Hôtel de Crillon

Hôtel de Crillon

Hôtel de Crillon
Location within Paris
General information
Location Paris, France
Address 10, place de la Concorde
75008 Paris, France
Coordinates 48°52′02″N 2°19′17″E / 48.86722°N 2.32139°E / 48.86722; 2.32139
Opening 12 March 1909
Owner Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Management Rosewood Hotels & Resorts
Design and construction
Architect
Other information
Number of rooms 103
Number of suites 44
Website
www.crillon.com

The Hôtel de Crillon in Paris is a historic luxury hotel that opened in 1909 — in a building dating to 1758. Located at the foot of the Champs-Élysées, the Crillon along with the Hotel de la Marine is one of two identical stone palaces on the Place de la Concorde. With 103 guest rooms and 44 suites,[1] the facility also features three restaurants, a bar, outdoor terrace, gym and health club on the premises.

As of 2013, the Crillon is closed for renovation, scheduled to reopen in 2016.[2]

History

Hôtel de Crillon (on the left)

The building that is now the hotel was constructed in 1758 after King Louis XV commissioned the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel to build two palaces in what would become the Place de la Concorde.[3] The two identical buildings, separated by the rue Royale, were initially designed to be government offices of the French state. The eastern building remains to this day the headquarters of the French Navy, the Royale. The northern building that would become the Hôtel de Crillon was first occupied by Louis Marie Augustin, Duke of Aurmont, a famous patron of the French Arts. The building was further enhanced by its second owner, the architect Louis-François Trouard, who had the Salon de Aigles built in 1775.[3]

On 6 February 1778, the building was used as the venue for the official signing of the first treaties between the newly founded United States and France. Americans Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane and Arthur Lee met French diplomat Conrad Alexandre Gérard de Rayneval to conclude the French-American treaty that recognised the Declaration of Independence of the United States and a trade agreement.[3]

In 1788, the Duke of Crillon, François Félix Dorothée Des Balbes de Berton de Crillon, acquired the building for his home. But it was confiscated shortly thereafter by the government of the French Revolution in 1791. Two years later, King Louis XVI was guillotined in the Place de la Concorde directly in front of the building in 1793.[4]

Eventually, the building was returned to its owner, whose descendants lived there for more than a century. In 1907, the Société du Louvre purchased the property and transformed it into a hotel. The building then underwent a two-year refurbishment under the supervision of noted architect Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur. Two neighbouring buildings on the rue Boissy d'Anglas were purchased to enlarge the property. The new Hôtel de Crillon opened on 12 March 1909.[3]

The hotel housed members of the American delegation to the Paris Peace Conference after World War I, including President Wilson’s key advisor Edward House.[5]

Ownership

Until 2005, through Concorde Hotels & Resorts, the Hôtel de Crillon was part of the Société du Louvre, whose shares are listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, and was controlled by the Taittinger family holding company. Starwood Capital bought the hotel from the former Taittinger group in 2005. On 1 November 2010, Le Figaro newspaper reported that a sale is in final negotiations to a Saudi group related to the Saudi Arabian Royal Family. On 23 November 2010, the French online newsource 'Challenges.fr' reported the sale of the hotel to the Saudi Arabian royal family member Prince Mitab Ben Abdalah ben Abd al-Aziz Al Saoud.[4][6] In December 2013, it was announced that Rosewood Hotels & Resorts would manage the hotel once it reopens in 2015 from a major renovation.[7]

Coordinates: 48°52′02″N 2°19′17″E / 48.86722°N 2.32139°E / 48.86722; 2.32139

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Luxury hotel Paris - Hôtel de Crillon Paris". Crillon.com.
  2. ↑ La métamorphose de l'Hôtel de Crillon annoncé pour 2015. lefigaro.fr, March 29, 2013
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Hôtel de Crillon Paris - Le Site Officiel - Official Website". Crillon.com.
  4. 1 2 "Saudi royal buys landmark Hôtel de Crillon in Paris". BBC. 23 December 2010.
  5. ↑ MacMillan, Margaret. Peacemakers: The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and Its Attempt to End War. London: John Murray Publishers, 2001, pp. 32-33.
  6. ↑ http://www.challenges.fr/actualites/entreprises/20101122.CHA0415/le_crillon_vendu_au_fils_du_roi_darabie_saoudite.html
  7. ↑ http://www.crillon.com/en/
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