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Why do I love the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris?

Luxury travel blog » Places to Travel » Europe Travel » France » Why do I love the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris?
June 19, 2012 by Carol Perehudoff

This post may contain affiliate links.

Champers, anyone?

 

It’s possible I love the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris because I have never been able to afford to stay there, so it remains a mythical hotel in my mind. However, there are many hotels I can’t afford to stay at in Paris and I don’t enjoy them nearly as much. Maybe I love the Hotel de Crillon because I’m brave enough to walk in for a glass of champagne there, and the bar staff in the little piano bar in the back never make me feel like an impostor I may or may not be.

 

On my way down the rue Rivoli to the Crillon

 

The Crillon’s piano bar is a plush, sometimes friendly bar with a mirrored-mosaic bar designed by Sonia Rykiel. Over the years I have met:

1) One large Swedish biker who had a custom made Maserati outside the hotel doors.

2) One French journalist named Wilfred who divided his time between Paris and Miami.

3) One champagne distributor for both the Hôtel de Crillon and the Maurice (an equally swanky Parisian hotel just down the street, which is lovely but somehow never touches my heart the same way.)

 

 

Your table is waiting …

 

Here are four other reasons why I love the Hôtel de Crillon:

1) Because Marie Antoinette took piano lessons there when it was the private home of the Duke de Crillon.

2) Because she lost her head just outside, on the Place du Concorde during the French Revolution.

3) Because Jake, in Hemingway’s Sun Also Rises, gets stood up by Lady Brett Ashley here, so he stays and writes letters on the hotel stationary, hoping that the impressive paper will make up for the not-very-good letters.

4) Because even if you don’t meet a biker, a journalist or a champagne distributor, there is usually someone you can eavesdrop on, and if not, it is still the Hôtel de Crillon.

 

Read more about Places to Visit in Europe

 

 

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Category: Europe Travel, France, Hotel Reviews, Solo Travel

About Carol Perehudoff

A former freelance travel columnist for the Toronto Star, Carol has won more than 30 writing awards and honours. A spa and luxury travel expert, she’s written for top travel publications around the globe.

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  1. Michele Peterson

    Red velvet chairs, a sparkly bar and a biker? Weirdly wonderful!

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About Wandering Carol

In my 10+ years as a travel writer and columnist I've seen the best of what the world has to offer and written for some top publications around the globe - and now my goal is to bring this expertise to you. For more blah blah blah, visit my
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