Paris Sizzles as the Bulgari Hotel Makes Its Grand Debut

Culture + LifestyleParis Sizzles as the Bulgari Hotel Makes Its Grand DebutCome for the Italian contemporary style, stay for the Parisian version of aperitivo time

By Sallie Lewis

December 3, 2021

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An incredible view of Paris from the penthouse at Bulgari Hotel.Photo: Tommy Picone

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Despite a global pandemic that continues to rock the hospitality industry, 2021 was quite a year for luxury hotels in Paris. Just look at LMVH’s Cheval Blanc and the opening of Le Grand Controle in Versailles. On December 2, the City of Light will sparkle even brighter with the arrival of France’s first Bulgari Hotel on Avenue George V.

Like its other six sibling locations, the Bulgari Hotels & Resorts Collection partnered with Italian architecture firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel and project director Roberto Mariani to bring bold Italian style to Paris’s prestigious Golden Triangle. “Here in Paris all the grand hotels have a very specific style,” said Silvio Ursini, executive vice president of Bulgari Hotels & Resorts Collection. “We decided with a lot of courage to stick to our Italian contemporary style.”

The penthouse at Bulgari Hotel.

Photo: Tommy Picone

Inside, an intimate vestibule greets guests with its Roman eight-pointed star set in stone. Overhead, a light installation by the 13th-century Italian glassblower Barovier & Toso warms the cupola wrapped in Bulgari’s signature saffron silk.

Unlike many of the city’s grand dames, the Bulgari Hotel Paris has just 76 rooms and suites, giving it a private and almost residential quality. “The idea was to build in a location in which you would expect something different,” said architect Patricia Viel. She and her team envisioned the feeling of an hôtel particulier in the Rive Gauche, despite being located on one of the right bank’s most prominent avenues.

Embracing the building’s modern 1970s façade, the architects blended the existing design with a more distinctive Parisian atmosphere by incorporating ashlar masonry typical of the city’s iconic monuments like the Petit Palais and the Louvre. They also extended the window openings to cover two floors as a nod to the aristocratic palaces designed by Andrea Palladio. By combining styles, the team maintained the structure’s contemporary aesthetic while bringing a new identity to the avenue it calls home.

A marble bathroom in the penthouse.

Photo: Tommy Picone

Though visitors might expect an opulent, palatial interior at the Bulgari Hotel, in reality it feels sleek yet subtle, minimal yet inviting, spirited yet sophisticated, and warm. In the bedrooms, finishes such as soft Pierre Frey floor treatments mimic the texture of herringbone parquet typical in Parisian apartments, while jewel-toned fabrics pop against the property’s mostly neutral color palette.

Bulgari’s archives were a steady source of inspiration throughout the design process. Framed portraits of Sophia Loren on Avenue George V and Grace Kelly at the Bulgari boutique in Monte Carlo hang in tribute to the brand’s glamorous heritage and its long ties to France. Other archives informed the design more subtly, like downstairs in the lounge, where the plasterwork on the ceiling mimics the geometric lines of a Bulgari clutch from years past.

The lounge at Bulgari Hotel.

Photo: Tommy Picone

Throughout the hotel, French artistry and Italian craftsmanship engage in a delicate dance. Age-old decorative arts like the straw marquetry of Ateliers Lison de Caunes and crazed lacquer by Atelier Midavaine provide a sumptuous backdrop for the luxe Italian furniture designed by Antonio Citterio with brands like Maxalto and Flexform.

Aperitivo is a time-honored tradition in Italy, and there is no better place to partake in it in the French capital than the Bulgari Bar. With its high gloss ceiling, black granite floors, and commanding bar made of ivory onyx, the dramatic space is sure to be sought-after by locals and visitors alike. Here, Leonardo Zanini has reimagined transalpine cocktail culture with classics like the Negroni and inventive libations such as the Scugnizzo, made with tequila, artichoke syrup, kiwi extraction, and jalapeño essence.

Adjacent to the hotel’s bar, brilliant copper screens open to Il Ristorante, whose walls are draped in saffron silk. The brand’s signature shade has a warm, glowing effect on the skin, creating a romantic backdrop for the 3-Michelin Star Chef Niko Romito’s contemporary Italian cuisine. With a focus on seasonality and simplicity, dishes like Vegetable Lasagna and Veal Milanese are served on colorful Ginori porcelain overlooking a verdant garden terrace.

La Spa Suite at Bulgari Hotel.

Photo: Tommy Picone

Gastronomy aside, the spa is a hallmark of Bulgari’s hospitality experience. Evoking the baths of ancient Rome, the hotel’s more than 4,000 square feet of spa space includes a semi-Olympic pool glittering with gold and malachite mosaics. A second Vitality pool boasts a mosaic identical to the Roman baths at Caracalla, which also inspired Bulgari’s Divas’ Dream jewelry collection. Visitors will find nine treatment rooms clad in warm Burmese teak and Vicenza stone, along with a 213-square-foot Spa Suite designated for couples.

High above these glittering baths and wellness facilities is the pièce de résistance of the Bulgari Hotel Paris: A 2-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot penthouse and rooftop garden occupying the building’s top two floors. With its polished panels of eucalyptus wood, the space is an entirely new experience for the Bulgari brand, and one that feels akin to floating on a fine Italian yacht. Every comfort and extravagance was considered, from a private fitness room and hammam to a glassed-in master bedroom with its front-and-center views of the Eiffel Tower. Leather bookcases filled with Gio Ponti ceramics create a sense of home, while the black-and-white bathrooms carved of Arabescato marble have a jaw-dropping effect. On the rooftop, a rambling garden planted with oaks, magnolias, and apple and pear trees offers 360-degree views of the city’s crowned jewels, like Invalides and Sacre Coeur.

“We think of ourselves as the jeweler of hospitality,” Ursini said. “This location is rare as a precious stone, and the craftsmanship we put into it is the same we put into crafting a jewel.”

The Vitality pool at Bulgari Hotel.

Photo: Tommy Picone

Steps from the hotel, renowned monuments and ritzy shops shine like jewels of their own. On the heels of its centennial anniversary, the cult-favorite linen brand, D. Porthault’s new sprawling showroom on Avenue Marceau is a five-minute walk from the hotel, as is Crazy Horse Paris, which celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2021. The popular cabaret reopened in October after an 18-month closure and its redesign was conceived by Benoît Dupuis. 20 minutes further on foot is the new Franco Russian restaurant, Maison Russe. Here, Cordelia de Castellane, the artistic director of Dior Maison and Baby Dior, designed a small boutique filled with fine groceries like caviar, tea, and vodka alongside gifts such as silken slippers and printed pajamas. The project comes after a successful collaboration this summer between Castellane, Antoine Arnault of LMVH, and hospitality executive Benjamin Patou on the much-buzzed-about Café Laperouse.

Back outside the Bulgari Hotel, golden sunlight glints off of its angled, street-front windows like facets on a stone. Despite the hardships the pandemic presented, the arrival of this fresh hospitality experience, brought forth by Rome’s world-famous jewelry house, proves the City of Light still has its sparkle.

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