Hotel Le Meurice’s Dali Restaurant has been recently reimagined by Phillip Starck.
French designer and architect Philippe Starck has added his touch to 5 star luxury hotel Le Meurice in Paris. The collaboration is nothing short of epic, the kind of re-imagining one would expect of the Dorchester Collection of world-renown hotels. Starck for his part has added his name and his ideas to a vast array of designs and products that have found both acclaim and popularity on the market. It seems only a natural fit that two of Paris’s top innovators of luxury design come together to elevate the hotel brand.
Le Meurice sits in the heart of the 1st arrondissement of Paris, just mere footsteps (across the street even) from Les Jardins des Tuileries and the Louvre (where the Tour de France concluded its race). Its doors are ushered open by pristinely dressed doormen in long black tuxedos. And instead of a red carpet, the clientele whip inside on an emerald green carpet. Inside is where they behold the near decadent luxury for which Paris is known. A huge welcoming hall dripping with chandeliers eventually gives way to the world famous Dali restaurant helmed by Michelin Chef Alain Ducasse.
Le Meurice boasts a bar and lounge area that uses a classic motif.
And this is where things get interesting. Couple one superstar designer, aka Philippe Starck, with one behemoth luxury hotel, aka Le Meurice, with one Michelin star chef, aka Alain Ducasse, and you have a recipe for ultimate success.
The new look of the hotel remains faithful to the emerald green and gold color palette. A sense of baroque design takes sway over the bulbous, rounded lamps that sit at every night table in the amber lit lobby and restaurant. Leather fauteuils and oversized loveseats are modern yet reimagined with a touch of Louis XIV’s Versailles. The slick marble floors could have made their home in the Sistine Chapel. And yet here they add a certain grace to the hotel which already is primal in its sense of grande-luxe.
Only 2 or 3 other hotels in the city give Le Meurice a run for its money in terms of decadence, luxury and price. With grand suites running anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 euros a night; we shouldn’t expect anything less than luxury.
Le Meurice view from the 200 sqaure meter top floor suite and double terrace.
Le Dali is inspired by its namesake Salvadore Dali. Starck stitches famous images from the famous artist into the backs of the plush seats. The walls are an earthy brown and peach while the marble tables meticulously dressed with delicate glassware and the lighting almost the hue of a sunset color the space in a subtle sort of dark apricot.
General Director Franka Holtman says of the collaboration, “We have called on Philippe Starck to revisit our restaurants and bar bursting with surrealism so that Alain Ducasse can prepare a cuisine nourished by the spirit of the décor.”
