Hôtel Plaza Athénée

Hôtel Plaza Athénée Review

Superlative; the word sums up the overall impression of this glamorous landmark hotel on one of the most expensive avenues in Paris with luxury shops. Prime-time stardom as Carrie Bradshaw's Parisian pied-à-terre in the final episodes of Sex and the City boosted the glitzy image of this 1911 palace hotel. Its revival as the city's lap of luxury, however, owes more to the meticulous attention of the renowned three-star Michelin chef Alain Ducasse, who oversees everything culinary from the hotel's haute-cuisine restaurant and restored 1930s Relais Plaza brasserie to the quality of the breakfast croissants. Sumptuous rooms have been redone in Regency, Louis XVI, or Art Deco style, with remote-control air-conditioning, mini Hi-Fi/CD players, and even a pillow menu. Sip a cocktail during "blue hours" (6-10 pm) and linger into "red hours" (11 pm-2 am) for deejay-spun music. The trendy bar also is the place to go for celebrity-spotting and has as its centerpiece an impressive Bombay glass comptoir glowing like an iceberg. In winter, there's an interior courtyard ice-skating rink. Expect to be extremely spoiled with the French art of palatial living.