I invite you to discover several articles on the renovation of the Plaza Ath\u00e9n\u00e9e in Paris. It ranks among the most beautiful and iconic Palaces in Paris, and it is a place\u00a0that I\u00a0hope you will gradually come to discover each day for the next two weeks. I\u00a0begin by presenting to you the history behind the hotel. Enjoy!<\/p>\n
April 20, 1913<\/strong>: Avenue Montaigne is in a flurry of excitement. On No. 25, Plaza\u00a0Ath\u00e9n\u00e9e Hotel opens\u00a0its doors for the first time. It features at the time 16 rooms on each floor in\u00a0addition to apartments on the top floor. In the restaurant, the chef of the era,\u00a0Jacques-L\u00e9on Colombier, regales Parisian taste buds. The establishment swiftly becomes\u00a0the undisputed ‘place to be’ in town after a night out at the theater, and it was not\u00a0unheard of to regularly cross paths in the hotel with the leading composers and\u00a0performers of the era.<\/p>\n The raging 20’s<\/strong>, in full rage. The war has just ended. The time calls for jubilation\u00a0and ostentation. The architect Jules Lefebvre is tasked with creating the grand\u00a0apartments, the Garden Courtyard, as well as the R\u00e9gence and Marie-Antoinette\u00a0Lounge Suites.<\/p>\n 1936<\/strong>: The restaurant Relais Plaza opens its doors: its decor is left in the hands of\u00a0interior designer Constant Lefranc, who makes of it an Art Deco temple.<\/p>\n 1947<\/strong>: Christian Dior establishes his house of Haute Couture on Avenue\u00a0Montaigne, right by the Plaza Ath\u00e9n\u00e9e.<\/p>\n 1968<\/strong>: new times, new lifestyles. The Theatre of Od\u00e9on is lit with activity. On its\u00a0end, the Palace submits to the trends without betraying its golden origins, and it\u00a0undergoes several changes in direction: Paul Bougenaux in 1969, former Head\u00a0Concierge, who orders his staff to march in protest to the threat of the hotel\u2019s\u00a0sale; Franco Cozzo in 1979; Herv\u00e9 Houdr\u00e9 in 1995 who undertakes significant\u00a0renovation works, faced with a growing pool of competition.<\/p>\n In 1999<\/strong>, Fran\u00e7ois Delahaye becomes the General Manager and sets important\u00a0changes in motion. He calls upon Alain Ducasse to head the hotel\u2019s restaurant\u00a0and, in particular, to orchestrate the restaurant menu for the restaurant Alain\u00a0Ducasse at Plaza Ath\u00e9n\u00e9e, which is awarded three stars in 2001.<\/p>\n In the meantime, chef Philippe Marc presides over Relais Plaza, while over in the\u00a0Galerie des Gobelins, world pastry champion Christophe Michalak unveils\u00a0legendary dessert offerings. In 2001, Dorchester Collection announces that it will\u00a0henceforth assume management over Plaza Ath\u00e9n\u00e9e Hotel in Paris on behalf of\u00a0Brunei Investment Agency. The Bar is redesigned by designer Patrick Jouin and\u00a0becomes the capital\u2019s most fashionable spot for a rendez-vous. In 2003,\u00a0Laurence Bloch, the hotel\u2019s Director, entrusts designers Bettina Mortemard and\u00a0Marie-Jos\u00e9 Pommereau with the care of redesigning the hotel\u2019s 194 rooms,\u00a0including its 46 suites. Two years later, a Suite Royale measuring 450 m2 is\u00a0inaugurated on the fifth floor. But the quest for excellence does not stop there; in\u00a02008, the classically styled Eiffel Suite, offering a spectacular view on the\u00a0monument from which it borrows its name, is inaugurated. It is in this very same\u00a0year that the world\u2019s first Dior Institute sees the light of day, thereby\u00a0commemorating the history forged between Haute Couture and the hotel, which\u00a0receives in 2011 the label of Living Heritage Company (Entreprise du Patrimoine\u00a0Vivant, EPV).<\/p>\n The following year, the ultimate honor, even if the tribute seemed to be a matter\u00a0of due course: the Plaza Ath\u00e9n\u00e9e receives the official distinction of Palace\u00a0status. Finally, on April 20, 2013, the Plaza Ath\u00e9n\u00e9e celebrates its 100-year\u00a0anniversary from the inauguration of the hotel, down to the exact day. For the\u00a0occasion, a Time Capsule is constructed. Objects from bygone days as well as\u00a0the present one are stored in the capsule for the purpose of conveying them to\u00a0posterity for the coming 25 years!<\/p>\n