Peninsula A Hong Kong vision of Parisian luxury

Lara Mansour   |   17-07-2016

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This is high-shine hotel with polished marble floors, a glass leaf chandelier that floats in the reception area, modelled off the trees lining Avenue Kléber, high-end boutiques and vast hallways. The sculpted stone facade and neo-classical panelling, mosaics, murals and gilding of ground-floor reception rooms have been meticulously restored by skilled craftsmen, new spaces opened up, roof terraces created, and three levels of basement excavated for staff quarters, spa, indoor pool and car park. White uniformed bellboys in sailor hats add a faintly colonial air. The Peninsula exalts its 19th-century heritage, where George Gershwin penned parts of An American in Paris in 1928, but like other French landmarks, the Louvre, and the Palace of Versailles, it also embraces contemporary art and design. The hotel’s collection of art pieces includes a sculpture by Spanish artist Xavier Corberó.

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Location

Originally opened as the Majestic hotel in 1908, briefly the seat of Unesco and later an international congress centre, the Peninsula Paris occupies an entire block near the Arc de Triomphe, and is still doing its best to persuade you it is really Versailles. The Champs-Elysées is around the corner and the avenue Montaigne couture stores are a breeze in the Peninsula’s own 1934 vintage Rolls Royce or customised Mini Clubman.

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Rooms

The Peninsula Paris offers 200 luxurious rooms which are among the largest in Paris, including 34 suites, with five featuring their own private rooftop gardens with spectacular views over the city. Soft grey and cream hues are accented with high-gloss lacquered architectural features and designed to perfection with distinct Parisian influences. And should you worry that it’s all just period polish, the rooms conceal a feast of 21st-century technology, with endless cabling and a sophisticated domotic system. Tactile tablets and wall panels control lighting, heating, curtains, TV and anything else you might think of in a choice of 11 languages.

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Food and Drink

With six bars and restaurants, under executive chef Jean-Edern Hurstel, discovered on France’s Top Chef TV competition after a career in the UAE, there’s plenty of choice. The 6th-floor panoramic French gastronomic restaurant L’Oiseau Bleu, named after an early French biplane, showcases the very best of French cuisine and a bespoke wine and cocktail selection, against a picturesque backdrop of Parisian rooftops and some of the city’s most unique views. While the Cantonese restaurant LiLi, with its Chinese opera decor of lacquer and carved wood, pays tribute to hotels’ Asian heritage, serving signature Cantonese cuisine, including highly celebrated dim sum.

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Spa

The Peninsula Spa, which occupies 1,800 sq m, is the place to revive the body and mind. Guests can unwind in a 20 m indoor pool, together with relaxation areas offering six private treatment rooms and two VIP couples’ suites, heat experiences and the ultimate in spa treatments and products by ESPA and Biologique Recherche.

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