hôtel Lutetia, Paris
A three-year renovation has preserved the historic frescoes, gilding and moldings while modernizing this classic Left Bank hotel, opened in 1910 for important clients of the nearby Le Bon Marché department store. It was later a gathering place for artists and thinkers, a space for James Joyce to write Ulysses, and home to Picasso and Matisse. The celebrated architecture firm of JeanMichel Wilmotte oversaw the updates to the 190 rooms. The Jazz Bar and an expanded (and doubly high-ceilinged) Lutetia Brasserie both remain and will be joined by a dramatic new internal courtyard for alfresco dining and one of Paris’ largest hotel spas.