Plaza Athénée

Combining eighteenth-century elegance and Art Deco cool, this Belle Epoque hotel may be a classic but it is no museum. Even in its youth, in the 1930s, the Plaza Athénée was equal parts classical French style and contemporary hipster hangout — the likes of Josephine Baker and Rudolph Valentino could be seen among the patrons of the hotel bar. Today, though a comprehensive multi-million-dollar renovation has updated the surface of the hotel, its basic character remains: that of traditional opulence side-by-side with fashionable modernity.

The Relais Plaza restaurant is still authentically Art Deco, and the Galerie des Gobelins counts silk curtains and ornate chandeliers among its antique touches. In stark (Starck?) contrast are the new haute-cuisine restaurant Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, and the newly renovated Bar, both designed by Patrick Jouin, former Philippe Starck protégé (yes, it's a long way to go for a pun on a famous designer's name, but it should convey some sense of just how cutting-edge the interiors are). The Bar is an avant-garde nightspot, with its glowing iceberg bar top and oversized, inhabitable paintings, and is once again the place to be seen in Paris for international celebrities. The restaurant, transplanted from its traditional home at 59 Poincaré, is a design experience as well, combining strikingly modern elements with Louis XIV- and XV-inspired details, yet never resorting to the sort of wacky post-modernism that would detract from the cuisine.

Because although it is a beautiful restaurant, the cuisine is the star attraction. Alain Ducasse is known for a phenomenal menu, an outstanding wine list, and unparalleled hospitality — the wait staff are the very image of three-star propriety, yet discreet enough to overlook the occasional lapse in guest etiquette. Suffice to say that this is an extraordinary restaurant, and it is fitting that it has made its new home inside this extraordinary hotel.

Extraordinary enough, we believe, to merit the claim that this is quite possibly the finest luxury hotel in Paris. Too many landmark hotels coast on reputations earned by past glory. The Plaza Athénée is not one of these. Had it opened yesterday, its extravagantly high standard of service and masterfully designed interiors (not to mention one of the leading restaurants of Paris) would still earn it a place at the top of any list of outstanding luxury hotels.