It was a shower for me. Shawa convinced me that high fashion designers should explore the spread of hotels and accommodations. This shower was in my room at the Bulgari Hotel Paris, one of the new properties of the Italian brand that opened in December of 2021. For some reason, many resorts and hotels like to show the “rain” as part of their rooms, but mostly, and in the hundreds of properties I’ve been to, it often feels like a “rain shower”. But not at the Bulgari Hotel Paris: the shower was flexible, the drops were good but so plentiful and so soft that I knew I had never experienced real rain like THIS.
Entrance to the Bulgari Hotel Paris
Bulgari Hotel Paris
Not that I expected any less from Bulgari, a brand that has stood for over a century thanks to its renowned Italian craftsmanship and timeless appeal. Founded in Rome in 1884, Bulgari’s serpenti and tubogas designs have been the jewels of Hollywood’s neck and arms for years, including Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Grace Kelly, and Audrey Hepburn, and more recently, Zendaya and Anne Hathaway. The highest quality in twisting snake charms and delicate flowers of 18ct yellow gold diamonds and gemstones can enhance this natural detail for hotels and resorts.
If wearing a piece of Bulgari jewelry is an experience for yourself, then staying at a Bulgari hotel is like living in a jewelry box, a precious treasure trove of detail and pleasure to touch, like a shower. The hotel’s only printed materials are 33 pages, mostly in color, if only to show how this beautiful building was designed. I’ll start with the location and the exterior.
Like many other 5-star hotels in Paris, Bulgari Hotel Paris is located within the “Golden Triangle,” an enviable area located on the Right Bank of the Seine river, Champs-Élysées, and George V avenues. Although it is very different from other properties, Bulgari Hotel Paris combines Parisian and Italian beauty that, “doesn’t shine more than when it is generously distributed on both sides of the Alps.” It was created and edited by Antonio Cittero Patricia Viel along with French
Outside the Bulgari Hotel Paris
Bulgari Hotel Paris
the construction company Valode & Pistre, the exterior was reimagined with the ideas of the Italian Renaissance (two-story windows, typical of Italian palaces) and Parisian materials (ashlar stones, which are also used in several famous monuments in Paris). Nearby, one can see the unique form of Parentesi, a beige travertine structure that once paved the streets of Rome, on the building. Right at the entrance, two beautiful eight-pointed stars shine from the ground, the interpretation of the famous ones from Piazza del Campidoglio. No stone goes without meaning inside the Bulgari Hotel Paris, just like any necklace or bracelet made by the brand.
Inside, every area has gobsmacking details. I loved the vegetable garden behind the restaurant, a green escape from the city streets, and the lounge, designed like a Bulgari bag with precious stones and a gold and yellow (yes, silk) carpet by Altai of Milan. Ceramic art by Italian architect-turned-architect Gio Ponti and vases by Venetian designer Carlo Scarpa also fill the space. Below the reception and lounge area, 1,300 square meters of space is available. The main pool itself is 25 meters high and glitters with emerald and jade mosaic tiles. If you want more gems, choose one of Bulgari Gems’ “diamond,” “ruby,” or “sapphire” spa products that are used in massages, scrubs, and eye treatments to deliver premium ingredients to the skin.
Much of the interior is beautiful at the Bulgari Hotel Paris, but there is one final area that deserves mention: service. Since the start of the pandemic, I have noticed that many luxury hotels have not been successful across the board in terms of simple but deep daily interactions with guests and the “extras” that make them happy. Bulgari Hotel Paris offers transfers by Maserati, shoe care by shoe expert Berluti, luxury pressing, and other valuable services, but the standout is the disarming but dangerous service for guests. From the spa attendant who spoke flawlessly in three languages within two minutes to the breakfast waiter who greeted me by name on the first morning, every interaction was a little bit of a dream. I tip my hat to Sylvain Ercoli, General Manager, for keeping the hotel’s only rule of thumb: excellence.
As for the shower, it’s Axor. If another Bulgari location has a shower, I’ll make a reservation right away. Miami, Los Angeles, and the Maldives are slated to open in the next two years, and I’ll be watching their success as well.
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