The view from one of the Eiffel Suites
Why should I go now"
Paris in the spring; summer fashions adorning the Parisiennes and their offspring and canines; do you have no romance" The Avenue Montaigne, upon which Hôtel Plaza Athénée sits like a palace, is the most sophisticated retail street in the world, with the river and view across to the Eiffel Tower at one end, and the ?rond-point? floral circle of the Champs-Elysées at the other.
Alain Ducasse at Hôtel Plaza Athénée. Interiors by Patrick Jouin and Sanjit Manku.
What?s the lowdown"
Hôtel Plaza Athénée is the ultimate Paris ?establishment? hotel. Republics are created and Prime Ministers deposed in its art-deco Relais restaurant. Unions (romantic, corporate and both) are created in the three-Michelin-starred Alain Ducasse restaurant, the centrepiece of the chef?s empire. A recent complete refurbishment has transformed the hotel. The long gallery through its heart still has classic Paris in its soul but the lighting and ambience are gently contemporary; it now feels like a place for a 21st century couple, rather than the deposed Count of Montauban and his dowager companion. Service, by the Dorchester Collection, is typically attentive; as flourishing as you could possibly expect over tea at the Gallery. The bar is a place to propose over a Black Forest Gin Martini. The bar staff seemed slightly in two minds whether they needed to be cucumber-cool to match the new style bar décor, or Dorcheste...