Luxury Travel Advisor - August 2007 - (Page 32) rooms (Superior, Deluxe and Executive Champs-Élysées), two levels of Junior Suites (Deluxe and Executive Champs-Élysées) and five types of suites (Superior, Deluxe, Executive Champs-Élysées, Eiffel Duplex and Presidential). Among the most popular are the 1,076square-foot bi-level Eiffel Suite with private balcony, and the corner Junior Suites (rooms on the 23 line, such as 223 and 323), which overlook the neighboring Louis Vuitton store and include a charming sitting room. For groups or a more exclusive experience, the five bedrooms on the fifth floor Champs-Élysées side can all be connected, creating one nearly 5,800-square-foot “Grande Suite.” Contact reservations (reservationsfouquets@lucienbarriere.com; 331-40-69-60-00) to arrange this or other room requests. Luxury travel advisors may also contact General Manager Eric Boonstoppel (eboon stoppel@lucienbarriere.com). Regardless of category, all rooms boast the luxury touches on which the hotel stakes its claim. In our spacious Superior room, topof-the-line furnishings with a clean, modern aesthetic mixed with soft leathers, lush fabrics and a touch of Napoleonic grandeur, while the palette of deep browns and golds was offset by crisp white sheets and pointed, Moroccanstyle slippers in bright pink (for women) and maroon (for men). Technology, though, is where the rooms really shine. Plasma TVs either rise from a floor unit or appear from within a mirrored wall, and can easily be made to vanish. In the bathroom, a smaller flat-screen sits perched above the soaking bathtub (separate from the walk-in rain shower), and a waterproof remote control encourages bath time channel flipping. Back in the room, laptop-sized safes feature electrical outlets so computers and iPods can be charged while THE HOTEL’S HIGH-TECH bedrooms maintain a color palette of brown, gold and cream (above). Fouquet’s swimming pool is a sleek, stylish escape in the basement-level U Spa (left). locked away; and desks are equipped with free high-speed Internet and an in-room printer/ copier/scanner/fax machine. To help guests maneuver through all this, every room comes with its own butler, who arrives immediately after check-in and is available 24 hours a day for assistance with packing, dining, printing business cards or any other requests. Ours was most helpful in getting the right disks loaded on to our computer so it would gel with the room’s printer, and made quick work of getting us a spa menu and appointment for the next day. (Thanks to detailed questions asked during the reservation process, rooms can also be made ready to receive guests with their preferred type of flowers, chocolate, pillows and music.) We hear that butlers, who work in conjunction with the concierge department—headed by Yannick Bastoni (ybastoni@lucienbarriere .com)—have arranged exclusive entrance to the Eiffel Tower and Paris’s hot new Musée du Quai Branly, which focuses on nonWestern art; booked musicians to perform in a suite; set up private shopping experience with designer houses; and imported food products from the U.S. for a homesick guest. In addition to transfers, their VIP Passerelle service includes a special welcome at the airport and assistance with immigration and customs upon arrival, plus an escort through check-in and passport control at departure. Although Paris isn’t lacking in fine dining, the hotel’s own eateries encourage sticking around on property. Along with Le Fouquet, which serves traditional French brasserie fare, the lovely Le Diane restaurant—located in an intimate rotunda on the second floor—is a favorite for its haute-gourmet cuisine; reservations are recommended for both at least three days in advance, though hotel guests enjoy priority booking. With a high-tech gym, hammam, sauna, indoor pool and aqua fitness program, the U Spa offers a dimly lit retreat from the city bustle. Performed in six treatment rooms, “spa rituals” range from anti-aging and Rare Sap facials to soaks and detoxifying wraps, all using the plant-based Terrake products exclusive to Barrière properties. Most popular is the “For U” deep tissue massage (book when making room reservations); Spa Manager Kathy Linossier (klin ossier@lucienbarriere.com) can assist with VIPs. Tip: The hotel’s clubby, exclusive vibe, central location and popularity with the jet-set make it more of a spot for romantic weekends, honeymoons or shopping. — Sandra Ramani 32 LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR | August 2007
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