One of my dream is to spend a night ( or more ) in a Palace. Sleeping in a room of the size of my appartment, having a room service, sleeping in a king size bed, taking a sparkling bath in a huge bathtub, having my meals prepared for me, tons of pastries, the possibility of having champagne, and of course being surrounded by the beauty of the decor and the architecture, are the main reasons why I definitely want to achieve this dream ! I know I may sound superficial but come on ! Don’t you dare tell me that it’s not tempting ! So I’ve decided to dedicate today’s article about The Plaza Athenée in Paris. I’ve choosen this palace because it’s in my opinion one of the most beautiful one of the capital, especially since it’s have been restaured. Indeed, the Plaza closed its door on September the first of 2013 in order to expend its superficy. The Hotel part of the Plaza re opened on August the first of 2014, and a little bit later restaurants and bars opened too.
This is the hallway of the Plaza. The cristal luster, the floral composition, the marble, the size of the curtains, the bright floor, the enormous carpet, the titanic columns of marble belted with gold, everything is so enormous it’s beyond reality. And that’s all the pint. Indeed, this kind of place is for a specific customer : luxury clientele. They live in their world, I don’t like to use this expression but it’s the truth. Their way of life is so different from what normal people like me will ever know. The proportions of this Palace and the services offered are at the height of the excessive lifestyle of the people who can afford such a thing. And of courses the suites do the Hotel don’t escape the rule.
It’s beyond understanding. People who were in charge of the decoration made an incredible job. Everything is perfectly assorted. Chairs, paintings, curtains, flowers, furnitures, lightings and so on… Most of those objects are either handmade by artisans from everywhere in France ( which is very good because it’s a way to maintain craftsmanship, made in France labels, and of course a precious Savoir Faire ), either brought from antique shops, flea markets, art galleries, or even bought in auctions. As ridiculous I might sound, I think that the decoration is luxurious but without being too much. In my opinion there is a balance : there are a lot of objects, but proportions, colors, textures, patterns… match perfectly. It’s extravagant but not overwhelming. I would feel like home in a place like this haha.
This is the restaurant. I think I would spend more time looking at the lusters than eating. Well that’s not completely true considering that the Chef of the Restaurant is Alain Ducasse, one of the greatest French Chef. He ows many restaurants and he cares a lot about the quality of the products he uses. Vegetables for exams are from an orchard located in Versailles gardens. He has also diminished the amount of sugar, salt and fat in his meals. But the thing I would like to try the most is the Religieuse au caramel au beurre salé made by the confectioner Christophe Michalak.
Look at this wonder !!! Oh god I would savor it with a glass of champagne ! If you can’t afford a night in this. Palace you can reserve a table. Of course it’s still expensive, but for a special occasion like valentines day, a birthday or an anniversary, you can allow yourself a treat. You also have the possibility to take your goûter. It also prepared by Christophe Michalak. You have a pastries, viennoiseries, marmalade, honey, hot and cold drinks, champagne… Products proposed vary according to the moment of the year, the season and the mood of the chef. It costs 44Euros for one person, and without the champagne.
All those little pastries it’s so cute ! And fat … But who cares ? It’s made by a chef, with good products, and not industrial stuff from god knows where , you’re eating them under a sky of cristals, so honestly why feeling guilty about eating around 10 different pastries ??
Oh and because this Palace is so amazing it has spa, but to a random one. : it’s a Dior institute. Yes Dior.
Once again the architecture is amazing, the atnospgeer is peaceful, it brings serenity. It offers you special treatments depending on what you want. They take care of your face, your body, hands, foot, specific zones, anti aging care, treatments especially for men, massages, and also make up. Of course everything is made with Dior products.
So now that I’ve shown you this piece of heaven and shared with you my frustration of not being able to go there, I will save money and maybe that in 2526 years I will finally achieve my dream haha. More seriously, I didn’t write this article to make you feel uncomfortable with money, or frustrated. I just wanted to share with you one of my dreams, and to show you that human can create beautiful things. That all together we can create luxury. Indeed, in order to renovate this place hundreds of people collaborated. Designers, architects, chefs, hoteliers, economists and so on. Artisans were solicited too, and it created many employments : cooks, maids, waitress, butler etc… I will probably never put a feet in this kind of place, but I like to know that it exists. To me it’s a master piece. A little piece of heaven on earth.
Chronicles of Ada 