The Peninsula Paris
The Peninsula Paris | |
---|---|
General information | |
Location | Paris, France |
Address | 19 Avenue Kléber |
Opened | 1908 (as Hotel Majestic) 2014 (as The Peninsula Paris) |
Owner | Katara Hospitality, Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels (20%) |
Management | The Peninsula Hotels |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Armand Sibien (1908) Richard Martinet (2014) |
Developer | Leonard Tauber |
Other information | |
Number of rooms | 200 |
Number of suites | 34 |
Website | |
peninsula |
The Peninsula Paris is an historic
History
Early history of the site
Basilewski sold the palace in 1868 to the
The Palacio Castilla was used as the queen's home in exile, and it was where the Duke of Sesto and Queen Isabella plotted to have her son Prince Alfonso elevated to the Spanish throne. The duke talked Queen Isabella into abdicating on June 20, 1870, the ceremony taking place at Palacio Castilla in the presence of as many Spanish grandees as could be brought to Paris for the ceremony. The queen's abdication led toward France's declaration of war against Prussia less than a month later.
Queen Isabella continued to live in Paris, while the Duke of Sesto succeeded in arousing support in Spain for Prince Alfonso, who was welcomed into Madrid in 1875 as King Alfonso XII. However, he died at the age of 27 of tuberculosis, and he was succeeded by his son
Hotel Majestic
World War I and the inter-war years
Tauber constructed the luxurious Hotel Majestic on the site, retaining Queen Isabella's bathroom accoutrements, including her marble bath, in the Presidential suite.[1][3] Designed by Armand Sibien,[4] construction began in 1906 and the hotel opened in December 1908.[5] The hotel was purchased by Henry Devenish Harben for use as a military hospital at the outbreak of World War I in 1914,[6] and served in this capacity for five months. It was damaged during its hospital service, and was not renovated and reopened until 1916. In 1922 it was the site of a famous dinner hosted by Violet and Sydney Schiff and attended by Marcel Proust, Igor Stravinsky and Pablo Picasso. The "dinner party of the century" was immortalised in Richard Davenport-Hines's book, Proust at the Majestic: The Last Days of the Author Whose Book Changed Paris. The 1st unofficial Chess Olympiad was held at the hotel in 1924. George Gershwin wrote An American in Paris while staying at the hotel in 1928.[5] David Ogilvy (businessman) having failed his exams in Oxford worked in the hotel kitchens between 1931-32.
World War II
The hotel was purchased by the
On May 22, 1942, after the
Stülpnagel opposed the policy and decided to act against Hitler. With other members of the officer class working out of The Majestic and billeted in The Raphael next door, Stülpnagel began to plan Hitler's assassination from his office on The Majestic's second floor.
The final battle for The Majestic took place on 25 August in the afternoon as Jaques Massu and Colonel Paul de Langlade of the French 2nd Armored Division moved their troops from the Champs-Élysées to the heavily fortified and barricaded Avenue Kléber.[13] One of Massu's officers worked his way around the rear of The Majestic on Rue la Pérouse, which was protected by a blockhouse that could only be subdued by a bazooka, but the Germans inside the hotel said they would be willing to surrender to regular soldiers, rather than men of the Resistance. A German spokesman was brought to Massu under a white flag and with Langlade's approval, Massu went to The Majestic accompanied by Senior Sergeant Dannic. As they approached Dannic was shot dead by a sniper firing from the hotel's rooftop. Despite this, Massu continued up the hotel's steps and entered The Majestic's lobby to find fifty German officers and 300 other ranks. The Germans surrendered to Massu without further resistance, using a bilingual bell-boy from the hotel as their interpreter.[13]
Post-war government offices
In the post war-era The Majestic served as the first headquarters of
The Peninsula Paris
The French government sold the building in 2008 as part of a cost-cutting measure to the Qatari Diar firm for $460 million. It reopened on August 1, 2014, The hotel offers 200 luxury rooms, including 34 suites.
21 avenue Kléber
The
Gallery
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German officers captured by Free French troops are lodged in the Hotel Majestic
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Plaque commemorating Raymond Bonenfant, who was killed at 17 rue Galilée in the battle for the nearby Hotel Majestic
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Signing the Paris Peace Accords, 1973
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Construction at The Peninsula Paris, June 2012
See also
References
- ^ a b c The Making of the Peninsula Paris by Daniel Jeffreys at www.thepeninsula-paris.com
- ^ Nancy Becker, Moments of Extraordinary Violence and Intensity, Denver, Outskirts Press, 2012.
- ^ "Tauber". heritageechecsfra.free.fr. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
- ^ a b c d "PSS / Hôtel Le Peninsula Paris (Paris, France)". pss-archi.eu. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
- ^ a b c "The Peninsula Paris". paris.peninsula.com. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
- ISBN 9780415239264.
- ^ Samuel Rousselier, sml-studio : conception interactive et développement. Benjamin Brard : conception graphique. "Histoire@Politique : comptes-rendus : Gaël Eismann, Hôtel Majestic. Ordre et sécurité en France occupée (1940-1944)". histoire-politique.fr. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
- ^ a b Walter Bargatzky, Hotel Majestic: Ein Deutscher im besetzten Frankreich
- ^ "Arrivée du Général des SS Heydrich" par Les Actualités Mondiales at Ina.fr
- ^ Charles Glass, Americans in Paris: Life and Death Under Nazi Occupation
- ISBN 9780786437443. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ "Hotels parijs - Wij hebben de beste en goedkoopste hotels voor jou op een rij gezet". Citytrip Parijs (in Dutch). citytripparijs.eu. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ a b Free France's Lion: The Life of Philippe Leclerc, de Gaulle's Greatest General by William Mortimer Moore
- ^ "Paris Headquarters | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization". unesco.org. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
- ^ "Hotel Preview: The Peninsula Paris to Debut Aug. 1 | TravelPulse". travelpulse.com. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
- ^ "A majestic start: How the OECD was won - OECD Observer". oecdobserver.org. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
- ^ "Vietnam Accord is Reached; Cease-Fire Begins Saturday; P.O.W.'s to be Free in 60 Days". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
- ISBN 9781610390019. Retrieved 2015-01-02.
- ^ "The Peninsula Paris opens". Telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-08-02. Retrieved 2015-01-02.
- ^ "Les archives des dossiers du mois". vinci-construction.fr. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
- ^ "The Peninsula Paris | The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited". hshgroup.com. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
- ^ "Hong Kong Hotel Investment Services Company". www.hshgroup.com.
- ^ "The Peninsula Paris Makes a Spectacular Entrance". luxurytravelmagazine.com. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
- ^ "21 avenue Kléber - The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited". www.hshgroup.com.