Hotel News
May 2012 online now!
Dreaming of a fabulous summer vacation drifting quietly along the canals of Burgundy on a delightful barge trip? So were we. Check out our latest issue of La Belle France to read more about this, and:
-Les Enfants Terribles
-Bread & Roses: the perfect shopping break
-Paris’s Ecole Ferrandi cooking school
-The Ritz & the Crillon: renovations coming soon (some have already started)
-The Provinces Museum Calendar Summer 2012 (don’t go to France this summer without our cultural calendar on-hand!)
Login to access the issue at www.labellefrance.com, or subscribe.
Versailles …not just for Royals anymore
The French had a hard time “getting into” Sofia Coppola’s rock’n’roll Marie Antoinette movie with Kirsten Dunst… but it’s true love with Les Adieux à la Reine, the new film based on French author Chantal Thomas’s (not to be confused with lingerie designer Chantal Thomass) award-winning novel that focuses on the Queen’s reader on the eve of the Revolution. (This time round, the ill fated Austrian is portrayed by German actress/model Diane Kruger.) French theaters are filled this spring.
While France abounds with prettier, more romantic castles, Versailles is the one that continually tugs at the heartstrings. For years, the prettiest hotel in Versailles has been the Trianon Palace, abutting the palace gardens, with its kitchen currently supervised by British bad boy Gordon Ramsay. Unfortunately, the Trianon Palace has been bought, re-sold and re-vamped so many times over the last 25 years that its original Belle Époque charm has been lost in the shuffle.
To read more of this article from our April issue of La Belle France, login or subscribe!
March 2012 online now!
Our March issue is online now… and if you’re a print subscriber, it’s in the mail! It features a cover article on Oscar Wilde’s final digs, L’Hôtel, as well as reviews of other favorite Paris hotels: Le San Régis and Le Saint James. In this same article we take a look at the new Paris “W” as well. Cast your vote on this one on our Facebook page. And there’s no time like springtime to take a look at what’s new (and gone) in Michelin.
As for Paris restaurants… L’Hédoniste quickly garnered much press as well as two toques from Gault-Millau. Do we agree? You’ll have to read it to find out.
Rounding out our March issue, we have a complete listing of the Paris Cultural Calendar for Spring 2012. Don’t go to Paris without checking it!
For all this and more, every month, make sure you are a current subscriber to La Belle France!
Hot Air
In our latest issue, we review the whimsical and so stylish Saint James hotel. We love the a la Jules Verne-esque outdoor dining and bar area, featuring fabulous and fanciful hot air balloons!
Saint James Paris. 43 avenue Bugeaud, 75116. Tel: 01.44.05.81.81. www.saint-james-paris.com Forty-six rooms and two private pavilions from 310€ to 1,500€. Breakfast: 28€ or 35€.
Palace in a Park
Right now, decorator Bambi Sloan is putting the finishing touches on her ‘crazy chic’ (with the emphasis on ‘chic’) makeover of the Napoleon III-style Saint James Paris Hotel in a private park in the 16th arrondissement. We’ll bring you all the details on the finished product (including its “Gemology” spa with treatments based on precious stones) in a future issue, but for now: www.saint-james-paris.com Corinne LaBalme
Every day is Valentine’s Day!
Valentine Bonus! Every day (in February) is Valentine’s Day at Paris’s romantic Hôtel San Régis because the hotel is extending it’s “Forfait St Valentin” packages all month long. (The “Relax Attitude” includes a massage for two in the Spa Payot!) Rates start at 920€ (for two) on two-night stays. For more details: www.hotel-sanregis.fr Corinne LaBalme
Cross the Rhine at the Plaza!
Get a side-trip to Bavaria via metro on March 15, 16, and 17 when German-born Werner Küchler, director of the Relais Plaza, hosts home-town chef Walter Leufen for a menu that includes Geräuchentes Forellenfilet von Tegernsee, mit Gurken in Meerrettichcreme (Tegernsee Lake smoked trout with cucumber/horse-radish cream), Schweinshaxe mit Bierjus und Speckwirsing (pork knuckle cooked in beer with cabbage and bacon) or apple streudl with vanilla sauce. The wait-staff will wear dirndls and lederhosen (but you don’t) and live bavarian folk music is promised as well. www.plaza-athenee-paris.com — Corinne LaBalme
Chantilly
In our latest issue, we explore the many worlds of Chantilly… from large mega resort, to small, family-run inn. Just 30 minutes from Paris, Chantilly offers history, sport, and, as described in our latest issue, great food.
BOOT CAMP… Saint-Tropez Style
Want to suffer? Want to fast?
Want to sweat your body back into shape?
Then by all means, AVOID signing up for a 5 day/4 night boot-camp session at La Réserve, the snazzy new five-star hotel in the Saint-Tropez ‘bedroom community’ of Ramatuelle.
Your tiring day will begin with a healthy breakfast, and an hour-long yoga session followed by a (brisk or leisurely) stroll on one of the Riviera’s prettiest beaches.
Then you have the rest of the day to “recover” from all that effort with body wraps, spa treatments, ‘relaxation sessions’, a dip or two in the swimming pool… and of course, lunch and dinner in the hotel’s stylish restaurant.
The next session is October 10 to 15 (4,950€ per person for full board).
La Réserve – Ramatuelle. Chemin de la Quessine, 83350. Tel: 04.94.44.94.44. www.lareserve-ramatuelle.com
Corinne LaBalme
DIM-SUM… DELUXE!
DIM-SUM… DELUXE! The Shang Palace — the Cantonese-ish Chinese Restaurant in Paris’s brand-new and super-elegant Shangri-La Hotel — opened its decorative laquered doors on September 8th. In a stylish Mandarin dining room with hand-carved green onyx columns, thrill to culinary specialties like fragrant, herb-laced conch soup (‘Buddha jumping over the wall’) and ‘Lion’s head’ pork… accompanied by a Château Latour or super-exotic Mou-Tai rice brandy. www.shangri-la.com or shangpalace.slpr@shangri-la.com Corinne LaBalme
Elite Hair at the Park Hyatt
Hot Hair-Dos: “The” place to get colored and clipped in Paris? Super-stylist John Nollet has checked into Suite 101 at the high-glam Hôtel Park Hyatt. On a sunny day, his exclsive ‘Amelia Earhart’ hairstyle, 700 €, can be fashioned in private luxury on the suite’s outdoor terrace. For more information: www.paris.vendome.hyatt.fr Corinne LaBalme
Beach Parties
Unless you’re reading this on the Riviera, you’ll miss out on tonight’s “High Heel/Mini Skirt” themed soirée at the high-glam Hôtel Belles Rives in Juan-les-Pins. Not to worry: they’re holding beach parties all summer long. (Next up: August 4th for “Mamma Records” night. Dress code: Hippie Chic. For all the info: www.bellesrives.com Corinne LaBalme
Summertime at Les Etangs de Corot
This delighful country inn, a fresh-air oasis only 20 minutes from Paris, is offers something new this summer: a return to its “guinguette” origins when artists like Corot gathered here both food and music. Through September 14, Chef Ivan Duchêne (ex-Spoon London/Paris) will be serving a less-formal menu at the hotel’s waterfront “Paillotes” … with live music on the weekends! www.etangsdecorot.com Corinne LaBalme
Paris gets a Mandarin Oriental!
Paris Gets a Mandarin Oriental! The long-awaited Art Deco-style luxury hotel opened this month with 60 super-sleek rooms (others — like the duplex ‘royal suite’ — are still being finished) plus two new restaurants supervised by Thierry Marx. Happily, the glorious spa (and swimming pool) are already open! Take avantage of delightfully cool opening rates from July 17 to August 28. www.mandarinoriental.com/paris Corinne LaBalme
Vendanges Packages at Crillon-le-Brave
Vendanges in Provence: Participate in the Château Pesquié grape harvest in five-star style at the elegant Hotel Crillon-le-Brave from September 29 to October 2. Three nights at the hotel, picnic lunch, breakfast and dinner with 2 half-days in vineyards that have been cultivated since the 14th century… plus lectures and tips from winemaker/estate owner Paul Chaudière. Price: €1300 for a standard room or €1550 for a deluxe room based on double occupancy. To make a reservation, call +33 (0)4 90 65 61 61 or email reservations@crillonlebrave.com. Corinne LaBalme