Big news out of Paris. Today we’ve learned that the Hotel Lutetia—the Left Bank landmark known for its “ephemeral” suites designed by celebrities—will shutter at the end of April 2014 for three years. It’s true that the Lutetia “is one of the rare few Parisian hotel establishments that hasn’t yet done major work,” Claude Levy of some of the workers’ unions is quoted in Le Monde. (The question of the future of the 211 employees remains a delicate one.)
In embarking on a major overhaul, the Lutetia follows in the footsteps of the Crillon and the Ritz, both currently closed for top-to-bottom overhauls. The Plaza Athenee also recently closed, but for a much shorter time period, to expand the hotel facilities into adjacent buildings that were acquired. The Paris luxury hotel scene continues to be in the global spotlight; Paris is the most visited city on earth, and the palace hotels are going head to head to up the luxe factor.