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FOOD & SHOPPING OUTLETS
- DEPARTMENT STORE LA SAMARITAINE REOPENS
- Paris, Île-de-France
- February – date to be confirmed (postponed from 2020)
After closing for safety reasons in 2005, La Samaritaine is finally unveiling the results of its large-scale renovation project conceived by the LVMH Group. Several facilities will be grouped together within the buildings, surrounded by a pedestrian area, spread over two blocks between the Quai du Louvre and Rue de Rivoli: a department store, a five-star Cheval Blanc hotel with 72 rooms (see ‘New Hotels’ section), housing units, offices and a children’s nursery.
- THE BORDEAUX WINE FESTIVAL
- Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- 17-20 June 2021 (postponed from 2020)
A city synonymous with wine, Bordeaux holds a four-day wine festival every two years. At this event, 80 appellations from Bordeaux and Nouvelle-Aquitaine are made available for visitors’ tasting pleasure. The two-kilometre-long festival stretches from the banks of the River Garonne to the 18th-century buildings at the heart of the city. Each evening, a spectacular light show will be projected on the façade of the Palais de la Bourse.
- THE PARIS FOOD FORUM
- Paris, Île-de-France
- June 2021 (postponed from 2020)
On the initiative of Emmanuel Macron, the Paris Food Forum will be held in the capital next June. The forum is an international symposium on the future of gastronomy and the place of food in our everyday lives. Catering and nutrition experts from all five continents will come together to find common solutions to the global challenges in this field, with a special emphasis placed on environmental, health and social issues. With over 500 stakeholders and 100 keynote speakers, a state dinner with President Emmanuel Macron, a large farmers’ market and a series of events will be organised on the initiative of the various ministries. These include the exhibition of a monumental work by Indian artist Subodh Gupta in the Tuileries Garden and an exhibition of food cultures at the Palace of Versailles. Official website not yet available.
- FOOD SOCIETY, EUROPE’S LARGEST FOOD HALL
- Paris, Île-de-France
- 2021 – date to be confirmed
In the Montparnasse district of Paris, Ateliers Gaité will feature over 100 shops and services spanning three floors, plus restaurants and a gourmet food stand, a fully refurbished Pullman hotel with almost 1,000 rooms, offices and housing, and a renovated public library. Above all, it will be home to Food Society, Europe’s largest food hall measuring 5,000 square metres. Official website not yet available.
NEW HOTELS
- AIRELLES CHATEAU DE VERSAILLES, LE GRAND CONTROLE
- Versailles, Paris-Île-de-France
- Five-star expected
- February – date to be confirmed (postponed from 2020)
The LOV Group is opening another hotel as part of the Airelles Collection brand, this time in Versailles near Paris. The luxury 23-room hotel at 12 Rue de l’Indépendance Américaine is housed in the 17th-century ‘Grand Contrôle, ‘Petit Contrôle’ and ‘Premières Cent Marches’ pavilions, with a view of the palace orangery and across the Pièce d’Eau des Suisses lake, as well as a restaurant by Alain Ducasse. The Airelles Collection owns Hotel Les Airelles in Courchevel and La Bastide de Gordes in Provence, as well as the Airelles Val d’Isère Mademoiselle which opened in December 2019.
- DOMAINES DE FONTENILLE
- Paris-Île-de-France
- Five-star expected
- Spring 2021
Less than an hour from the capital, by a river at the heart of one of the most beautiful parks in the Paris region, this 18th-century aristocratic residence has been transformed into a 30-room hotel with fine-dining restaurant, bistro and spa. It’s set to be an exceptional place for relaxation, surrounded by romantic gardens and classical architecture.
- FRANCE’S FIRST ALOFT HOTEL
- Dijon, Burgundy-Franche-Comté
- Four-star expected
- Spring 2021
A new hotel under the Aloft brand will open its doors on Place Grangier in the Hôtel des Postes in Dijon. Formerly a commercial premises now transformed into accommodation and/or an artist’s studio, the space will offer 93 bright and fully open loft spaces, plus various services for hotel guests and local customers.
- REOPENING OF HOTEL DU PALAIS BIARRITZ
- Biarritz, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Spring 2021
Hotel du Palais, the only ‘Palace’ on the Atlantic Coast, has undergone a renovation to enhance the majesty and elegance of this exceptional establishment, while conserving the spirit of its prestigious 19th-century design and architecture. This former imperial residence of Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie de Montijo was built in 1854 and ranks among the world’s most beautiful hotels, earning it the ‘Palace de France’ label. The five-star seafront hotel in Biarritz will reopen the doors to its 57 suites and 82 rooms in spring 2021, alongside a 26,900-square-foot spa, a large outdoor pool and a panoramic restaurant headed by chef Aurélien Largeau.
- THE FIRST SOHO HOUSE HOTEL IN FRANCE
- Paris, Île-de-France
- Summer 2021 (postponed from 2020)
In the former red light district of Pigalle, the 35-bedroom Soho House Paris is taking shape behind a handsome and historic Parisian facade, in what was once the home of French poet Jean Cocteau. The design is set to recall Paris’ bohemian heyday of the early 20th century, with low-level lighting and rich textures. The building houses a charming courtyard, a sumptuous cinema for late-night screenings, club lounges and restaurants, and upstairs, no two bedrooms are alike. There are also rumours of a Soho Farmhouse-style project in the pipeline, expected to open on the Les Bordes estate in the Loire Valley.
- MOB HOUSE PARIS LES PUCES
- Saint-Ouen, Paris-Île-de-France
- Date to be confirmed
Following the opening of the MOB HOTEL Paris les Puces in 2017, the first MOB HOUSE conceived by Cyril Aouizerate and decorated by Philippe Starck is set to open at Les Puces in Saint-Ouen, northern Paris. The MOB HOUSE will be the first hotel to offer professionals an environment adapted to their needs and stimulating their creativity. Designed by Philippe Starck, the interiors are set to be cosy and full of curiosities and surprises. This will be a unique, innovative place, hinging its success on inviting guests for ‘bleasure’ (both business and pleasure). Official website not yet available
- THE BVLGARI HOTEL PARIS
- Paris, Île-de-France
- Five-star expected
- Date to be confirmed (postponed from 2020)
Next year anticipates the opening of the first Bulgari hotel in Paris at 30 Avenue George-V, with 76 rooms and suites, spa with 25-metre pool, bar, restaurant and Parisian courtyard. Set on an exquisite corner of the Triangle d’Or, the hotel has been designed by Italian architectural firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel and renowned Parisian architects Valode & Pistre. It will combine classic Haussmannian style with a contemporary rationalistic façade.
- CHEVAL BLANC AT LA SAMARITAINE
- Paris, Île-de-France
- Five-star expected
- Date to be confirmed (postponed from 2020)
Japanese architects Sejima and Nishizawo have transformed former iconic department store La Samaritaine into a luxury hotel, the Cheval Blanc. It will boast 72 rooms and suites with far-reaching views of the Seine, cultural spaces, a restaurant, garden terrace and shops. At the centre of the site is an Art Nouveau building crowned with an impressive glass roof, which was completed by Frantz Jourdain in the early 1900s. LVMH eventually plans to open a Cheval Blanc hotel, spa and Louis Vuitton café in London’s Mayfair.
- MAISON HELER BY STARCK
- Curio Collection by Hilton
- Metz, Grand-Est
- Date to be confirmed (postponed from 2020)
Presented at MIPIM (International Property Market) in Cannes on 15March 2018, the first hotel designed entirely from scratch by French creator Philippe Starck is scheduled to open its doors in 2020 near the Centre Pompidou-Metz. The building will be one of the 50 remarkable hotels in the ‘Curio by Hilton’ collection. It will have 119 rooms and suites spread over 14 floors – topped by the famous replica of the Salomon Villa on Avenue Foch – as well as a restaurant and cosy bar-salon.
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