Le Bon Marché department store became a Parisian institution, when the Boucicaut family opened the first modern department store it changed they changed how Parisians, and then the world, did their shopping. Visiting customers from across Europe also needed an enticement to stay longer, so in 1910 the board of Le Bon Marché opened a modern, palace-inspired, luxury hotel in Paris, directly across from their famous store. They named the left bank hotel Lutetia (the Roman name for the city that became Paris). No expense was spared and the hotel had China from Haviland, silver from Christofle, and crystal from Baccarat. Architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte has blended the building’s Art Deco and Art Nouveau elements with a contemporary design to bring the property into the 21st century. The revamped iteration will have 184 rooms including seven individually designed signature suites, three of which will have access to a private terrace. There will also be a jazz bar, private cigar club, two restaurants (including the original Lutetia Brasserie), a new open-air courtyard, and an expansive spa with a 56-foot swimming pool., the Lutetia will re-open in Spring 2018 as a founding member of The Set hotels (think Hotel Café Royal, London). And word is it will be every bit as innovative and spectacular as the original.
