By Lisa Costantino
Newly revamped and looking better than ever, these grande dame hotels show how seven decades into it (or 12, or 22) they’re still queens of their domain.
Fellini-esque suites and fashion shows in the bar. Decadent designer lounges. Seaside spas and French fusion cuisine. The role of standard-bearer for cosmopolitan cities and historic vacation spots falls to the world’s grande dame hotels – regal properties long renowned for their lavish interiors and A-list clientele. But forget about resting on laurels or aging gracefully. Multimillion-dollar renovations at these six prestigious addresses show savvy hands at work, balancing traditional elegance with tasteful trends and services for generations of guests to come.
Rome: The Westin Excelsior
IN THE 1960S, THE GLITTERATI gathered on leafy Via Veneto, inspired in part by the film La Dolce Vita. It was the place to be seen, and the Excelsior the place to stay. After several phases of refurbishment, the beaux arts hotel has recaptured the era’s glory with Empire-style decor, stunning chandeliers, and spacious rooms and public areas. Not surprisingly, Rome’s fashionable set now flocks to the hotel’s reinvented Restaurant Doney and its companion lounge bar. Sharing similarities in architecture, with an open setting adorned by leather chairs and crystal lamps, the venues each offer a distinct ambience – the former for romantic Mediterranean-inspired dining, the latter for lively mingling. Everything here has been polished and updated, from the 319 guest rooms (choose from Empire or more modern Biedermeier looks) to the opulent Villa La Cupola (with up to six balconied bedrooms, it’s the largest suite in Europe) to the sidewalk tables, where people-watching, aperitif in hand, never goes out of style.
FAST FACTS
Opened: 1906 Company they keep: Elizabeth Taylor, Prince Rainier and Princess Grace, Condoleezza Rice, and Steven Spielberg. The room you want: The 11,800-square-foot Villa La Cupola for its hand-frescoed dome, 160-bottle wine cabinet, cinema, fitness room with whirlpool, and rooftop terrace complete with olive trees.
Paris: Hotel Le Bristol
The Parisian matriarch’s expansion into an adjacent building will result in 27 new guest rooms and suites (for a total of 188), a bi-level grill serving modern cuisine from an open kitchen, and a new lounge bar. The property reopened in March after a short hiatus for facelifts to the main building’s reception area, fitness room, kitchens, and adjoining Anne Sémonin salon, where travelers who come for the holistic spa’s famed jet lag facials can relax in redecorated and expanded treatment rooms. On Saturday afternoons, the bar hosts popular designer fashion shows with afternoon tea that feature the latest from the likes of Givenchy, Chloé, and Chapal, keeping this well-preserved icon always in vogue.
FAST FACTS
Opened: 1925 Company they keep: Ava Gardner, Robert De Niro, and Céline Dion. The room you want: The new signature suite, which will carry on Le Bristol’s decadent yet refined period decor and offer the hotel’s only direct view of the Eiffel Tower. Scheduled to open this November.
London: The Dorchester
TO CROWN A YEARLONG RENOVATION OF this Mayfair meeting place, designer Thierry
Despont injected vitality into the 250-room hotel’s promenade and bar. The promenade, stretching the length of the ground floor, has long been the haunt of globetrotting socialites. Recast in olive, coral, and gold tones, its ebony-lacquered bar and brocaded divans provide meeting spots for preshow drinks or afternoon tea. A glance around the Bar at the Dorchester reveals well-heeled patrons sipping classic vesper martinis and new signature cocktails such as the Hibiscus Royale (rose vodka, cranberry juice, hibiscus syrup, and champagne) amid mahogany walls, red-glass stalagmites, and a long, curvaceous bar. Purple banquettes and black-and-gold tables and chairs add to the theatrical look, but between the proximity to West End stages and its highly prized collection of spirits, antique barware, and bespoke bitters (made on the premises), a little drama is to be expected.
FAST FACTS
Opened: 1931 Company they keep: Dwight D. Eisenhower set up headquarters here during WWII; Glenn Close and Barbra Streisand. The room you want: A 970-squarefoot Park Suite, with tapestries on the walls, Krug in the minibar, two deep marble tubs, and Hyde Park beyond the French doors.
Beijing: Raffles Beijing Hotel
WHEN A HOTEL’S logo bears the mark of a former premier, it’s a clear that the place has historical roots. Deng Xiaoping’s column and blossom design embody the elegance of this palatial landmark near Tiananmen Square. Newly restored, the opulent 171-room hotel sparkles again, from the crystal chandeliers and Ming Dynasty-motif rugs in the soaring lobby to the French baroque wallpaper and Chinese ornamentation in the guest rooms. The amenities, however, are far from old school, with pillow menus, Wi-Fi, and flat-screen TVs, and the high-tech Amrita fitness center. A savory synthesis of Chinese and Italian delights that includes 33 kinds of dumplings at East 33 and caramelized foie gras terrine at French fusion restaurant Jaan prove that while the hotel exudes stately élan, the dining is pure nouvelle.
FAST FACTS
Opened: 1917 Company they keep: Zhou Enlai, Mao Zedong, and President George H.W. Bush. The room you want: One of the nine 882-square-foot Personality Suites, each designed with special memorabilia from the guest for whom it’s named, including Sun Yat-sen, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and George Bernard Shaw.
San Diego: Hotel Del Coronado
A CENTURY AGO, guests of the Hotel Del sought revitalization by immersing themselves in the salty sea and air. Today, they still come for the resort’s sand-between-the-toes brand of sophistication, but they can also look to rejuvenate with a sea-salt scrub or sea-algae wrap. The just-opened Spa at the Del lifts the concept of taking the waters to new heights, filling its menu with marine treatments, hydrotherapy tubs, and yoga sessions on the beach. Located across a towering bridge from downtown San Diego, the hotel’s immaculate Gilded Age architecture landed it on the 2007 American Institute of Architects’ list of favorite structures. Being beachside, the Del naturally attracts families, some of whom indulge in the spa’s coolest offering: the father-and-son package, in which the boys gear up for a surfing lesson, then unwind with a Swedish massage.
FAST FACTS
Opened: 1888 Company they keep: Marilyn Monroe filmed Some Like It Hot here; Jack Nicholson and Oprah Winfrey. The room you want: A cottage in Beach Village, a secluded enclave of two- and three-bedroom suites with a crescent-shaped pool. Full kitchens, soaking tubs, and fireplaces complement private balconies or patios. Opening July 1.
White Sulphur Springs: The Greenbrier
WITH ITS MOST EXTENSIVE RENOVATIONS SINCE THE 1940S TO be completed late this year, West Virginia’s Greenbrier – colonial watering place, wartime hospital, playground of presidents – brings Southern charm to the global stage. A gleaming example of classical revivalism, the National Historic Landmark lies surrounded by 6,500 acres of Allegheny forest. While the hotel retains its refined demeanor (the dining room still requires jacket and tie), the additions are sure to lure city sophisticates, starting with 38°80, a world-music nightclub offering a sultry atmosphere and handcrafted cocktail flights. Departing from traditional dining is Hemisphere, where guests choose from international tasting menus accompanied by select wines and cocktails. Phased-in upgrades will eventually bring deep-soak tubs and plasma-screen TVs to all 721 rooms. Even the resort’s once-secret underground bomb shelter got spiffed up for public tours.
FAST FACTS
Opened: 1778
Company they keep: No less than 26 presidents; crooners from Bing Crosby to U2’s Bono. The room you want: The East Terrace or West Terrace suites, both 1,400-square-foot, two-bedroom decadent dens with rich Chinese decor, large parlors, and wraparound rooftop terraces.