What’s Old is New Again

B L A C K B O O K FIRST LOOK

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W H AT ’ S O L D IS NEW AGAIN A belle époque landmark has been restored to its former grandeur – reborn as a shining 21st-century exemplar of art and architecture

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hen the Hong Kong–based Peninsula group opened its first European outpost this August, just steps from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, it didn’t create just another palace hotel, it masterminded the renaissance of a forgotten one – the iconic Majestic.

In a country prodigiously proud of its architectural heritage, Asia’s oldest hotel firm proved it has accumulated something more than just capital in its near 150-year existence: consummate cultural literacy. “Our ambition with Peninsula Paris was never to have a Chinese hotel in France,” says General Manager Nicolas Béliard, “but, rather, one sewn into the very fabric of Paris.”

So the Majestic was for almost

30 years, having opened in 1908 at the height of the belle époque.

Yet when Peninsula acquired the building at 19 Avenue Kléber, its glorious façade had decayed and its resplendent interiors had been dry-walled over during its years of use as a government meeting centre. Determined to recover the building’s lost lustre, Peninsula launched one of the largest privately funded restoration projects in Parisian history. Original mouldings were rediscovered behind false ceilings; intricate mosaics like those in the luminous rotunda were restored piece by minuscule piece; gilders laid 40,000 fragments of gold leaf. Over fourand-a-half years, master craftsmen (more accustomed to restoring the

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PHOTOS © THE PENINSULA PARIS

Clockwise from top left: the opera singer LiLi’s face, printed on a woven optical fibre-net curtain, at the entrance to the Peninsula’s restaurant named for her; an iconic view from the hotel roof; modern and classical adornments in LiLi; the restaurant’s ornate chandelier; an example of the hotel’s stained glass decor; detail of carving in LiLi; reflection of the courtyard; a restorer at work on intricate ceiling art

B L A C K B O O K FIRST LOOK

W

W H AT ’ S O L D IS NEW AGAIN A belle époque landmark has been restored to its former grandeur – reborn as a shining 21st-century exemplar of art and architecture

62

CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM

hen the Hong Kong–based Peninsula group opened its first European outpost this August, just steps from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, it didn’t create just another palace hotel, it masterminded the renaissance of a forgotten one – the iconic Majestic.

In a country prodigiously proud of its architectural heritage, Asia’s oldest hotel firm proved it has accumulated something more than just capital in its near 150-year existence: consummate cultural literacy. “Our ambition with Peninsula Paris was never to have a Chinese hotel in France,” says General Manager Nicolas Béliard, “but, rather, one sewn into the very fabric of Paris.”

So the Majestic was for almost

30 years, having opened in 1908 at the height of the belle époque.

Yet when Peninsula acquired the building at 19 Avenue Kléber, its glorious façade had decayed and its resplendent interiors had been dry-walled over during its years of use as a government meeting centre. Determined to recover the building’s lost lustre, Peninsula launched one of the largest privately funded restoration projects in Parisian history. Original mouldings were rediscovered behind false ceilings; intricate mosaics like those in the luminous rotunda were restored piece by minuscule piece; gilders laid 40,000 fragments of gold leaf. Over fourand-a-half years, master craftsmen (more accustomed to restoring the

CONTACT CENTURION SERVICE FOR BOOKINGS

PHOTOS © THE PENINSULA PARIS

Clockwise from top left: the opera singer LiLi’s face, printed on a woven optical fibre-net curtain, at the entrance to the Peninsula’s restaurant named for her; an iconic view from the hotel roof; modern and classical adornments in LiLi; the restaurant’s ornate chandelier; an example of the hotel’s stained glass decor; detail of carving in LiLi; reflection of the courtyard; a restorer at work on intricate ceiling art

B L A C K B O O K FIRST LOOK

Left: looking out over Parisian rooftops from the Katara Suite terrace; below: the lift leading to the sixthfloor L’Oiseau Blanc eaterie, where the world – in map form – is at your feet

The way it was: the Hotel Majestic in its original form, above; the Peninsula’s lobby featuring the glass installation Dancing Leaves by the Czech-based lighting design company Lasvit, below

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Palace of Versailles than palace hotels) rehabilitated marble, stucco, wood carvings, stonework and paintings to their exact 1908 appearance.

But Peninsula seems to have realised that respecting the building’s heritage also meant carrying its history into the present, and remembering that those reception halls, terraces and ballrooms bore witness to the passion and extravagance of France’s années folles. “We have a responsibility,” says Béliard, “to do everything we can to make this building live and shine again.”

Today, Peninsula Paris shines indeed with 200 of the world’s most

exquisite guest rooms and suites, offering magnificent Art Deco decor and furnishings, and bedside digital tablets (in 11 languages) for valet calls, weather reports, in-room dining and one-touch control of temperature, television, curtains and lighting. The underground swimming pool is heavenly, the spa the largest in Paris, and with six vibrant dining venues (including a breathtaking rooftop restaurant, a superb gastronomic Cantonese one, and Paris’s largest outdoor hotel dining terrace) Peninsula has offered the City of Light something unique – a 21st-century palace with a belle époque soul. paris.peninsula.com JEFFREY T IVERSON

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PHOTOS © THE PENINSULA PARIS

Respecting the building’s heritage meant carrying its history into the present and remembering that this establishment bore witness to the passion and extravagance of France’s années folles