Le Bristol Paris

A garden of about 1,200 square metres lies hidden inside the block at 112 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, in the eighth arrondissement of Paris, a short walk from the Élysée Palace, where Le Bristol Paris opened in 1925. Owned by the Oetker family since 1978, the luxury hotel was the first in France to receive the Palace distinction, in 2011. Besides the garden, two things carry its name: a rooftop swimming pool built like the deck of a sailing yacht, and Epicure, a restaurant that has held three Michelin stars since 2009.

History

The hotel was founded by Hippolyte Jammet, who converted a mansion on the Faubourg Saint-Honoré and named his establishment after Frederick Hervey, fourth Earl of Bristol, an eighteenth-century traveller whose exacting standards in lodgings gave his name to hotels across Europe. It opened in 1925 with a clientele of diplomats and visiting dignitaries drawn by the embassies and the presidential palace nearby.

During the Second World War the hotel housed American diplomats and nationals, a status that kept it out of the hands of the occupying forces. In 1978 the Oetker family of Germany bought it, and it became the first property of what is today the Oetker Collection, alongside the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes and Brenners Park-Hotel in Baden-Baden. In 2011 Le Bristol was the first hotel awarded the Palace distinction, a label created by the French tourism authorities for the country's most exceptional hotels.

Architecture and design

Le Bristol occupies a block of the Faubourg Saint-Honoré with the garden at its centre, an unusual amount of open ground for this part of Paris. The interiors follow an eighteenth-century French model: panelled salons, chandeliers, tapestries and parquet floors, with the main salons on the ground floor opening on to the garden.

The rooftop swimming pool was designed in the 1970s by Cäsar Pinnau, a German architect who also designed the interiors of ocean-going yachts. The pool is lined with teak and shaped like the deck of a sailing ship, under a glass roof, with a view across the rooftops to the Sacré-Coeur. A Burmese cat has lived at the hotel since 2010 and has become part of its identity.

Rooms and suites

The hotel has 190 rooms and suites, many of them facing the garden rather than the street. The decoration is in the Louis XV and Louis XVI manner, with printed fabrics, antiques and marble bathrooms. The largest suites are on the upper floors, some with terraces over the garden.

Dining

Epicure, the main restaurant, has held three Michelin stars since 2009, a distinction it earned under chef Eric Frechon. In fine weather its tables are set on the garden terrace. 114 Faubourg, a brasserie opening on to the street, holds one star. Café Antonia, Le Jardin Français in the garden and Le Bar complete the offer. Woody Allen filmed scenes of Midnight in Paris at Le Bristol in 2010; the hotel is the home of the film's main characters.

Wellness

The spa offers treatments, a hammam and a fitness room. The rooftop pool on the sixth floor is reserved for residents and is open all year under its glass roof.

Weddings and events

Le Bristol hosts weddings, receptions, seminars and private dinners in a series of salons on the ground floor, several of which open directly on to the garden, which is used for cocktails and summer ceremonies. The salons are suited to seated dinners, board meetings and launches; the garden allows a reception to move outdoors.

Location

The hotel stands on the Faubourg Saint-Honoré between the Élysée Palace and the fashion boutiques of the street, ten minutes on foot from the Champs-Élysées. The nearest metro is Miromesnil, on lines 9 and 13; allow about 45 minutes by car for Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport.