Elite Traveler September-October 2018

Suite Bernstein HÔTEL DE CRILLON, A ROSEWOOD HOTEL 8TH ARRONDISSEMENT

After four long years, Hôtel de Crillon reopened the front doors of its Neoclassical facade last summer. The extensive renovation touched all areas, reducing the number of rooms, adding a stunning subterranean pool and creating an interior garden, while carefully treading the thin line between preserving its 18th-century grandeur and becoming a 21st-century hotel. With its landmarked Corinthian colonnade and sculptures by Coustou — commissioned by King Louis XV himself — as well as heritage-listed salons and passionate clientele, it certainly wasn’t an easy feat. While each of the 10 signature suites is impressive— the two-ton Carrara marble bathtub in the Karl Lagerfeld–designed Les Grands Appartements is particularly showstopping, and the Marie Antoinette Suite is located on the exact spot where she took piano lessons — Suite Bernstein eclipses them all from its sixth-floor vantage point at the top of the iconic hotel. With a long balcony spanning the width of the first building, it’s simply spectacular. Named for celebrated American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, who frequented the hotel during his travels as director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the masculine suite (a rare find in Paris) is decorated in a monochrome palette of dark grays, offset with gilded accents. Inside the collection of gray rooms is a sitting room, dining room for six and a bathroom with stand-alone round tub. Outside on the 1,205-sq-ft terrace, there are sun loungers and seating areas from which you can enjoy views of the Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde and the Grand Palais. There’s also an option to connect to the neighboring Suite Louis XV. L’Art de Vivre In a subterranean wine cellar — the French translation, La Cave , has never been so apt — 40,000 bottles of superb wine, including some very rare and very old vintages, make the perfect decor for a wine tasting with head sommelier Xavier Thuizat. The chef will prepare a special tasting menu to complement the wines of your choosing.

Size 2,500 sq ft Nightly rate from $23,600

Contact Sebastien Legrand, director of sales and marketing, sebastien.legrand@rosewoodhotels.com, +33 144 711 565, rosewoodhotels.com

Photo Guillaume de Laubier