCO’s headquarters (in 1946), and 12 years later it
became the conference center for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The building has been meticulously restored by teams
of French master craftsmen, using techniques in use for hundreds of years.
Original elements long gone or badly damaged were recreated following extensive
research. Marble, stucco, mosaics, roof
and wall tiles, wood carvings, stone work, gold leafing, paintings and a myriad
of other elements have been lovingly preserved and painstakingly restored by
some of France’s most-revered family firms, known for their work on heritage
projects such as the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles.
The façade alone employed the talents of 20 skilled
stonemasons who restored the elaborate carved stone flowers, bows and ribbons.
Repairs were carried out where possible, carving missing portions by hand using
stone-dust paste. Where the bas-reliefs were severely damaged, the entire
section was replaced by new, hand-carved stone, using photos for reference.
Each flower cascade took a stonemason three weeks of work…12 hours of work
alone for each small bow.
Meanwhile wood-restoration experts individually numbered and removed each original wood panel in the Lobby and Le
Bar Kléber: 370 and 130 sections respectively. These were then sanded down,
repaired, restored and replaced.
A firm specializing in gilding and restoring handled
repairs, gold leafing and hand painting. Their previous commissions in Paris
have included the dome of Les Invalides and the Palace of Versailles, while in
the US their projects have included the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington
and the flame of the Statue of Liberty.
Three basement levels were excavated to create a 1800-square-foot
spa, a 20-meter swimming pool, fitness centre and parking for 57 cars.
The Avenue Kléber hotel entrance leads to the
traditionally grand Peninsula Lobby, with soaring curved ceilings, magnificent
drapery, marble floors and contemporary furnishings. In a second lobby—which greets guests arriving by car--a hand-blown Lasvit chandelier
creates a cascade of 800 crystal “leaves,” a subtle homage to the plane trees
lining Avenue Kléber.
With the smallest of them 35 square meters (312 square
feet), the guestrooms are among the largest in the city; the company says
they’re also the most technologically advanced in the world. Every room has a
marble bathroom, a self-contained dressing room, a walk-in closet, a seated
dressing table, a valet box for discreet pick-up and delivery of laundry,
dry-cleaning and polished shoes, a large electronic safe, internet radio, a
weather display panel and –wait for it!—a nail dryer. (Personally, I love the
Nespresso machines and the free local and international phone calls!)
Fully customized interactive digital bedside and desk
tablets are preset for guests in one of 11 languages, offering full control of
all in-room functions and access to restaurant menus, hotel services and TV
channels. In-room LED touch-screen wall panels feature valet call, weather
details, thermostat, language and privacy options.
In addition to 24-hour room service, the Peninsula
Paris has six dining venues: The Lobby,
LiLi (the Cantonese restaurant), La Terrasse Kléber, L’Oiseau Blanc (a rooftop
restaurant, bar and terrace), Le Lounge Kléber (an eight-seat cigar lounge) and
Le Bar.
There are also function and banquet rooms, of course, including a traditional
Parisian-style ballroom-salon with a pre-function area for up to 120 people, and three rooms for smaller meetings and
events.
Throughout the hotel, executive chef Jean-Edern
Hurstel says he’ll be using only the very best of French ingredients and a
“farm to table” approach to seasonal cuisine. Jean-Edern was born and raised in
Alsace and comes to the hotel from the Middle East, where he was working at the
Shangri-La Abu-Dhabi and, more recently, Boca Restaurant in Dubai.
Vichy-born chief sommelier Xavier Thuizat presides
over The Peninsula Paris’ extensive wine cellar while indulging his passion for
sourcing unique boutique wines from small producers throughout France.
Pastry chef Julien Alvarez hails originally from
Bergerac and has won a multitude of
awards, including a gold medal in the World Pâtisserie Championship in 2011.
And what about the famous Peninsula cars? Yep, they’re
here and at the ready: Continuing the company’s
long partnership (since 1970) with Rolls-Royce, a Rolls-Royce EWB
Phantom and a meticulously restored 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II are liveried,
together with two customized Peninsula Edition MINI Cooper Clubman
vehicles, in the signature Peninsula
green in front of the hotel. There’s also a fleet of 10 BMW 7 Series limousines for airport
transfers, sightseeing and trips around Paris.
The hotel’s general manager is Nicolas Béliard , who
has extensive experience throughout Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and the US. He
joined the company in 2009, at The Peninsula Hong Kong, and became GM of the
Peninsula Bangkok the following year.
Hotel manager Vincent Pimont also has years of luxury
hotel experience, in Paris, the US and
the Far East. He comes most recently from the Peninsula Beijing.
Opening
month specials begin at €750 per night, for a Superior room with full breakfast for two (usually
€1,205).
To
reserve, click here, go to Peninsula.com or call: 08 00 91 59 80 (in France) or 866 382 8388 (in the US).
Photos: (1) You've arrived! One of the two lobbies, with its hand-blown crystal "Dancing Leaves" chandelier. (2) The Peninsula all lit up and ready to party. (3) Rooftop restaurant views at L’Oiseau Blanc. (4, 5) Guestrooms and marble bathrooms are loaded with luxe amenities and tech. (6) Executive chef Jean-Edern Hurstel on the hunt for the best seasonal ingredients and products. (7) The hotel at 19 avenue Kléber opened in 1908 and was known for voluminous spaces, elegant events, beauty and glamour. (8, 9) Countless craftsmen using traditional methods did the meticulously restoration, guided by historic photos. (10) Inviting sweets are among the in-room amenities offered.
