The Plaza Athénée has just expanded and partly renovated itself after ten months of work. "If we chose to expand the Plaza Athénée, it is to carry on an adventure that began a hundred years ago," explains François Delahaye, the hotel's general manager, so it can remain a truly Parisian address, forever linked to the world of Haute Couture.
I had the pleasure of discovering this house of hotel Haute Couture. That is exactly how I experienced the service delivered in this Palace. Every member of staff takes the greatest care so that your stay unfolds under the best possible conditions, much like the couturiers who surround you to create a made to measure dress, where a whole chain of skills comes together to prepare it for you.
The hotel kept every member of its staff throughout the renovation. This obviously represents a significant budget, and one that matters just as much, in substance, as the cost of the renovation itself. Employees kept their salary during the ten months the hotel was closed. Some were able to work at the Hôtel Le Meurice, others trained further in England or in other destinations. Then everyone returned to their post for the reopening, bringing new ideas and new experience to keep the service in constant pursuit of excellence. Guests, in turn, were able to pick up their habits again and find the staff they already knew.
The richness of this establishment lies in having nearly 150 of its 537 staff members with more than ten years of seniority, almost 50 of them with more than twenty years. In this way, tradition is honoured from one generation to the next, while still being reinterpreted as new skills arrive.
The legendary character of the hotel appeals to its staff. They are part of this Palace's history and shape the hotel in their own way. Every morning, department heads meet to prepare the day: presenting each guest's arrival, the events taking place at the hotel, and the concerns of the staff. Every head of department makes sure their team works in good conditions and that every means is put in place to help them succeed in their mission. Their role is also to coach and motivate their people. The social dimension matters.
The staff I crossed paths with throughout the day all shared a genuine pride in belonging to the Plaza Athénée family, and were keen to give their very best so that each guest's stay would go as well as possible. The French art of welcome is very much alive at the Plaza Athénée. As François Delahaye, the hotel's director, puts it: "In France, we love to serve. There are people who enjoy being of service, who take pleasure in that role; they do not feel diminished by it at all. There is none of that sense of servitude you find in Anglo-Saxon countries, where service professions are seen as demeaning." To be of service to a guest is to ease their day, to bring them a smile, an emotion, a memory: it is a gift of oneself in service of another.
I have sometimes wondered whether guests always deserve this level of attention. There are, indeed, difficult guests at times. I once watched a couple sitting in the gallery who paid no attention at all to the waitress smiling at them constantly, doing everything she could to catch their eye, a moment of attention, any sign at all. Nothing. Closed off, distant, the couple stayed shut in their own world. Luxury is also an education, a culture, an attitude and a respect owed to staff. Respect and genuine exchange are essential to living the experience fully. I have also met guests who would greet this or that staff member as they passed by and chat about anything and everything. They knew each other and simply enjoyed the conversation. That, too, is the spirit of this luxury hotel.
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