Four Seasons Hotel George V ( ) is a

luxury hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

avenue George V Avenue George V is a street in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It starts at Place de l'Alma, and ends at No. 99 avenue des Champs-Elysées. It marks the western limit of Paris's "golden triangle" (). Until 14 July 1918, the avenue was called ...

in the 8th arrondissement of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

History

The Hotel George V, named for King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

of the United Kingdom, opened in 1928. It was financed, at a cost of $31 million (60 million Francs), by American businessman Joel Hillman. It was managed by restaurateur André Terrail, owner of

La Tour d'Argent La Tour d'Argent (English: The Silver Tower) is a historic restaurant in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is located at 15 Quai de la Tournelle. It has a rating of one star from the ''Guide Michelin''. History The restaurant claims ...

. Its architect was Georges Wybo, who had designed the Casino de Deauville and the reconstruction of the Printemps Haussmann following the fire of 1921. The hotel was popular with Americans arriving in France on Transatlantic

ocean liners An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). C ...

, as it operated offices in the port of Cherbourg to receive customers on their arrival. Joel Hillman was forced to relinquish the George V to his lenders after the

Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange coll ...

. The George V was bought in 1931 by the banker

François Dupré François Louis Jules Dupré (; 3 December 1888 – 26 June 1966) was a French, hotelier, art collector, and owner of the Thoroughbred horse breeding and racing farm, Haras d'Ouilly. He was a grandson of the painter Jules Dupré. Dupré s ...

and a new wing was built by the original architects, containing apartments that could be rented year-round or seasonally, with the residents enjoying the services of the hotel. Dupré brought many ''objets d'art'' to the hotel, including tapestries from Flanders, Boulle furniture, a Renoir and a Dufy. In World War II, during the German occupation, a ''"round-table"'' of French and German intellectuals met at the hotel; including the writer

Ernst Jünger Ernst Jünger (; 29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a German author, highly decorated soldier, philosopher, and entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir '' Storm of Steel''. The son of a successful businessman and ...

, the Nazi legal scholar

Carl Schmitt Carl Schmitt (; 11 July 1888 – 7 April 1985) was a German jurist, political theorist, and prominent member of the Nazi Party. Schmitt wrote extensively about the effective wielding of political power. A conservative theorist, he is noted as ...

, the publisher Gaston Gallimard and the writers

Paul Morand Paul Morand (13 March 1888 – 24 July 1976) was a French author whose short stories and novellas were lauded for their style, wit and descriptive power. His most productive literary period was the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s. He was mu ...

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...

, and Henry Millon de Montherlant. In 1996 Saudi businessman

Al-Waleed bin Talal Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud ( ar, الوليد بن طلال آل سعود; born 7 March 1955) is a Saudi Arabian billionaire businessman, investor, philanthropist and royal. He was listed on ''Time'' magazine's Time 100, an annual list of the hu ...

bought the hotel from the

Forte Group Forte Group plc was a British hotel and restaurant company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it was acquired by Granada in 1996. Its head office was in the London Borough of Camden. ...

, spending $185 million for it. He then spent $120 million renovating the hotel, closing the hotel for two years. He signed a management contract with

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Four Seasons Hotels Limited, trading as Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, is an international luxury hotel and resort company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Four Seasons currently operates more than 100 hotels and resorts worldwide.D ...

on November 1, 1997, and the hotel was renamed Four Seasons Hotel George V. The hotel reopened on December 18, 1999. Starting in 2000, the hotel was voted "Best Hotel in the World" by a number of publications. A distinctive feature includes a lobby and walkways lined with floral displays.

Le Cinq

Le Cinq is the hotel's Michelin gourmet restaurant.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:George V, Four Seasons Hotel Buildings and structures in the 8th arrondissement of Paris Four Seasons hotels and resorts Hotels established in 1928 Hotel buildings completed in 1928 Hotels in Paris 1928 establishments in France

History

Le Cinq

See also

References

External links