Luxury Travel Advisor - June 2008 - (Page 12)

HOTEL LANCASTER affords apartment-style accommodations that combine classic furnishings and eclectic accents (left). HOTEL LANCASTER‘s 57 rooms boast a collection of more than 1,000 antiques (below). same magazine on the newsstand, favorite flowers on display and the perfect number of pillows on the bed. Even kids are spoiled rotten. With the VIP Children’s Program, kids are greeted with a stuffed garden bunny named Hippolyte (the hotel’s mascot), special surprises and a treasure hunt. In July 2007, Anne Sémonin launched a new three-room spa at Le Bristol. Known for its aromatherapy and “haute couture” facial and beauty treatments, the niche Parisian brand has created the ultimate urban day spa where guests can indulge with “L’Experience Anne Semonin Facial”—adapted to suit each client’s skin type. Wow your clients with an appointment with world-renowned pedicurist Bastien Gonzalez, who provides his services exclusively at the hotel. Voted best pedicurist in the world by Vogue magazine, Gonzalez is popular among famous international stars. For Shiatsu and Thai massage treatments, request Anne or Roxana, the two most popular masseuses. Contact Spa Director Céline Hemlstetter (spa@lebristolparis. com; 011-33-1-53-43-30-76) for appointments. Buzz: In 2007, Le Bristol acquired an adjacent building, where the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré meets the avenue Matignon, providing a view straight down Matignon to the Eiffel Tower. Set to open in early 2009, the new building will be home to 26 rooms and suites, a restaurant grill and a bar. During high season (May to October) and the January fashion shows, book at least one month in advance, and reserve tables at the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurants at the same time. For your clients seeking an intimate luxury hotel experience, choose the Hotel Lancaster (www.hotel-lancaster.fr), set on a quiet street just off the Champs Elysées. One of our longtime favorite properties, the 57-room Lancaster resembles a private Parisian mansion, graced with more than 1,000 pieces of precious antiques. In fact, it was originally built as a townhouse in 1889 for an affluent Spanish nobleman. To this day, the Lancaster retains the feeling of a private home with thoughtful atmospheric touches: a fireplace next to reception, bowls of apples set on each of the eight floors and a library-style bar. Elegant and chic, this hotel is also very cool, a favorite of such international film directors as Pedro Almodóvar, Ang Lee and David Lynch. Since acquiring the Hotel Lancaster 18 months ago, Hospes Hotels (www.hospes.es) has injected lots of new technology into the property: iPod docking stations, complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi, Sony flatscreen TVs with DVD players, divine mattresses and upgraded mini-bars in every room. Cell phones, fax machines and Wii gaming systems are available upon request. Valentino Piazzi (gm.hospes.lancaster@hospes.es; 011-33-1-4076-4001), formerly of the Hotel Ritz, is the general manager. Each of the guest rooms at the hotel is unique and full of charm. We noticed numerous masterpieces by Russian painter Boris Pastoukoff, the last Tsar’s portraitist and a longtime guest of the hotel who paid his bills with his art. We loved gazing out at the Eiffel Tower and the gleaming basilica of Sacre Coeur from the private terrace in Deluxe Suite 71. The suite has one living room, a king bedroom and a spacious marble bathroom. Note: All bathrooms here feature Korres amenities made especially for Hospes Hotels. Some suites boast toiletry baskets with a complete line of great amenities—from deodorant to lipstick. There are 11 suites available—we also liked Deluxe Suite 76 for its huge dressing room (with a shoe-shine tray at the ready), long terrace (no Eiffel Tower views), fireplace and bathroom with walk-in shower and separate tub. For your VIPs, choose the Presidential Suite (#41), named for the hotel’s former owner (Emile Wolf ), who famously said, “I never had clients, only friends”—a motto for the hotel. Sized at 616 square feet, the living room alone is enormous; the bedroom adds an additional 324 square feet. Your clients will love the grand piano and fireplace. Another fine choice is the Marlène Dietrich Deluxe Suite (#45), so named in homage to the famous actress who camped out there for three years. Dietrich was not the only guest to be charmed by the hotel’s attention to detail. In a hotel where service has been elevated to an art form, it’s not surprising to see an incredibly 12 LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR | June 2008 http://www.hotel-lancaster.fr http://www.hospes.es

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Luxury Travel Advisor - June 2008

Luxury Travel Advisor - June 2008 Contents Publisher's Letter Editor's Letter Paris Shanghai New York Takeover Hotels Townhouse Galleria Florida Spas BVI Bliss Athens, Greece Rainforest Excursions Nigel Page The Pulse Jetset Report Just Back On Location Sightings Agent Access Source List

Luxury Travel Advisor - June 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.