It is a chaotic world we live in, and as pleasure-seeking creatures we are rather good at relegating the horrors to the back of our minds while we pursue something self-indulgent, such as a weekend in Paris in a five-star hotel. Set just steps from the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe, Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris is precisely the kind of place where you can escape the madness for a little while and focus instead on the beauty humans are capable of.
Built in 1928, the palace-grade hotel has a long history of hosting artists and intellectuals, among them Ray Charles, Coco Chanel and Walt Disney. It survived the chaos of the Second World War and passed through a series of characterful proprietors, including the Damascus-born businessman Osmane Aidi, who held it from 1978 to 2007 and during whose tenure the Syrian president Hafez al-Assad used the address as his Parisian pied-a-terre. As that clientele dwindled, the Qatari group Katara Hospitality stepped in, buying the property for a relatively modest 250 million US dollars, making it the European flagship of the Raffles Group and giving Philippe Starck two years, a great many euros and free rein to play.
He did a fantastic job. Not only did he restore the magic of the famed property, he added plenty of whimsy too. The rooms feel like football fields beside the usual Parisian shoeboxes, especially if you upgrade to a suite, as we did: a 60-square-metre space with a television concealed behind a mirror, an acoustic guitar, a walk-in closet and an enchanting bathroom clad entirely in mirrors. Starck, it seems, wanted to conjure a modern version of Versailles' Hall of Mirrors, and the theme runs across the property, including both sides of what is said to be Paris's longest indoor swimming pool.
More surprising still is Starck's invention of an Art Concierge, a first for a Paris luxury hotel, who can provide guests access to everything cultural, from the hotel's own contemporary gallery and private viewings to previews, openings, concerts and even guitar lessons for children. Art is plainly intrinsic to the revitalised house; as recently as last November Annie Leibovitz held a book signing here.
The location scores another point. Tucked away on Avenue Hoche in the 8th arrondissement, away from the crush on the Champs-Elysees, it is central enough to walk almost anywhere: the Musee d'Orsay is a dash away, as is the 82,000-square-metre Parc Monceau with its Egyptian pyramid, Chinese fort and Corinthian pillars. If food is your thing you will be spoiled for choice, though we would recommend resisting the macarons made by Pierre Herme in favour of dinner at Matsuhisa, Chef Nobu's only Paris outpost. The Peruvian-Japanese hotspot lives up to its billing, from king crab with burrata and sea-urchin truffle tacos to a spinach salad with dry miso, the work of Italian chef Emanuele Bombardier, who had just won the Sushi World Cup in Japan.
All in all, it is hard not to succumb to the majestic architecture, whimsical interiors, flawless service and enviable location. Steeped in history and yet right up to date, Le Royal Monceau is a sure bet for lifting the spirits, at least for a few unforgettable days.
