At the Plaza Athénée, decoration cannot be reduced to a simple aesthetic signature. It’s part of a broader vision: to develop an emblematic luxury hotel in Paris without ever breaking with its heritage. In a context marked by the emergence of new luxury hotels and rising expectations in terms of customer experience, the question was not just to renovate, but to reposition.
François Delahaye ‘s ambition was clear: to bring the Plaza Athénée to life over time, anchoring it in a controlled modernity while preserving its historic identity – in other words, to imagine “the palace of tomorrow”. This is where Marie-José Pommereau ‘s work comes into its own. For more than fifteen years, she has accompanied the gradual transformation of rooms and suites, developing an approach in which decoration becomes a lever for experience. Far from being a fixed project, it’s an ongoing, almost invisible evolution that keeps the place desirable without ever losing its bearings.
Ce positionnement soulève une question essentielle pour les propriétaires et les architectes : comment faire évoluer un hôtel de luxe sans trahir son âme ? Le Plaza Athénée apporte une réponse singulière, fondée sur l’intemporalité, la cohérence et une compréhension fine de son environnement celui de l’avenue Montaigne, entre patrimoine et haute couture.Decorating the Plaza Athénée
Marie-José Pommereau has been the decorator at the Plaza Athénée for over 15 years, after several years’ experience working on private customer sites. She continued her work when creating the new rooms and suites in the hotel’s new buildings, as well as many of the bathrooms.
What’s your take on the French art of entertaining? What inspires your work at the Plaza Athénée?
If the art of entertaining at the PLAZA ATHÉNÉE has evolved over the last ten years, it’s thanks to François Delahaye and Laurence Bloch, who fulfill their roles as hosts to perfection. They wanted to turn this classic hotel into the Palace of tomorrow!
I designed an 18th-century-inspired decor revisited! On the first 6 floors, only the top two floors are more modern, with an Art Deco-inspired decor.
The rooms are decorated to make them feel warm and inviting: guests feel right at home! The rooms and especially the suites are designed as private apartments. They are all personalized.
All the materials used are rich and luxurious. The fabrics are silky soft, and details such as the cushions are embroidered with the hotel’s logo. Floral” fabrics are avoided because they are too outdated, preferring masses of plain silks in shimmering colors mixed with refined grays and beiges. Numerous paintings and objets d’art are collected.
Only the renovated bathrooms add a touch of modernity with their brightness. The selected marbles are clear and the play ofdecorated mirrors creates an attractive perspective.
The world of Haute Couture on Avenue Montaigne is reflected in every detail.
Suites to make you feel at home
For the past fifteen years, the hotel has hired a decorator to constantly refurbish its suites and rooms (now numbering 54 and 154 respectively). Marie-José Pommereau has therefore designed the hotel’s new suites as a continuation of her work. From the outset, his aim has been “to create places that reflect our customers’ dreams and expectations, i.e. rooms and apartments, always intimate and very private, that they will enjoy returning to every time they stay in Paris, as if they were coming home.”
Ambition is important. To be as comfortable as at home. To feel at home while being elsewhere, to travel and discover an atmosphere other than one’s own… These two feelings oppose and complement each other at the same time.
The new suites and rooms are located in buildings adjacent to the heart of the hotel. You won’t notice it as you move from one corridor to another. Let’s not forget the expression “change everything without changing anything”. In this way, the customer stays in the same mood and has the impression that it’s always been designed this way. This is precisely what characterizes a timeless approach.
At No. 29 avenue Montaigne, above the Harry Winston boutique, the 6 newly-created apartments offer incredible charm thanks to their volumes and spirit, with a “very couture” view of avenue Montaigne.
At no. 21 this time, above the Relais Plaza, the 8 new keys, including 2 signature Eiffel suites, a Deluxe and a Prestige, feature ambiances mostly combining gray with pink or parma. Signature suites feature a large bow window, and a silver-framed window with a view of the Eiffel Tower!
The bathroom is very bright. Grey-veined white “Calacatta” marble from Carrara lights up the room from every angle. The combination of mirrors and the striking mosaic next to the bath adds an unmistakable artistic dimension and a sense of spaciousness. The bathtub is large and inspires relaxation. It’s deep, so you can enjoy the full benefits of a bath. The hotel has installed “toto” toilets, featuring the best technology available on the subject!
The furniture is in a very French style known as Régence. It corresponds to the end of the Louis XIV style and the beginning of the Louis XV style. Cabinetwork and joinery add the nobility and symmetry of the Regency style. Decorative arts have a place of their own at the Plaza Athénée, in harmony with the evolution of technology and contemporary design. For example, the lighting controls are based on those of the Orient Express train. It’s a small detail, but one that highlights the importance of successfully blending elements from different eras.
Things to remember
At the Plaza Athénée, decorating is more than an aesthetic exercise frozen in time. It is part of an ongoing process, driven by a clear vision: to develop the rooms and suites without ever breaking with the identity of the place.
Marie-José Pommereau’s work illustrates an approach that is still all too rare in the hotel industry: that of a constant dialogue between heritage, use and modernity. The selection of antique furniture, the search for noble materials and the attention to detail not only respond to luxury codes, but also contribute to the construction of a coherent and lasting experience.
This logic is essential for owners and architects alike: designing a hotel is not about creating a décor, it’s about thinking of a place capable of living, evolving and remaining desirable over time. This means surrounding ourselves with partners capable of understanding the history of the site, its environment – in this case, Avenue Montaigne – and the ambition of the project.
More broadly, the decoration of a palace like the Plaza Athénée reminds us of a fundamental reality: the customer experience is based on a multitude of invisible choices, where every detail contributes to creating a subtle balance between familiarity and disorientation. It is in this ability to “change everything without changing anything” that a large part of the perceived value of the luxury hotel industry is played out today.
