Hôtel Plaza Athénée

France
Europe

The Experience

Hollywood location scouts cast the Plaza Athénée when they need to convey Parisian luxury—most recently in The Devil Wears Prada. It's an easy call. The 1889-era eight-story building, a hotel since 1911, basks in its Louis XVI and Regency glory in the eighth arrondissement, flanked by couture houses and big-label boutiques. Her scarlet balloon awnings are like perfectly made-up eyelids batting coquettishly, signaling it as the perennial first choice for Paris' fashion-industry players.

The Rooms

Amber-scented rooms feel like apartments, with leather-bound books, fresh flowers and tall windows that open wide to the ivy-covered interior courtyard or partial Eiffel Tower views. A small entry hall leads to a comfy, toffee-and-nougat-colored 280-square-foot bedroom with an entire wall of closets. The galley-style, chocolate-marble bathroom has separate shower and tub and enough floor space to dance to the TV/stereo speakers. Upgrade to a suite for a dressing room, guest bathroom and more than double the square footage. The Royal Suite is Paris' largest, and the Eiffel Suite has a rooftop terrace.

The Service

The staff, while at your side with the slightest nod, won't be doing any fawning or cooing over you. Take that as their signature discretion, not as Parisian rudeness. In fact, the front desk seems pleased you've joined them, and the concierge team takes immense pride in the city. And when you hail your car, it appears briskly on the avenue, swooping ahead of the omnipresent taxis.

The Highlights

Alain Ducasse oversees gastronomy in the four restaurants and room service. His eponymous eatery delivers traditional French formality with a pop of fiery orange and sprays of 10,000 illuminated crystals, rivaling the flamboyance of his architecturally stylized plating. To work off the rich food, a small mahogany-paneled gym staffs a personal trainer. The hotel's bar is a notorious celebrity and fashion-world hangout; the blue-backlit, frosted-glass bar and clubby leather chairs by the street-level windows serve as perches for the perfectly turned out. If you have any intention of blending in, adhere to the de facto dress code of conspicuous labels, and don't even think about loosening your tie. The hotel offers the use of a private motorboat to cruise the Seine.

 

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