A file picture of Lutetia in Paris in 2020. Asian hotel group Mandarin Oriental has won the contract to manage the iconic Parisian palace. — Photos: AFP
The historic Lutetia hotel in Paris, which was occupied by the Nazis during World War II and after liberation served as a welcome centre for concentration camp survivors, was recently taken over by luxury hotel group Mandarin Oriental.
Situated in the centre of the Left Bank area of the French capital, the Art Deco institution was opened in 1910 and owes its existence to its neighbour Bon Marche, one of the first department stores in the world.
Israeli real estate group Alrov, controlled by Alfred Akirov and his family, will retain ownership of the building.
Originally baptised with the Roman name for Paris, the hotel has now been renamed Mandarin Oriental Lutetia.
The Akirov family and Laurent Kleitman, chief executive of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, took part in an inauguration ceremony, unveiling a plaque on the hotel’s facade in the colours of the Asian company.
Jean-Pierre Trevisan, the hotel’s director, said the deal “will give us visibility in areas that we are not familiar with, such as Asia”.
An AP file photo of former French prisoners, some still wearing the striped concentration camp uniforms, having drinks at Lutetia in May 1945, shortly after the end of World War II.
Financial details of the management contract were not disclosed. A source familiar with the matter said it was a “very long-term commitment”.
Kleitman said no major changes to the recently renovated establishment were planned.
“We are delighted to support and work closely with Mandarin Oriental for the sustainability of the Lutetia,” the Akirov family said in a statement.
The founders of Bon Marche had the hotel built to provide accommodation for their wealthy customers travelling up to Paris from the provinces for shopping trips.
Ghosts of Nazis
With the Left Bank the heart of the French intellectual scene, the hotel became a hangout for celebrities including Charlie Chaplin, Ernest Hemingway and Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
Famous guests also included author James Joyce, who worked on his epic novel Ulysses at the Lutetia, and the future president of the republic, Charles de Gaulle, who spent his wedding night there.
During the Nazi occupation of Paris, the hotel was requisitioned by the occupying forces and used to house the Abwehr, the German intelligence.
The Nazi forces tortured their victims at the Lutetia.
When Paris was liberated in 1944, de Gaulle ordered the hotel to take in thousands of deportees. One archive Agence France-Presse picture shows emaciated French deportees repatriated from Germany having a meal at the hotel in May 1945.
A file photo of the bar Josephine of the newly-refurbished Lutetia hotel in Paris. — AFP
Another shows freed prisoners consulting a bulletin board with lists of deportees.
“The ghosts of Nazis, French resistance fighters and concentration camp survivors still inhabit the grand building on Paris’ famed Left Bank,” the Smithsonian Magazine said in 2019.
Post-war, it swiftly regained its reputation as a place to see and be seen.
The five-star hotel was awarded the prestigious “Palace” distinction in 2019, after four years of costly renovations.
The work was financed by the Alrov group, which paid €145mil (RM711mil today) in 2010 to acquire the hotel, sources told AFP at the time.
The €200mil (RM981mil) makeover allowed the hotel to spruce up its original frescos and stucco work, decking out the 184 rooms and suites in understated luxury.
Some of the suites have been inspired by celebrities such as filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and actress Isabelle Huppert.
Prices are out of reach for all but the wealthiest, with rooms rates starting at €1,500 (RM7,357). – AFP
The lobby of the newly-refurbished Lutetia in February 2019. — AFP
