Amy Adejokun
Section editor
After 3 years of renovations, this palace from the Roaring Twenties was the first Parisian palace to renew its facilities. The renovations were the exclusive work of designer Philippe Starck and the least one can say is that he put all his heart and personality into the hotel.
Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris - © Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris
Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris - © Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris
Many well known avenues stretch out from Charles-de-Gaulle-Etoile Square, the world famous symbol of luxury and refinement: Champs-Elysées, Wagram, Friedland, d'Iéna... This roundabout will make you dizzy. The most famous of these is obviously the one that faces the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Elysées, where most of the tourist bustle of the neighbourhood is concentrated. This is probably the reason why the palaces that abound in this part of Paris rarely stand directly on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées. The height of luxury is to be near everything without being in the heart of the bustle. Avenue Hoche is one of these truly chic avenues. This long and luminous street is lined with buildings and townhouses and stretches all the way to Parc Monceau. At number 33 you'll find the Dior perfume store. Here, everything is within reach: the Charles de Gaulle-Etoile metro station (lines 1, 2, 6, and the RER A), luxury boutiques, famous restaurants (le Fouquet's, MOOD, Chez Clément), taxis, nightclubs (the VIP Room, Club 79, the Queen, the Duplex); basically everything you could need to pass away the chic Parisian nights and days.
The hotel's 149 guest rooms have been decorated in such a way that guests get the feeling that they are entering a room where people actually live.
For Philippe Starck, these areas are completely inhabited and dedicated to artists and creators. The large beds are in the middle of the room so that "guests may be woken by the soft touch of the sun", the bedside table is a chair on which a drawing has been pinned, the lampshades are covered with doodles, in each room there is a guitar, and photos and paintings are at floor level.
In terms of decorating and consistency "one is not disturbed by the style, since there is no style! Everything is mixed: a Gae Aulenti lamp stands next to a Noguchi table, the desk dates from the Empire era, the sofa is a copy of Freud's famous sofa" explains Starck before adding "there'll be some people who won't like it, but I couldn't care less what they think. I need to please 200 people per day, and that's enough!'
For a whopping £630 per night, let's just hope that anyone who stays here will enjoy the haphazard non-style!
If you're not too bothered by the very marked decorative choices, you'll be pleased by the size of the rooms (85 rooms and 54 suites ranging from 55m² to 190 m², and 10 apartments from 160m² to 380 m²), and despite them being crammed with second-hand objects, they provide all the comfort one would expect from a palace: a walk-in-closet that looks like a changing room in a fashion boutique and huge bathrooms where the use of stone, steel, and mirrors give the place a meticulously clean look, a bit like an operating room.
The bathroom is sure to please rich and trendy artists who suffer from mysophobia (a pathological fear of contamination and germs).
The Royal Monceau first opened on the 1st of August 1928 and rapidly became a favourite haunt for rich artists and intellectuals. It was designed by architect Louis Duhayon, whose work includes the Lido arcades. With its esthetic qualities and beautiful proportions, this Roaring Twenties palace quickly came to incarnate Parisian elegance. After the Starck tornado between 2007 and 2010, this is the only physical aspect that remains of that distant past. In fact, rather than renovating the palace, the designer led a small revolution. As soon as you step in, the reception area gives you an idea of what is to come: spaciousness, a monumental stairway leading up to the rooms, abundant use of marble, columns, a large crystal chandelier... at least the basic features of a palace are there! The space remains the same, but its use has been completely rethought out. Starck saw the 'Grand Salon', which extends from the reception area, as a sort of gallery of mirrors and chandeliers, dotted with small private sitting rooms and mini glassed-in displays. There are large armchairs and numerous stools with mixed colours, shapes, and textures. In fact, there are all sorts of seats, and your (wealthy) posterior sure to find a nice fit. The common areas were designed by Starck as places where a strong statement can be made. They boast varied styles, textures, and colours, and are designed to give guests a bit of a stir, as seen in the cigar lounge, the 'Fumée Rouge', which is entirely upholstered in red. The Royal Monceau is completely dedicated to arts and was the first palace to incorporate the seventh art on its premises, as it houses its own private cinema with a hundred white leather seats. Another area dedicated to relaxation is the Spa My Blend by Clarins, with 1500 m² dedicated to relaxation and escape, and a 26m long swimming pool, which you can get a glimpse of from the garden, a fantastic world of plants designed by Louis Benech.
massage, sauna, hammam, keep fit, spa, Turkish bath, wellness
gym, fitness, sports
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