Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel () is a historic
luxury hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suite (hotel), suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a d ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
which opened in 1909 in a building dating to 1758. Located at the foot of the
Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an Avenue (landscape), avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc ...
, the Crillon, along with the
Hôtel de la Marine, is one of two identical stone palaces on the
Place de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde (; ) is a public square in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.
It was the s ...
. Since 1900, the
French Ministry of Culture
The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...
has listed the Hôtel de Crillon as a ''
monument historique
() is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...
''.
[ Hôtel Crillon]
With 78 guest rooms and 46 suites,
[Hôtel de Crillon's rooms]
/ref> the hotel also features three restaurants, a bar, outdoor terrace, gym, and health club on the premises. The hotel was renovated from 2013 to 2017. In September 2018, Hôtel de Crillon was officially designated by Atout France as a Palace
A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...
grade of hotel.
History
The building that is now the hotel was constructed in 1758, after King Louis XV commissioned the most prolific architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel to build two neoclassical palaces in what would become the Place de la Concorde. The two identical buildings, separated by the Rue Royale, were initially designed to be offices of the French state. The eastern building, Hôtel de la Marine, housed the headquarters of the French Navy
The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
until 2015. The western building that would become Hôtel de Crillon was first occupied by Louis Marie Augustin, Duke of Aumont, a famous patron of the arts. The building was further enhanced by its second owner, the architect Louis-François Trouard, who had the Salon de Aigles built in 1775.
On 6 February 1778, the building was the venue where the newly founded United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
signed their first treaties. Americans Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
, Silas Deane
Silas Deane (September 23, 1789) was an American merchant, politician, and diplomat, and a supporter of American independence. Deane served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, where he signed the Continental Association, and then became t ...
and Arthur Lee met French diplomat Conrad Alexandre Gérard de Rayneval to conclude the French-American treaty that recognised the Declaration of Independence of the United States and a trade agreement
A trade agreement (also known as trade pact) is a wide-ranging taxes, tariff and trade treaty that often includes investment guarantees. It exists when two or more countries agree on terms that help them trade with each other. The most common tra ...
.
In 1788, François Félix de Crillon (son of Louis de Crillon, Duke of Crillon) acquired the building for his home. However, the government of the French Revolution confiscated the property in 1791. During this period, the home was used by King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. Two years later in 1793, King Louis XVI as well as Queen Marie Antoinette were guillotine
A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...
d in the Place de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde (; ) is a public square in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.
It was the s ...
directly in front of the building.
Eventually, the building was returned to the Crillon family, whose descendants lived there for more than a century until 1904. In 1906, the Société du Louvre purchased the property and transformed it into a hotel in 1907. The building then underwent a two-year refurbishment under the supervision of architect Walter-André Destailleur. This included the purchase of two neighbouring buildings on the rue Boissy d'Anglas to enlarge the property. The new Hôtel de Crillon opened on 11 March 1909.
The hotel housed members of the American delegation to the Paris Peace Conference after World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, including President Wilson's key advisor, Edward House.
From 1992 to 2012, the hotel was the venue of the '' Bal des débutantes'', an annual fashion event which was cited by ''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' in 2005 as one of the world's ten best parties. The hotel has been visited by many notable figures over the years, including Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
, Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
, Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
, Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
, and Roger Federer
Roger Federer ( , ; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 3 ...
.
In March 2013, Hôtel de Crillon closed for a series of renovations led by Aline Asmar d'Amman. This project was designed to renovate and modernize the space. The renovation combined the hotel's protected landmark features, such as the 19th-century grand staircase and saloons, with modern styles and amenities. Tristan Auer, Chahan Minassian, Cyril Vergniol and Karl Lagerfeld
Karl Otto Lagerfeld also called Kaiser Karl (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, photographer, and creative director.
Lagerfeld began his career in fashion in the 1950s, working for several top fashion hous ...
worked alongside d'Amman on this €200 million project. Karl Lagerfeld designed ''Les Grands Apartements'', the most extravagant suites on the property. The 2013 renovations lasted until July 2017.
Ownership
Until 2005, through Concorde Hotels & Resorts, the Hôtel de Crillon was part of the Société du Louvre (whose shares were listed on the Paris Stock Exchange
Euronext Paris, formerly known as the Paris Bourse (), is a regulated securities trading venue in France. It is Europe's second largest stock exchange by market capitalization, behind the London Stock Exchange, as of December 2023. As of 2022, th ...
) and was controlled by the Taittinger family holding company. The Starwood Capital Group
Starwood Capital Group is an investment firm headquartered in Miami Beach, Florida. It is managed by Barry Sternlicht. It was co-founded by Sternlicht and Robert Faith in 1991. In 1993, Faith left Starwood to found Greystar Real Estate Partn ...
bought the hotel from the former Taittinger group in 2005.
On 1 November 2010, ''Le Figaro
() is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...
'' reported that a sale was in final negotiations to a Saudi group related to the Saudi Arabian royal family
The House of Saud ( ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi State, (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling ...
. On 23 November 2010, Starwood announced the sale of the hotel to a Saudi Arabian royal family member, Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
In December 2013, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts announced that it would manage the property, which reopened on 5 July 2017.[
]
In literature
In Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
's ''The Sun Also Rises
''The Sun Also Rises'' is the first novel by the American writer Ernest Hemingway, following his experimental novel-in-fragments '' In Our Time (short story collection)'' (1925). It portrays American and British expatriates who travel from Par ...
'' (1926), Jake Barnes, the novel's main protagonist, writes letters in the lobby of the Crillon while waiting for his lover, Lady Brett Ashley. Later he enjoys a Jack Rose cocktail
Jack may refer to:
Places
* Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas
People and fictional characters
* Jack (given name), a male given name, includ ...
at the bar, realizing she has stood him up. It is also mentioned in Hemingway's '' The Snows of Kilimanjaro''.
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...
's ''Down and Out in Paris and London
''Down and Out in Paris and London'' is the first full-length work by the English author George Orwell, published in 1933. It is a memoir in two parts on the theme of poverty in the two cities. Its target audience was the middle- and upper-cla ...
'' described his working in near-slavery conditions as a dishwasher at a Paris restaurant in 1929, later revealed to be the Crillon.
Jack Maye in Ian McEwan's '' The Children Act'' (2014) has a Ne Pas Déranger sign from the Hôtel de Crillon in his office, taken at the end of his honeymoon.
See also
* Albert Champion
* Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah Al Saud
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hotel De Crillon
Crillon
Crillon
Buildings and structures in the 8th arrondissement of Paris
Houses completed in 1758
Crillon
1909 establishments in France
Monuments historiques of Paris