Scheufele family who control jeweller and watchmaker Chopard, have opened the 1 Place Vendôme luxury hotel in the heart of Paris, with a prestigious location on the corner of Rue Saint-Honoré and Place Vendôme. The building, built in 1723 by Pierre Perrin, underwent over a year of restoration work by renowned interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, this 18th-century listed building erected by Louis XIV’s secretary Pierre Perrin has been returned to its former glory as a six-story mansion.
Discreetly named after its prestigious address, 1, Place Vendôme, where its historic boutique is located. As addresses go, Paris’s 1, Place Vendôme just might be the chicest in France. A short stroll from the Seine, it’s the cornerstone of the city’s most elegant 17th-century square, originally built to honor the Sun King, Louis XIV, and now home to flagship stores for Chanel, Dior, and Chopard, among others.
With only 15 suites and rooms spread across 28,000 square feet, 1 Place Vendôme is more town house. Instead, there’s a monumental Murano glass necklace by artist Jean-Michel Othoniel taking pride of place opposite an 18th-century fireplace to welcome guests, who will then head to the library one flight up.
Reminders of the brand are therefore kept light throughout. Take the mosaic that spans a whole wall in the winter garden — once the boutique’s watch repair atelier — echoing the Animal World high jewelry collection released in 2010 for the house’s 150th anniversary. Recreated under Caroline Scheufele’sa supervision, it features the mouse holding a heart, butterflies, salamanders and monkeys, motifs that will “speak immediately to someone who knows the history of the house, but can be simply admired for its beauty by someone less familiar,” he said.
Chopard acquired the property in 2014 from the Union Hôtelière de Paris, the company that owned the building and operated the old Hôtel de Vendôme. The renovation stretched to five years due to the pandemic but gave them time to bring back original design details. “A host of artisans toiled on every detail, ranging from gold leaf patinated to look handsomely aged — and catch the light just so — and bespoke wallpapers or hand-painted frescoes by specialist De Gournay to the sculpted wood panels of the Appartement Chopard, by Ateliers de la Chapelle, a noted millwork specialist located in western France.”
Don’t expect to be able to pop in and hang out in the lobby, there isn’t one, or have a drink in the bar, the hotel is only open to hotel guests.