The Oetker Collection has announced the departure of the legendary Didier Le Calvez, the President and Managing Director of Le Bristol, where he’s acted as the charismatic face of the palace hotel since 2010. Didier Le Calvez also served as the COO for the Oetker Collection, the family-owned hotel group which comprises L’Apogée Courchevel, Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on the French Riviera, Eden Rock - St. Barths, and The Lanesborough in London, amongst others.
Spanning more than 35 years, Le Calvez’s impressive career has included stints as manager of the Plaza and the Pierre in New York, Four Seasons George V in Paris, and the Regent in Singapore, and he was voted “World’s Best Hotel Manager” at Le Bristol in 2015. Le Calvez expressed pride in the palace hotel’s distinction as ranked no. 7 “great place to work” among all French companies, an annual rating created by Le Figaro.
Didier Le Calvez has been replaced at Le Bristol by Philippe Perd, previously General Manager of the Hotel du Cap Eden Roc.
On his Facebook page, Le Calvez expresses his wish to continue working well past retirement. Here in Paris, there’s been media speculation about his next move. His wife, Olivia Mathé Le Calvez, has recently acquired the three-star hôtel Le Galion on the île de Ré—the beautiful island on France’s Atlantic coast oft equated to the Hamptons—so perhaps he’ll lend a hand when needed.