room service breakfast

Hôtel Plaza Athénée is one of Paris’ most stylish and romantic five star hotels with an unrivalled fashion heritage. Located on the chic Avenue Montaigne, this Art Nouveau palace hotel has been epitome Parisian luxury since 1911.

I was recently invited to spend the night at Hôtel Plaza Athénée as part of a luxury trip to the Hermès Atelier and Hermès Left Bank store. Staying at Plaza Athénée has always been a dream and pulling up to the hotel in our taxi, seeing the iconic red awnings was a real ‘wow’ moment.

Sex and the City filming

This is a good point to mention that Hôtel Plaza Athénée was the backdrop for Carrie Bradshaw’s Paris adventures for ‘An American Girl in Paris’, the last two episodes of Sex and the City. The lobby is elegant, intimate and filled with beautiful floral arrangements. It is in fact cosier than in the TV series (a trick of the camera), yet just as spectacular.

Arrival

Throughout the hotel there is a luminous warmth, making you feel enveloped in a cashmere cocoon of luxury. The friendly, attentive staff impressed by learning to pronounce my name perfectly, addressing me as ‘Madame Alimohamadi’ for the duration of my stay. It’s these small touches that keeps Plaza Athénée, a member of the prestigious Dorchester Collection, at the top of its game.

The Room

My Deluxe Room on the first floor overlooking the Avenue Montaigne was simply exquisite. It was designed in a Parisian style with a colour palette of pink, silver grey and light beige. The stunning Louis XVI-style chairs and the heavy silk drapes were made of the finest fabric and I loved the antique lamps and marquetry writing bureau.

A Welcome Treat

I was welcomed with a delicious lemon cake, large bottle of mineral water and fresh fruit.

The spacious room also featured a separate dressing room with two wardrobes, a full-length cupboard and a vanity dresser.

The king-size bed was ever so comfortable and covered with crisp hypo-allergenic linen. There is also a pillow menu, so you choose between de-stressing, osteopathic, beautifying, wheat, synthetic or horsehair. I didn’t have time to select my pillows before dinner, but the pillows selected for me were perfect (I’d like to think they were the beautifying ones).

When I first arrived, it took a while to find the TV. I searched the cupboards and tables for a sign of a screen and eventually discovered that the large gilded mirror turned into a plasma TV!

Other room features include remote-control air conditioning, internet access (for a fee), DVD player, twice daily housekeeping (including evening turn-down), complimentary shoe shine and a minibar stocked with 80 items.

The Bathroom

The marble bathroom was also suitably luxurious with a marble bath, walk-in shower, double sink and embroidered bathrobes and slippers. The chic bathroom amenities resembled Chanel No.5 bottles and were specially developed for the hotel by natural skincare brand, Plantation.

Breakfast

In the morning, we had an early start, so I ordered the American Breakfast – Poached Eggs on Toast with bacon, a selection of Viennoiserie, cereal, red berries, fresh orange juice and English breakfast tea. The breakfast was excellent and beautifully presented on a full-size table with silver service.

The Carrie Bradshaw Suite

We were given a tour of the hotel, starting with the Eiffel Suite, also known as the Carrie Bradshaw suite. The suite has since been redesigned, however, we stood on the balcony where a Sonia Rykiel-clad Carrie screams at the Eiffel Tower.

On this one rare occasion, I felt slightly more fortunate than Carrie Bradshaw, as I had the pleasure of spending my time there with Hermès and fabulous fashion bloggers, rather than Aleksandr Petrovsky! However, wearing her mille-feuille couture gown to dinner would have been most welcome.

Dining at Plaza Athénée is an absolute delight. You can enjoy tea and cake by renowned pastry chef Christophe Michalak in the elegant Galerie des Gobelins (where Carrie met Petrovsky’s daughter Chloé) or summer outdoor dining at La Terrasse Montaigne or the romantic Cour Jardin.

For something more traditional and typically Parisian, try Le Relais Plaza with its steak and seafood focused bistro menu by Alain Ducasse. The interiors are inspired by the Art Deco liner Le Normandie and the entrance is lined with photographs of celebrity guests at Le Relais Plaza.

Dinner at Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée

The jewel of the hotel, however, is the three Michelin star restaurant, Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée. We enjoyed a long, multiple course dinner at The Chef’s Table – an experience for special occasions that cannot be bought.

Le Bar du Plaza Athénée

An apéritif or a cocktail at Le Bar du Plaza Athénée is an absolute must. The hip bar is designed by Patrick Jouin, a former protégé of Philippe Starck and has cool features such as a sculpted glass bar and iPads for ordering cocktails. Recently, the Plaza Athénée mixologist Thierry Hernandez collaborated with perfumer Sophie Labbé on L’ELIXIR DE PRINTEMPS, a unique cocktail and perfume experience. With each cocktail, guests receive a limited edition bottle of L’ELIXIR DE PRINTEMPS perfume.

Dior Institut

Another perk of staying at Hôtel Plaza Athénée is access to the stunning Dior Institut. Opened in 2008, the Dior Institut pays tribute to the long-standing relationship between the hotel and Christian Dior. In 1947, Christian Dior opened his first shop on Avenue Montaigne, so that he could be close to his beloved Plaza Athénée and his well-heeled clients. In fact, Monsieur Dior even named some of his collections ‘Plaza’ and ‘Athénée’.

This stylish, peaceful sanctuary offers a relaxation lounge, tea room, steam baths, saunas and fitness centre. Luxurious Dior Beauté skin and body treatments are offered in private rooms designed to reflect Christian Dior’s iconic geometric lines and signature colours, white and grey.

Hôtel Plaza Athénée continues its strong fashion legacy by hosting the Dorchester Collection Prize 2012. The judging panel, from different sectors of the fashion industry, includes Kenzo Takada, Lorenz Baumer, Bruno Frisoni, Nathalie Rykiel, Chantal Thomass, Alexandra Golovanoff, Harumi Klossowska de Rola and Jean-Jacques Picart.

Staying at Hôtel Plaza Athénée is a dreamy, awe-inspiring experience, where luxury is a fine art. A more stylish Paris address simply cannot be found.

A Deluxe Room is priced at €995 per night. Suites start from €1,255. For more info and booking, visit: www.plaza-athenee-paris.com

Chérie City was a guest of Hôtel Plaza Athénée

All photos by Chérie City

Marble Arch is a part of Central London where you’d expect a cluster of uninspiring tourist-orientated chain hotels, rather than a chic luxury boutique townhouse hotel.

Opened just last year, The Arch London is part of London’s growing trend of stylish townhouse hotels – in good company with Soho’s Dean Street Townhouse, The Zetter Townhouse in Clerkenwell and the more established Flemings Mayfair.

Townhouse hotels have become a popular accommodation choice in London due to their charm, personal approach to service and their cool juxtaposition of contemporary style with period features.

Tucked away on a quiet residential street, just a few minutes walk from Marble Arch, The Arch London is an elegant 82-bedroom Georgian townhouse hotel. On entering, the stresses of the city float away are you surrounded by eye-catching artworks by emerging British artists.

The Arch London has a buzzing atmosphere that centres around HUNter 486, an open-plan kitchen and dining room with leather banquettes and rustic refectory tables, which takes its name from the 1950s district dialling code for Marylebone.

HUNter 486 also comprises an adjoining cocktail bar with Philippe Starck bar stools and a Salon de Champagne featuring a Champagne Graffiti ceiling by award-winning illustrator Sara Fanelli, emblazoned with quirky anecdotes.

My favourite spot at The Arch London is the Martini Library – a cosy literary den where you can curl up with a Taschen coffee table book in front of the fireplace and get lost for a few hours – and perhaps order one of their signature Earl Grey MarTEAnis.

The Arch London has nine suites, three of which have outdoor terraces. I stayed with Maman Chérie in a Four Poster Junior Suite on the ground floor, overlooking the front street yet camouflaged by some well-maintained topiary.

It was beautifully designed with a stunning blend of traditional and contemporary, high ceilings and original period features.

The colour scheme of grey-blue, mink and chartreuse with dark wood was kind on the eye and centred around the striking feature wall. A rebellious pink striped velvet armchair, which I adopted for the stay, raffishly broke up the colour unity, in a kind of ‘don’t try this at home’ way.

Every piece of furniture and artwork in our room had been carefully chosen and the attention to detail was unbelievable.

High-speed wifi is complimentary and guests can help themselves to full-size soft drinks from the minibar (free of charge). Add to that full Sky HD, an iPod docking station, CD/DVD player and an in-house film library ‘Best Oscar’ movies from the last 50 years, and you’ll never want to leave your gadget-filled room!

Far from the average tea and coffee making facilities, The Arch London provides a Nespresso machine with a choice of coffee capsules and a selection of Jing teas, all served on monochrome lacquered trays with a Burleigh china tea pot and sleek espresso cups.

The bathroom was breathtakingly huge and a haven of indulgence. Designed in black marble and white tiles, the bathroom boasted a wall-to-wall mirror, double sinks, walk-in shower and the ultimate luxury – a TV over the bath.

We were given plenty of big fluffy towels, bathrobes and a full set of bathroom products by MALIN+GOETZ and extra bottles in the shower. You know a hotel has got it right when the bathroom is just as exciting as the room.

In the afternoon, we had a wander around Selfridges and Bond Street and finished the evening with a long dinner at HUNter 486, but more about that later. I shut myself away in the bathroom for an hour or so watching The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the bath with a free Diet Coke from the minibar – absolute bliss!

The bed was insanely comfortable and so high that I had to hop right up to get in. Even though our room was overlooking the main street, there was no noise at all, so a good night sleep was had by all.

In the morning, we ordered the Full English tray to be delivered to our room. The mini pastries were excellent, but the coffee arrived lukewarm and the meat section was missed off our trays.

We could have phoned down and I imagine the staff would come running with the missing items, but in fact we were quite pleased to have a slightly more modest breakfast after huge dinner the night before. The quality of the breakfast was excellent and a few tweaks with the serving accuracy would make it spot on.

Every tiny corner of The Arch London has been meticulously considered and you can tell that the owners delight in creating the most memorable stay for guests. Rather than an ostentatious show of luxury, The Arch is all about personal service, generous offerings and cultural touches that make you feel at home, rather than in a stark museum.

Located just ten minutes from Hyde Park, Selfridges and Bond Street, it’s the perfect place for an ever-so-stylish city break, however, you just might not want to leave!

Cherie City was a guest at The Arch London

All photos by Cherie City

A Carrie Bradshaw Moment at Hôtel Plaza Athénée Paris