At the heart of the Paris of arts and culture, Le Meurice, the first Parisian luxury hotel

It's as if it's always been there. As if it were part of the walls of Paris. Under the arcades of Rue Rivoli, at number 228, facing the Tuileries Gardens, Le Meurice blends into the landscape. The palace, founded in 1835 by Charles-Augustin Meurice, still respects the wishes of its creator: it is intimate, discreet and modern.

" As soon as it opened, it attracted royalty because the entrance was on ruedu Mont Thabor, parallel to rue Rivoli. It was perfect for those who wanted to keep a low profile! "Cynthia Sunnen knows the house inside out. Community manager at the palace for the past four years, she also spent several years working at Le Meurice's little brother, the Plaza Athénée. Both belong to the same group: Dorchester Collection.

The ambition of a palace from the XIXᵉ century

Back to the genesis of the project. 1771, Charles-Augustin Meurice owned a small inn in Calais, northern France. He soon realized that his clientele, mostly British, passed through Calais on their way to Paris. He wanted his own establishment in the French capital.

In 1818, Le Meurice, his first Parisian hotel, opened on rue Saint-Honoré. But Meurice thought bigger, and moved in 1835. "The hotel, initially small, grew over the years," explains Cynthia Sunnen. From the moment it opened, the establishment attracted royalty. Guests appreciate the discreet, out-of-sight entrance and the services on offer. "Monsieur Meurice is a trailblazer. The hotel staff all spoke English, there were private bathrooms in the rooms, elevators and even telephones. the aristocracy loved it! "

The Hotel des Arts

Towards the XXᵉ century, the palace became the haunt of many artists. On July 12, 1918, "Pablo Picasso celebrated his marriage to his first wife, Ukrainian dancer Olga Khokhlova in the Salon Pompadour at Le Meurice. Among the guests was Jean Cocteau, the artist's best man. "

Another Surrealist painter, Salvador Dali, spent a long time on rue de Rivoli. "For thirty years, he came once a month to this hotel. The suite was logically renamed the 'Dali Suite'. "A self-professed royalist, he was particularly fond of the idea that "King Alfonso XIII of Spain had stayed at Le Meurice during the Spanish Civil War. When he fled, he took up residence in the room that Dali loved so much. The painter liked to feel like the King of Spain. "

During these various stays, the zany requests were numerous. The employee laughs as she recalls anecdotes passed down through the generations: "Dali had an ocelot as a pet. It would sometimes escape from him and the teams would have to catch it. It's also said that he paid some of our employees with sketches. And he supposedly asked the teams to catch flies in the garden. "

Composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky also made frequent visits to the hotel. "We've taken this artistic heritage and turned it into our positioning as an artists' hotel. It's also linked to our location: in the heart of historic Paris, with the Louvre next door... We really have arts and culture at our feet! "

The palace was renovated between 1905 and 1907. "One of the reasons for this was the opening of the Ritz in 1898. Le Meurice had to bring itself up to date. "The idea was to have a modern-day Versailles," says Cynthia Sunnen. that's when the greyhound mascot first appeared. "Legend has it that a greyhound roamed the site. The workers took it as a symbol. "

Blending ancient and modern

Today, the Salon Pompadour, the venue for Picasso's wedding celebrations, looks just as it did in 1907. On the wall: the work of the Marquise de Pompadour, a large painting by the artists' patron. En enfilade, two other salons welcome weddings and events in different atmospheres. At the far end of the hotel, the Jeu de Paume salon stands where the intimate entrance used to be until the 2000s.

In the bar, the original fresco by Alexandre-Claude-Louis Lavalley, famous in the 20th century, has also been preserved. Recently, the artistic environment has inspired Philippe Starck, who brought his touch to the gallery and Le Dali restaurant, in 2007 and again in 2016.

But the place retains its pastel colors, discreet reception area, arcaded entrance and intimate atmosphere.

Some of our loyal staff have been working here for 30 years. " It's not unusual for us to have children or grandchildren of former customers who find the same employees. "

To cultivate this memory, an archivist has been working at Le Meurice for several years now. The idea: to verify the stories passed down by word-of-mouth about the palace. And, "we're looking for art-related stories other than those involving Dali and Picasso. "

Palace before its time

at the time, the term "palace" was not yet in use. The label was created in 2010, and criteria had to be met before it could be used. "There are precise specifications for the services offered by the hotel, and every year management has to pass an oral exam and submit a new application. "Le Meurice was the first Parisian hotel to be awarded this distinction in 2010, and has managed to retain it every year since.