MONUMENTAL RENOVATIONS FROM THE RITZ TO BIARRITZ

By Suzanne Kauz

 

 

Atelier Cos, helmed by architect-tandem Didier Beautemps and Valéria Sanchez specializes in architecture and renovation of luxury hotels. They were awarded the renovation project for the Ritz Paris. Working since 2005 for the legendary Parisian Palace, they know the “Grande Dame” and her best kept secrets. Between 2012 and 2016, Atelier Cos teamed with remarkable colleagues and partners, to restore the sumptuous palace signed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the famous architect of Louis XIV. Inside the hotel’s inner courtyard next to a grandiose fountain, the new Terrasse Vendôme is a perfect location to enjoy summer sunshine. It transforms into a winter garden once the temperatures drop, thanks to a retractable roof.

 

The Ritz Paris also holds a Chanel Spa and the Coco Chanel suite, designed by Karl Lagerfeld as a tribute to the great fashion designer who lived at the Ritz for almost 40 years.

 

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The famous Ritz swimming pool boasts a very special blue. Composed of countless nuances, its color seems to shift as if by magic, depending on the time of the day.

 

 

Valéria and Didier where then asked to restore another jewel of French heritage, the Hôtel du Palais in Biarritz. Formerly a summer residence, offered by Napoleon III in 1855 to his wife Empress Eugénie, it opened as a casino hotel in 1880 and has hosted since then imminent members of the European Gotha as well as American Hollywood stars and golf players. During decades, rooms have been carefully renovated respecting the initial instructions of André-Charles Boulle, the cabinet maker of King Louis XIV. But time has come to undergo a complete renovation to upgrade everything from the water pressure to air-conditioning system in order to adapt to the new needs and desires of the guests. The ambitious architectural project is being processed in several phases, including the terrace of the restaurant Jardin de L’Océan, the landscaped gardens, the staircase leading from the palace to the beach, a new California-styled pool with new cabins and a Sunset Bar. In summer 2019, Hôtel du Palais geared up just in time to successfully host a major word event, the G7 Summit. Renovation should be fully completed by summer 2020.  

 

hotel-du-palais.com ritzparis.com ateliercos.com