Chateau des Fleurs

Olivier Bertrand opens another distinctive hotel with plans for three more to open by 2025.

By the top of the Champs-Elysées, just off the Arc de Triomphe and the Golden Triangle, the Château des Fleurs (www.chateaudesfleurs.paris) is a new luxury boutique hotel set in a magnificent 1910 building and imagined by the Barcelona-based design firm Quintana Partners as a tribute to the elegance and lightness of the Paris balls of the 19th century and the sparkling joie de vivre of the Belle Epoque.

Olivier Bertrand, who, along with his sisters owns two Relais & Châteaux properties, Relais Christine and Saint James Paris, has extended their collection of luxurious Parisian hotels with the opening of Château des Fleurs.

The Château des Fleurs has joined a collection of hotels marked by highly distinctive identities giving precedence to discrete chic and bespoke service in classic French style. By 2025, the group will open three more new hotels in the capital.

An Ode to the Parisian Way of Life

On a peaceful street, a short walk to the bustling Avenue des Champs Elysées, Le Château des Fleurs unfurls a spirit of heritage enhanced by "neo-Art Nouveau" decor designed by Quintana Partners, founded in Barcelona in 2015. This architectural studio has set its signature to its first accomplishment in Paris: a boutique hotel proposing 37 rooms, a bar-restaurant, a gym and spa, designed as enticing opportunities for experiences and activities for travelers passing through the capital, but also Parisians in search of a haven of serenity in which to savor lunch, dinner or simply a drink.

On the ground floor, a warm and elegant living area

At the entrance to the Château des Fleurs, Quintana Partners have imagined more than a simple lobby; a real place for living, with sunlight streaming in through large windows and reflected on textured wood walls.

Behind the discreet wooden counter with its curtain, the Reception team gives a warm, personal welcome to each hotel guest who, during his stay, enjoys dropping by and handing over his key on its chic leather key ring. The chance to chat with the Receptionist or ask the Concierge for advice. Next to Reception, an imposing square bar in veined marble and dark wood with brass shelving is surrounded by precious items and more rustic references, such as velvet bench seats and contrasting red floor tiles, Murano glass chandeliers of bespoke design, accompanied by a mixture of furnishings unearthed in antique stores.

For more privacy, head for the lounge which can be privatized. It has adopted the round shapes dear to Art Nouveau with fringed armchairs, bookshelves with columns of wooden balls, Persian carpets, and a fireplace adorned with brass recalling the work of Belgian designer Victor Horta.

In this velvety, warm setting, the restaurant has been entrusted to Korean chef Ji-Hye Park. She has retained its spirit of OMA, her former address in the 9th arrondissement, that of cuisine midway between Paris and Seoul, simple, authentic and comforting.

Among the bar's rich choice of offerings, Head Barman Julien Quettier creates exclusive cocktails such as "Spritz des Fleurs" with jasmine syrup, a tea infusion and blueberry flowers.

OMA by Ji-Hye Park

Dishes like those made at home. Such is the impression conjured up by those proposed by Ji-Hye Park. Arriving in France almost 25 years ago, this Korean-born chef inherited a passion for cooking from her father. Her happy memories inspired a desire to pass on her enjoyment and love of taste. She thus developed a culinary identity brimming with generosity and authenticity, first as a home chef, then at the helm of OMA, her own Parisian restaurant. Spices, fermentation, but also cream and cheese..., her menu is a bridge between Korea and France. Enchanted by her universe, Le Château des Fleurs invited her to take charge of its restaurant. The setting has changed, yet the DNA of OMA remains intact. Inspired by her land of adoption, the chef's childhood cuisine is awarded a place of honor with iconic "mulhué", raw fish served in iced stock, or signature OMA rice based on algae, soft-boiled egg, sesame and marinated radish.

On the upper floors, rooms of cozy, intuitive design

In the hallways on all five floors, the wooden doors to the 37 rooms reject the rigor of straight lines in favor of sinuous curves evoking the style of Antoni Gaudí, Catalan eulogist of Art Nouveau.

Inside the rooms, the atmosphere is cozy with gentle lines, rounded bedheads, bedside tables and ceiling reliefs. Wardrobes are fronted by large, opaque panels whose graphic blend of fabric and glass enrich the decor. Finally, Murano glass lamps exclusively designed by Quintana Partners add touches of color. Near the window, a tailor made lounger invites you to read in natural daylight, but also to stow away your suitcase or enjoy a refreshing drink from the hidden mini-bar.

Here and there, the architects have added a few references to the French capital: cable pattern carpeting, red floor tiles in the bathrooms, Parisian shutters, flowery window boxes for all the rooms. As a bonus, an equally delightful Parisian experience: an excellent night's sleep beneath sloping attic roofs in one of the split-level Junior Suites on the 5th floor.

In the basement, stylish well-being

To decorate the gym, Quintana Partners rejected steel and the usual choice of white in favor of cork flooring, wooden furnishings, graphic tiles in red and black. The lighting is also distinctive with lamps in Art Nouveau style, unearthed in antique stores by the architectural firm. Soft light to accompany a frenetic ballet before Technogym machines and a leather punching bag with its patina.

In a sculpted setting on the same floor, the spa at Le Château des Fleurs partners with Omnisens and invites you to disconnect. Thanks to its teams of beauty and body care experts, this French cosmetics brand is widely appreciated for its holistic approach to well-being, meeting each person's needs and aspirations. From personalized facial treatments to the bespoke Châteaux des Fleurs signature massage, your experience is indeed unique.

On all floors, classic French service

Already winning renown at Relais Christine and Saint James Paris, expertise in high-end service is now to be enjoyed at Château des Fleurs. Orchestrated to meet high demands, these services deliver personalized responses to meet the needs of each and every guest, ensuring a ready ear and bespoke advice for an unforgettable stay in Paris.

About Olivier Bertrand

The French owner has a long-standing experience in the hospitality field. His family's celebrated properties include the 48-room-and-suite Relais Christine (www.relais-christine.com) set in a former private home in Paris' Saint-Germain-des-Prés area; plus the new, 4-apartment Villa Saint James (www.saint-james-paris.com/en/apartments.html) and the 50-room-and-suite Saint James Paris (www.saint-james-paris.com), both in the 16th arr. The Saint James Paris is the only chateau-hotel in Paris surrounded by its own gardens and it has just completed a total renovation to its interiors and gardens with newly designed rooms and suites, new indoor swimming pool and expanded spa, and new restaurant concepts indoors and out. Relais Christine, and Saint James Paris both have Guerlain spas, the only two in the city outside of Paris' famed Guerlain Institute, and both are members of Relais & Chateaux. The owners will open three more hotels in Paris by 2025.

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