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By Gilles
Malaisé
Ava Gardner, Marylin
Monroe,
Charlie Chaplin, Robert de Niro and Céline Dion once pushed the
revolving door of the elegant 112th, rue du Faubourg St Honoré
building:
stepping 
inside
the most confidential palace hotel in Paris. A place where, a couple of
decades ago, some introduction was still necessary to receive
admission!
The whiter shade of pale marble floor, the Gobelin tapestries covering
the immaculate walls made out of Ile de France white stone (that kind
which
was used to build the Sacred Heart basilica, in Montmartre), the
Arabian
Nights carpets bought for extravagant prices and substituted by newer
one
once a year, and even the XVIIIth and XIXth centuries paintings
formerly
exhibited in the Louvre, don't catch the attention as much as the
cyclopean
bunches of flowers artistically arranged on period tables all around.
The
guests tend to be extremely faithful: 80% of them like to stay
nowhere
else, but at the Bristol when visiting Paris. Tradition sometime rhymes
with revolution, and Pierre Ferchaud in the 2000's, relayed by Didier
Le Calvez in the 2010's, general managers of the hotel, shaked
the dust -golden dust!- out of it: revamping the bar with a new design
and live music,
breaking walls and extending the hotel with a new wing, opening a
"brasserie"
which immediately turned out into a sough after trendy restaurant... We
could see by ourselves how many younger faces those two
gentlemen-hoteliers attracted
into Le Bristol ... including former French President Nicolas Sarkozy
and his wife,
Carla Bruni... This was not effortless, but the Bristol is in 2016 a
second
to none place for the jet society.
Visitors climb up to the
apartments
in an old wood and glass framed Otis lift. There is no other palace
hotel
in town with a such a beautiful one, indeed. Year
after year, we have been lucky enough to experience different
categories
of rooms during our repeated stays. One of our favourite remains
the 
suite
# 440-441. A bunch of flowers shaped like a globe matched the
aristocratic
Louis XVth gueridon supporting it. Six people could comfortably seat on
the deep and smooth period armchairs and sofa: welcoming outside
visitors
in the Bristol is a real pleasure. A warm natural light was invading
the
apartment; which we enjoyed quite a lot, as many other palace hotels in
Paris tend to have darker rooms: just like the Ritz, for instance,
which
is the direct concurrent of the Bristol. Such a brightness made us
cheerful
at first sight. We actually felt like in a privately owned property.
The
bathroom, made out of Carrara marble, was palatial. Mostly all the 199
rooms and 52 suites have been recently refurbished, with a similar one.
Bathrooms at the Bristol are now the largest in Paris: noblesse
oblige, the toiletry is naturally provided by Hermès. The newest
rooms can be found in the very recent extension: opened in October
2009,
it spreads out over a surface area of nearly 3,250 sq. m, comprising 21
rooms, five luxury suites and the trendy "114
Faubourg" restaurant, designed by Maja Oetker, owner of the hotel
since
1978. Those looking for a Eiffel Tower view, high ceilings and generous
exposition to the daylight, should straightly reserve their room
in this section. Note that, though the Faubourg St Honoré is quite
animated -which also means noisy- we could sleep like a baby: the
windows
are 100% sound proofed with a "zero tolerance" technology... making you
feel like miles away from Paris.
We could inspect the largest
apartments:
starting with the superlative Penthouse, which looks like a private
mansion.
Its living room 
was
formerly equipped with a direct lift, recently replaced by... a
fireplace.
World famous artists DO love it. This is Céline Dion's house, when
in Paris. Don't expect, nevertheless, to find here anything plush and
flashy;
the room is simply luxurious and cosy. If decorum is your style, then
rather
book the Presidential and Vice-Presidential suites. Huge (300sq m),
they
have been designed for state presidents and Hollywood movie stars.
Those
very special and distinctive travellers, like Robert de Niro, would
never
like to stay somewhere else than here: enjoying the panorama over the
Sacred
Heart, the Eiffel Tower, and the roofs of an idealised Vincente Minelli
like Paris they scarcely visit. Preferring organising appointments or
resting
in their suite, where they also have lunch or dinner in their gilted
nest,
rather than in the splendid ground floor Restaurant Epicure.
Which explains why the Bristol has one of the very best room service in
town. Chef Eric Frechon has been awarded his third Michelin star in
2008.
While the casual room service menu balances between the omelette and
the
toasted cheese sandwich with ham, the VIPs staying at the Bristol often
prefer some more sophisticated courses: just like a Lobster with Cream
Polenta and Squid Ink, or Cannellonis Filled with Foie Gras and Black
Truffle
(gourmet President Sarkozy's favourite dish), and Chocolate "Caraque"...
The hotel gets a particular
advantage
compared to its direct competitors: a pool. A splendid, unique, and
most
enjoyable one, indeed! Sharing the 6th 
floor
with a fitness club equipped the Californian way, it had been designed
by Dr Pinnau. A famous name among the jet-society, as he used to be the
architect for Niarchos and Onassis yachts. On the freshly
restaured
frescoes offering the swimmer a seaside panorama, you may recognise the
Grand-Hotel du Cap d'Antibes (Eden Roc), under similar ownership.
Another particularity: those who like to go shopping on their own can ask to the concierge the key... of a Smart car. A complimentary service, which seems to please very much the Rolls Royce and Ferrari addicted!
Should we add that, as a matter of fact, the service is anticipating any normal or eccentric requirement from part of the most pernickety guest. The rate for a double deluxe room starting from EUR 750, and from EUR 900 for a Junior Suite (EUR 6000 / 8000 for a Presidential Suite), one could decently be treated like a king.
More than 300 people are currently employed to deal with the newly refurbished 199 rooms and 52 suites. Staff is courteous, nice, and extremely attentive: that much that, whenever you handle the "Do not disturb" notice to your door, you may be sure that even without prior notice to the operator all the telephone calls to your room will be filtered.
Affiliated to the LEADING
HOTELS OF THE WORLD, the jewel
of the OETKER HOTEL COLLECTION
is one of the top four palace hotels in Paris. As a paradox, it is much
more famous around the world than in France. Our tip: make sure you
book
far in advance, whenever you want to mix up with the rich and famous
enjoying
this sanctuary of the French good taste.
HOTEL
LE BRISTOL: 112, rue du Faubourg St
Honoré,
75008 Paris
PHONE:
(33) 01 53 43 43
00
FACSIMILE: 01 53 43 43 01
E-MAIL:
resa@hotel-bristol.com
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