Situated on a prime rue Saint-Honoré location around the corner from Place Vendôme, the Mandarin Oriental, Paris is a 1930s palace hotel combining chic modern style with art deco details and Asian design touches. The 96 tranquil rooms and 39 suites, which all feature a panoramic window and some feature outdoor terraces overlooking the indoor garden, are among the most spacious in Paris. Luxurious and delectable amenities on offer include a 14-meter pool, a lush interior courtyard garden, stylish spa and fitness center and three restaurants and a bar by star chef Thierry Marx. Sur Mesure par Thierry Marx is a gourmet two Michelin-starred restaurant featuring a futuristic space and a tasting menu. Camélia par Thierry Marx is a contemporary French restaurant inspired by the Parisian food markets. L’Honoré off the lobby is an all-day dining venue while Bar 8 is an indoor/outdoor bar perfect for a business meeting or romantic drinks date.
We spoke with general manager Geraldine Dobey to learn more about the property.
What’s the most requested room at the property?
The Parisian Apartment on the sixth floor.
Why?
It feels more like a pied-a-terre in Paris than a traditional hotel suite. The Parisian Apartment suite, designed by Gilles & Boissier, is an elegant and exceptionally spacious apartment (430 square meters) with Parisian influences and magnificent perspectives, overlooking the hotel’s lush inner garden and the rue Saint-Honoré. As a true Parisian apartment of today, the suite mixes codes and influences, showcasing light, transparency, comfort, calm and elegance without ostentation. It has four elegant bedrooms and bathrooms, an expansive reception area, a bright dining room and a fully equipped kitchen. This beautiful suite also has its own private 230-square-meter terrace, inspired by the French gardens.
Mandarin Oriental Paris guest room
What is the nightly rate range for this room?
Rates start at EUR 32,000.
What’s an interesting tidbit about the hotel that speaks to its status as a new icon?
The imposing stone bar in the hotel’s Bar 8, which weighs nine tons and was designed by Agence Jouin-Manku. Intricately assembled from stone quarried in Spain, it originally weighed 50 tons and was cut in Italy by craftsmen working round-the-clock for two months.
What’s your personal favorite room?
The Oriental Penthouse Suite.
Why?
I love the way West pays homage to East in the Oriental Penthouse Suite, which extends over two levels in a harmony of white, beige, black and green. Lacquer blends with velvet, ebony with marble for an emotional journey from Paris to the Orient. The staircase is embellished with sculpted flowers and butterflies. Sybille de Margerie has hung the walls with black and white photography by Jean-Baptiste Huynh and commissioned the artist Thierry Bisch to paint a quadriptych depicting a cloud of butterflies. This extraordinary suite has its final extraordinary touch in the form of its own private 75 square-meter terrace, a true outdoor extension of the suite, having created a lounge and outside dining area and elegant pergola which has a removable roof to enjoy the sunshine. Subtle vegetation is used to form a natural setting and enhance the breath-taking views over the Opera, Madeleine and Montmartre.
Oriental Penthouse Suite
What special perk or amenity do you offer that no one knows about?
Guests who wish to participate in the hotel’s environmental program such as the selective replacement of bed linens or towels, receive a jar of honey produced from the rooftop hive as a gesture of appreciation. Mandarin Oriental, Paris has contributed to protect biodiversity by hosting 100,000 bees. To help restore the decreasing bee population, the hotel has installed two rooftop beehives. Bees are an important part of the pollination cycle and often thrive in urban environments such as Paris, which has been a pesticide free-zone for the past ten years. Indeed, the hotel’s harvest yields every year from 30 to 40 kg of honey which executive chef Thierry Marx and pastry chef Adrien Bozzolo are also using in the hotel’s recipes.
What’s your favorite design element on property?
The imposing stone bar in the hotel’s Bar 8, which weighs nine tons and was designed by Agence Jouin-Manku. Intricately assembled from stone quarried in Spain, it originally weighed 50 tons and was cut in Italy by craftsmen working around-the-clock for two months.
Mandarin Oriental Paris lobby
What’s a fun fact about the property that you’d like to share?
Since the 16th century, the site of Mandarin Oriental, Paris has been a Capuchin monastery, a hippodrome, a royal riding school and a circus called Le Nouveau Cirque. Inaugurated in 1886, the Nouveau Cirque was a prestigious and avant-garde theater where the first clown artists duo Foottit and Chocolat, performed. A memorial plaque hangs on the hotel façade to honor both artists.
