Yet another grand luxury hotel is shuttering its doors for a head to toe makeover. Last year the Ritz and Crillon Hotels closed for renovation and now the famed Hotel Lutetia Hotel on the Left Bank has closed for an extensive three -year renovation.
The entire contents of the hotel are being auctioned off, over 3,000 items, everything from cups and saucers to the front desk. Over 7,000 bottles of wines and spirits from the wine cellar will also be auctioned and some rare art pieces and sculptures by artists Arman, Philippe Hiquily, César and Takis.
The Lutetia was opened by the owners of the nearby Le Bon Marche department store as a place for its international clientele to stay in when they came from abroad to shop. It was the first and still remains the only large luxury hotel on the Left Bank. Construction started 1907 by builders Louis Hippolyte Boileau and Henri Tauzin, and Leon Binet sculpted the magnificent Art Deco stone facade.
Opening in 1910, the modernity of the hotel attracted painter, writers, performers, and creative people of the day including Picasso, Matisse, André Gide, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Saint-Exupéry, Jean-Paul Sartre, Josephine Baker, Peggy Guggenheim, and André Malraux.
During WWII in 1940, the hotel became one of the Nazi Headquarters along with the Hotel Meurice and the Ritz. After the Liberation of France in 1944, it was offered to temporarily house war refugees, displaced people, and prisoners of war.
Architect and designer Jean-Michel Wilmotte, who recently designed the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Paris, will design the renovation.
As some of you may recall, I went to the Crillon Hotel auction last year to bid on some items for a friend. Click here to read about my adventure.
The Lutetia auction runs today from today May 21, Thursday, May 22 and Friday, May 23 from 10AM to 2PM, and the wine auction is Saturday, May 24 from 10AM-2PM at the hotel.
Hotel Lutetia
45 Blvd. Raspail, 75006
Metro: Sevres Babylone
http://www.pba-auctions.com/html/calendrier.jsp?t=f
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotte's professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.
Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday,Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.
Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.
I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.
Tours cost 210 euros for up to 3 people, and 70 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com
Click here to watch a video of our famous Marais tour
