Home > Hôtel de Crillon

The five-star hotel, with103 guest rooms and 44 suites, occupies one of two identical stone buildings divided by the rue Royale that were constructed in 1758 under the auspices of architect Louis François Trouard as a result of a commission from King Louis XV. Initially both structures were built to serve as government offices and the eastern one continues to this day as the French Naval Ministry. However, the western building was made into a luxury hotel and was soon frequented by Queen Marie Antoinette and her elite friends and was where she came to take piano lessons.

In 1788, François-Félix-Dorothee Berton des Balbes, the Count of Crillon, acquired the hotel only to have it confiscated shortly thereafter by the government of the French Revolution. It was eventually returned to the Count of Crillon's family who ran it until 1907 at which time it underwent a two-year-long refurbishing by the Société du Louvre under the supervision of architect Hippolyte Destailleurs . Today, through the Concorde Hotels Group, the Crillon is still part of the Société du Louvre whose shares are listed on the Paris Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Tattinger family holding company. The hotel is run by Anne-Claire Tattinger, Chairperson of the Management Board.

The hotel was where American General John J. Pershing stayed as did Assistant Secretary of the United States Navy Franklin Delano Roosevelt as he made his way on an inspection tour in 1918. A year later, during the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, President Woodrow Wilson and the entire American delegation stayed at the Crillon including a salon set up with telephone switchboards run by the famous bilingual American " Hello Girls ." A little more than twenty years later, the hotel would be occupied by the German high command during the World War II occupation of France. Other future American Presidents who called the Crillon a temporary home were Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover and Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon ( January 9, 1913 April 22, 1994) was the thirty-sixth ( 1953 1961) Vice President, and the thirty-seventh ( 1969 1974) President of the United States. He is the only man to have been elected twice to the Vice Presidency and twice to.

The Hôtel de Crillon reflects total opulence, beginning at the honey-colored marble lobby and into the adjacent gastronomic restaurant Les Ambassadeurs filled with crystal chandeliers and decorated in seven different marbles. The hotel's public salons are filled with 17th and 18th century tapestries, chandeliers, gilt-and-brocade furniture, fine pieces of sculpture, and Louis XVI chests and chairs. Its Leonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein ( August 25, 1918 October 14, 1990) was an American Jewish composer and orchestra conductor. Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts and studied at Harvard. He was highly regarded as a conductor, composer, pianist, and educator. suite, on the top floor with a wraparound terrace that provides a spectacular view of Paris also contains one of the maestro's pianos. The hotel was the favorite of the Joseph P. Kennedy familyThe Kennedy family is a prominent family in American politics and government descending from the marriage of Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. The predominantly Democratic family is known for its political liberalism. Perhaps the best known Kennedy i and royalty from around the world chooses to stay including, George V of the United KingdomGeorge V (George Frederick Ernest Albert) ( 3 June 1865- 20 January 1936) was the last British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, changing the name to the House of Windsor in 1917. As well as being King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and I, Hassan II of MoroccoHassan II ( July 9, 1929- July 23, 1999) was King of Morocco from 1961 to his death. He was the eldest son of Mohammad V, Sultan, then King of Morocco He was exiled by French authorities in 1953 along with his father King Mohammed V, but was allowed to re and Japan's Emperor HirohitoHirohito , the Showa Emperor , ( April 29, 1901 January 7, 1989) reigned over Japan from 1926 to 1989. He was known in the West by his given name Hirohito (he had no surname). He was the 124th Emperor of Japan. His reign was the longest of all Japanese em. The notorious swindler, "Count" Victor LustigVictor Lustig ( January 4, 1890 March 11, 1947) is held to have been one of the most talented confidence tricksters who ever lived. He is best known as the man who sold the Eiffel Tower . Victor Lustig was born in Bohemia, but soon headed west, demonstrat impressed his unsuspecting victims with his luxurious suite at the Crillon. Other celebrities who favored the Crillon were Jacqueline Onassis, Barbara Hutton, Charlie Chaplin, Porfirio Rubirosa, Orson Welles, Elizabeth Taylor, Tyrone Power and in more recent times Axl Rose, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Madonna have stayed at the Crillon.

Each year, the Hôtel de Crillon holds an annual Bals de Debutantes (Debutante Ball) to benefit the Pierre and Marie Curie Foundation. The very exclusive event is a "coming out" party for twenty-four young ladies between the ages of 15 and 19. All are members of the international social set whose gowns each represents a leading international fashion house. American presidential niece, Lauren Bush caused a sensation when she was presented on the arm of a prince at the 2000 ball. Her appearance led to a modelling contract with Tommy Hilfiger. Other young ladies to make their appearance here have been Lydia Hearst Shaw, daughter of Patty Hearst, Barbara Berlusconi, daughter of Italy's president Silvio Berlusconi, Victoria and Vanessa Traina, daughters of American romance novelist Danielle Steel, Xenia Virganskaya Gorbachev, grandaughter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Penelope Pei-Tang, the daughter of architect I. M. Pei, Dree Hemingway-Crisman, grand-daughter of Ernest Hemingway, and Countess Anastasia Tolstoy, the relative of another writer, Leo Tolstoy.

Service is good at the Crillon.