by James Ruggia
Last updated: 7:00 PM ET, Wed April 15, 2015
There are many flavors to a stay in Paris and if opulence in the center of the city near its most iconic attractions in combination with the its most famous chef works for you then the Hôtel Plaza Athénée should be your choice in the City of Lights. Those elements certainly work for our readers who gave it a Travvy for being the Best City Hotel in Europe.
The Hôtel Plaza Athénée was among the first eight properties to be granted the title of Palace Hotel by the French government when it began bestowing its highest hotel accolade in 2011. Still the hotel wasn't satisfied, and just reopened last May after a $268 million renovation and expansion that helped to integrate three new buildings into the property.
So now the hotel is in full flower and so are its signature window flower boxes with their red geraniums spilling out like the hanging gardens of Paris. The new buildings add a lot more space for meetings and events as well as six new guest rooms, eight suites, a ballroom and more. Now the hotel features 208 rooms and 54 suites. The renovation also added new interiors in several suites.
And then there is the Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée restaurant. The three-star Michelin chef and his eponymous restaurant were cited by The Daily Meal as being among the 10 best restaurants in Paris saying, "Ducasse strives to create a more 'natural' cuisine by cutting back on cream, butter, and sugar. The fact that he can do so and still earn three Michelin stars is amazing."
And then there's the hotel's impeccable location on the Avenue Montaigne near the Eiffel Tower and the Champs Elysées, where the city itself is most opulent. The food, the rooms and the suites all make this almost more a setting in a romance than a hotel, especially in the suites.
The hotel's Eiffel Suite and its Prestige Suite each measure more than 300 square meters, use the finest fabrics and furnishings, and offer floor-to-ceiling windows for views on the City of Lights. Of course the best view of the Eiffel Tower is had from the Eiffel Suite, but the renovation left 15 rooms with a direct view of the tower and more than 40 with some view. Suite guests also have the option of getting around Paris in the hotel's Aston Martins.
Its status as a Palace Hotel with more than a century of tradition doesn't prevent the property from being innovative. As a Dorchester Collection member, the hotel has recently added online shopping technology in the rooms which allows guests to buy gifts. The online shop is easy to use allowing guests to create a basket of items from the hotel's shops before checking out. Fragrance candles, towels, bed linens and other products from the hotel.
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