Plaza Athénée 4.09

The Hotel Plaza Athénée is a historic luxury hotel in Paris.It is located on 25 Avenue Montaigne, near the Champs-Élysées and Eiffel Tower. The Hotel Plaza Athénée is part of the Dorchester Collection group of international luxury hotels. The hotel has five restaurants and a bar, and has room rates ranging from USD $1,150 to USD $20,000 per night for the hotels premier suite.HistoryEarly historyThe Hotel Plaza Athénée opened on Avenue Montaigne on 20 April 1913. The hotel's first manager Emile Armbruster named it. Composers and artists regularly dined at Plaza Athénée after performances. At the time, Jacques-Léon Colombier, winner of the London Gourmet Prize, was the head chef of the hotel's restaurant. The Hotel Plaza Athénée remained open during World War I. In the 1920s Jules Lefebvre expanded the hotel's size with the addition of apartment hotels, the restaurant La Cour Jardin and two salons. The Le Relais restaurant became a cafeteria for American soldiers during the Liberation of Paris. In 1947, Christian Dior established his couture house next to the hotel. Georges Marin became the new hotel director in 1963. In 1968, the Forte Group purchased the Hotel Plaza Athénée.Late historyFrom 1998 to 2000, the hotel was renovated under the management of François Delahaye. He chose Alain Ducasse to supervise the hotel's catering services and create a menu for the hotel’s new restaurant Alain Ducasse. Ducasse obtained three Michelin stars at his Plaza Athénée restaurant in 2001. Additionally, Delahaye appointed pastry chef Christophe Michalak at La Galerie des Gobelins and Philippe Marc as chef of Le Relais Plaza.