As the chauffeured car enters Avenue Montaigne I feel joy, a strong sense of anticipation and the excitement that is usually reserved to special meetings, dates and reunions with friends that became family.

“Welcome home, Mr. Cabras”, I hear as soon as the car door is opened. And very welcome I feel indeed when I cross the threshold of Plaza Athénée.

In town to see a dear friend and spend some leisurely days visiting galleries, museums and pampering myself with beauty treatments and exquisite meals; I chose to stay at the “couture hôtel”, the headquarter from where I first discovered Paris many more years ago than I’d like to admit, and where I’ve came back to time and again to stay, dine, have a coffee, celebrate…

The Grande Dame just turned 110 and couldn’t look more pulled together.

Mere seconds after entering the gorgeous and perennially fragrant lobby (the most heavenly signature amber perfume) and I am greeted by Louise Prévost, the beautiful Director of Guest Relations that receives me with the usual warmth and escorts me to my room. And what a room it is!

The pure splendour of the Presidential Suite is the embodiment of refinement, with interiors crafted by Marie-José Pommerau, combining couture fabrics and antiques – the very essence of French elegance.

A suite of marvellous rooms designed to merge public and private life, the Presidential allows for the division of one’s private space from the stunning areas thought to entertain family and friends.

Talking about friends, as soon as mine enters the space she marvels at how wonderfully appointed it is, a real Parisian apartment filled with so many vases of fresh flowers  and plush textures, overlooking the gorgeous ivy-clad courtyard.

As an extremely talented director and screen-writer, who was born and raised in Paris and now spends most of her time in Los Angeles, my friend’s first words were probably “haute couture”. So when she says that she’d move into the suite and jokes about how much better the room is compared to the one an A-lister actor got at another Palace Hotel it’s a testimonial to the perfection of the environment. So much so that we spend the afternoon indoors, in the comfortable silence typical of great friendships: me reading her astounding new script and her answering emails and meditating, both of us fuelled by Lapsang Souchong, fresh macaroons and the most exquisite latte done by Estelle, from room service.

Even being the hotel of choice for some of the happy few that flock from all over the world to have a couture dress (or fifty) especially fitted for them, the hotel’s gastronomic offer has always been and keeps being marvellous with chef Jean Imbert overseeing all of the hotel restaurants, from the new gastronomic restaurant Jean Imbert au Plaza Athenée opened in January 2022 and awarded its first Michelin star after only nine weeks, to La Galerie, ideal for an informal lunch or a tea, not forgetting my beloved Le Relais Plaza.

Opened in 1936, the impossibly chic restaurant quickly became a key address in the capital; the original Art Deco design has been preserved including the mural of Diana, The Huntress, and the tiles adorned with the signs of the zodiac. Monsieur Imbert’s cuisin is wonderfully tuned to suit the ambience whilst succeeding in expressing his astonishing talent as Chef.

Inspired by his grandmother and the traditional cooking he cherishes, the menu features a number of innovative dishes also influenced by Parisian brasserie cuisine as well as a selection of signature dishes he has become worldly known for.

Service is a thing of wonder, under the helm of Arnaud Berric directing the restaurant and Franck Avranches, maître extraordinaire.

Le Relais Plaza was the perfect stage for the many laughters I had over diner with my friend. In the rarefied yet décontracté setting, hours went by with great conversation not interrupted, but rather complemented by a series of divinely crafted dishes.

It’s in the final hours of my stay that I keep reasoning about how the property is so very dear to my heart. All the grandeur, the storied past and glowing present are surely a part of it. But even more inspiring is the level of service; everyone that works at the hotel conquers us guests with charm ad personable ways that just great professionals can master with ease, especially somewhere that hosts so many different cultures, generations and egos. Plaza Athenée makes you go back again and again not only because it’s a gorgeous hotel and a safe heaven for so many, but also a place that inspires and gently nudges you to be the best version of yourself. And what more can we ask for, in the end?

Maybe not everyone knows that…

• Dior opened its first spa at the hotel in 2008 and now it just inaugurated a fully reinvented space. A gorgeous pale and enveloping decor with reorganised interiors, highlighting wood, stones and other natural materials. The new spa also reveals the exceptional Dior Light Suite, a treatment room inspired by light therapy to resynchronise the body’s rhythms and restore energy. Just perfect for Lux Travellers. New treatments have been especially developed as well, notably the Dior Privé Sur Demand personalised treatments. A luxurious wellness retreat that takes wellbeing to new heights.

• In the 1950s, Marlene Dietrich, a regular guest at the hotel, met Jean Gabin at a dinner at the Relais du Plaza. She then bought an apartment on Avenue Montaigne, opposite to the hotel and in memory of their meeting Jean Gabin asked the hotel concierge to decorate their balcony with hundreds of red roses, which were visible from Dietrich’s apartment. Since then, all the balconies are draped in red geraniums and red has become the hotel’s emblematic colour.