The Hotel de Crillon in Paris is one of the oldest and most exclusive luxury hotels in the world. It is located on the foot of the Champs-Elysees at No. 10 on the north end of Place de la Concorde.
The Hotel de Crillon reflects total opulence, beginning at the honey-colored marble lobby and into the adjacent gastronomic restaurant Les Ambassadeurs filled with crystal chandeliers and decorated in seven different marbles. The hotel's public salons are filled with 17th and 18th century tapestries, chandeliers, gilt-and-brocade furniture, fine pieces of sculpture, and Louis XVI chests and chairs. Its Leonard Bernstein suite, on the top floor with a wrap-around terrace that provides a spectacular view of Paris, also contains one of the maestro's pianos.
The five-star hotel, with 103 guest rooms and 44 suites, occupies one of two identical stone buildings, divided by the rue Royale, that were constructed in 1758 under the auspices of architect Louis Francois Trouard as a result of a commission from King Louis XV. Initially, both structures were built to serve as government offices and the eastern one continues to this day as the French Naval Ministry. However, the western building was made into a luxury hotel and was soon frequented by Queen Marie Antoinette and her elite friends. The hotel was where she came to take piano lessons.
Each year, the Ho^tel de Crillon holds an annual Bals de Debutantes (Debutante Ball) to benefit the Pierre and Marie Curie Foundation. The very exclusive event is a "coming out" party for twenty-four young ladies between the ages of 15 and 19. All are members of the international social set whose gowns each represents a leading international fashion house. American presidential niece, Lauren Bush caused a sensation when she was presented on the arm of a prince at the 2000 ball. Her appearance led to a modelling contract with Tommy Hilfiger. Other young ladies to make their appearance here have been Lydia Hearst Shaw, daughter of Patty Hearst, Barbara Berlusconi, daughter of Italy's prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, Victoria and Vanessa Traina, daughters of American romance novelist Danielle Steel, Xenia Virganskaya Gorbachev, granddaughter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Alice Ferguson, half-sister of Sarah, Duchess of York and daughter of Major Ronald Ferguson, Penelope Pei-Tang, the niece of architect I. M. Pei, Dree Hemingway-Crisman, great granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, and Countess Anastasia Tolstoy, the beautiful great great great granddaughter of another writer, Leo Tolstoy, Bao Bao Wan, granddaughter of Wan Li, former chairman of the Chinese National People's Congress and executive vice-premier of China as well as daughter of Wan Jifei, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trading.
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