press release march 2011

The art of refinement in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prs

la belle juliette 92 rue du Cherche-Midi 75006 Paris reservation@labellejuliette.com

www.labellejuliette.com

the hotel la belle juliette opens its doors on january 15th 2011
La Belle Juliette. The discreet luxury of a four-star hotel and the charm of an address that visitors and Parisians will give to their most demanding, cultured friends.
In the pure Parisian tradition of Saint-Germain-des-Prs, the hotel is guided by a modern vision of romanticism and urban conviviality. Exceptional service with particular attention to hospitality, guests well-being, calm and tranquillity all in the heart of bustling Saint Germain. Corinne and Pascal Moncelli, the owners of the hotel, have decided to breathe new life into an establishment that had been left to abandon on the rue du Cherche-Midi by telling the story or rather stories of a famous historical personality. This star of her time lived in the 19th century, frequented all the intellectuals and politicians of the era, was blessed with exceptional beauty, had an extraordinary love life and above all excelled in the art of receiving. The popular literary salon that she organised from the tender age of 15 attracted the greatest minds of the time and continued until her death, age 72! It is Juliette Rcamier famously known as La Belle Juliette who gives her name to this new hotel.

contact Alain Bisotti Responsable Communication Htel Paris Rive Gauche 19 rue Feuillantines 75005 Paris abisotti@hotels-paris-rive-gauche.com t. +33 1 56 81 00 33
www.hotels-paris-rive-gauche.com

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interior design by anne Gelbard, the parisian expert in home couture

Anne founded her workshop a decade ago after graduating from the cole National Suprieure des Arts Dcoratifs in Paris. Her workspace overflows with books (for inspiration), swatches of fabric, other pieces that she has created and... some secrets!
Why? Because Anne Gelbard has developed her own technique for fusing metal leaf (gold, silver, copper) to fabric, paper and even feathers. The most prestigious names in fashion (Dior, Christian Lacroix.) were quick to request her talents for creating items in their collections. Recently, she has adapted the techniques she uses in haute couture for what she calls home couture, with an exclusive collection of wallpapers, fabrics, cushions and decorative panels. Corinne Moncelli and Anne have worked together closely to conceive all the wonders that are to be found at La Belle Juliette, with the invaluable help of architect Vincent Bastie and under the daily supervision of Pascal Moncelli, present at every stage.
corinne Moncelli & anne Gelbard

Materials, colours, furniture, lighting, floor coverings, walls, bathrooms, rooms, salons... absolutely everything has been carefully thought through, studied, discussed...

The aim was to offer a refined dcor that succeeds in combining a certain classicism with a contemporary setting, mixing quality furnishings and the latest technology, design and comfort. (In the annex, youll find more information about the interior design choices). La Belle Juliette offers four-star service and thirtyfour rooms, ranging in size from 13m2 to 35m2. Prices range from 300 euros for a classic double room to 700 euros for the suites. Each room is equipped with a large screen iMac computer and broadband Internet access.

photo : jrme dalmeida interiorspictures.com

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92 rue du Cherche Midi 75006 paris { france }

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+33 [0]1 42 22 97 40 +33 [0]1 45 44 89 97

reservation@labellejuliette.com www.labellejuliette.com

Each room is equipped with a large screen iMac computer and broadband Internet access.

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92 rue du Cherche-Midi 75006 paris { france }

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+33 [0]1 42 22 97 40 +33 [0]1 45 44 89 97

reservation@labellejuliette.com www.labellejuliette.com

the treasures of la belle juliette

Alain Bisotti, General Manager of the Htels Paris Rive Gauche has conducted a large amount of bibliographical research. Through the purchase of out of print books, first editions and old magazines, he was able to discover the fascinating story of this exceptional woman.
A selections of texts - some of them extremely rare - will be available for consultation on the iMac in each room. Unusual items such as a play, a pianola scroll, stamps, miniatures, postcards, illustrations and portraits - some dating from the era itself - will bring Juliettes time to life. Passionate about literature and photography, Alain Bisotti, instigator of the photo project A Hotel Photo, An Artists View - has asked young photographers to create pieces around the theme of Juliette. Prints by Marie Maurel du Maill, Valentine Fournier, Sabine Biancuzzi, Elne Usdin and Angela Svoronou can be seen in the lounge areas and on each f loor of the Htel La Belle Juliette.

Each room will be equipped with a large screen iMac computer and broadband Internet access.

photo : jrme dalmeida interiorspictures.com

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the spa, energies of beauty

Mayia and Cline are the trusted practitioners of Corinne Moncelli, owner of the hotel La Belle Juliette, a homage to Juliette Rcamier in an elegant setting designed by Anne Gelbart.

La Belle Juliette, the seasons and gold

Cline Claret-Coquet is an acupuncturist, with her degree in traditional Chinese medicine from the Peking Academy. SEASON BEAUTY is her concept for skin and body protection adapted to each season. GOLD NEEDLES by CCC is an acupuncture lifting procedure using no botox or hyaluronic acid, a technique that she created and has now proved its efficacy. Painless and non-allergic, thanks to the use of gold needles, th e treatment is suitable even for the most sensitive complexions, thanks to golds exceptional hygienic qualities, completely innocuous for the skin. Mayia Alleaume is a studio make-up artist. Over the last 12 years she has worked with all the most famous models and actors, listening to their wishes, complaints and worries about their skin, whether made-up or au naturel. Her experience has led to the creation of SENTARA, an expert range of beauty products with hi-tech, ultra-reparative formulas. Their fine textures bring out the sublime, tighten the

skin, protect it and reveal its beauty. Skincare and cosmetics, treated like an art. The pairing of these two women seems supremely natural: they have the same passion for precise gestures, the same high expectations for results based around the use of gold. They are a perfect feminine combination.

SEASonAL BEAUty MASSAGES By CCC

Massages adapted to each season Cline Claret-Coquet has developed a range of unique massages tailored to your bodys energies at the time of your visit. Juliette, famous for her beauty, would surely have adored them.

A swimming pool and Turkish bath are also available for clients.
www.sentaraskincare.com & www.celine-claret-coquet.com

SEASonAL BEAUty FACiAL MASSAGES

Seasonal facial beauty ritual A nourishing anti-age action Special Belle Juliette instant perk-up face treatment Stimulates, vivifies, brings out the sublime in the skin Purifying face treatment Purifies, calms, magnifies your skins beauty

or SEASonAL BEAUty Body MASSAGES

Vivifying seasonal massage with essential oils Stimulates and harmonises body and mind using Tui Na manipulative therapy Seasonal body beauty ritual A scrub, wrap, massage... absolute bliss!

LA BELLE JULiEttE hAVEn oF PEACE trEAtMEnt

relaxing massages that carefully calms and soothes away all tension hands happiness, by CCC Essential oils bath, scrub, mask, hand massage, hand and neck massage, seasonal reflexology treatment Peking at your feet, by CCC Beauty pedicure (essential oils bath, scrub, mask)

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annex: anne Gelbards interior deco choices and some references

The images in the hotel are all original engravings specially sought out with passion and taste, and framed by le tout Venant in Brussels The bespoke furniture and certain lampshades were devised by Anne Gelbard. The books were sourced by Monsieur trovero, an antiques dealer who really selected books that went with the story of the hotel! For the rooms (on the De Stal side), the bedside draperies were specially painted and leafed by the workshop of Anne Gelbard. We asked Ludovic Avenel to restore and relook the hotels per iod f ur niture to g ive it a more contemporary look. He will also be looking after the furniture and desks at reception. In the stairwell over all four f loors (14 metres high altogether), there will a large panoramic image created exclusively for the hotel by Anne Gelbard, forming a landscape, much like windows looking out onto the world.

madame Rcamier & madame de Stal

Intimate friends, feminists, modern women. One was delicate, the other forceful.

1 st f loor

The voyages in Italy

Intense artistic and personal encounters. One of Juliettes most memorable places of exile.

2 nd f loor

Ren de Chateaubriand
The person in Juliettes life. On one side we have images of his youth, his passion, his f lamboyant ideas, on the other his wisdom, or rather his thoughtfulness and the writing of his memoirs. This f loor is laid out as if to echo the volumes of his memoirs.

3 rd f loor

Les Causeries
Representing the social whirl of the eras literary salons, balls, famous personalities, the evolution of moral values

4 th f loor

The patinas on the second f loor (Italy) are by C2C (artist/interior designer Catherine de Coussint) and devised to ressemble an abstract landscape! The g rou nd f loor f r iezes a re i n spi red by the engravings on period books about Juliette Rcamier, and executed by Catherine de Coussint af ter a design by Anne Gelbard. Stairwell birds by Marie Christophe. The gardens are desig ned by thierr y dalcant, landscape architect and graduate of the national school of landscape architecture in Versailles. Restaurant crockery by Sandrine Ganem. Other pieces: the Galet collection by deshoulires. In the toilets, as a humorous touch: herman van Peer distributed by Arte Reproduction ostrich skin by texam Beautiful wall coverings from the Carapace collection by Arte. Upstairs corridors: wallpaper by osborne & Little

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The Voyagers Salon (greyish beige)

Saarineen tables by Knoll Armchairs found in antique stores or rebooted from the Ferrandi

The Talma (wine red) The music room (grey-purple)

Saarineen, Fuchsia armchairs and chairs The majority of the ground f loor furniture has been salvaged f rom the Fer ra ndi hotel a nd entr usted to Ludovic Avenel for complete transformation. Other pieces of f urniture were found in antique stores in the Sablons area of Brussels including two magnif icent Biedermeier chairs. The curtains in the Rubans salon (kakemono) are by Luc druez (LCD) after a design by Anne Gelbard on Dedar velvet.

The reading room (violet-blue)

Meteor table designed by Arick levi (Serralunga) Dark purple armchairs and chairs

paint
A collaboration with the venerable tollens company for of a range of new colours, specif ically created for the hotel. Some sweet little SWAnS been hidden around the hotel, ready to be discovered by the curious. Will you be able to f ind them?

Fabrics
Pierre Frey Kvadrat Buche Fadini Borghini dedar Warwick

Furniture
Table Icicle by thomas Ederson (Denmark) Chair from 1959 by n.o. Moller (Denmark) Saarinen Marquina Knoll Jens risom (1941) Knoll heerenhuis Eames Jielde
contact details la belle juliette Alain Bisotti Communications Manager Htel Paris Rive Gauche 19 rue Feuillantines 75005 Paris abisotti@hotels-paris-rive-gauche.com t. +33 1 56 81 00 33
www.hotels-paris-rive-gauche.com

92 rue du Cherche-Midi 75006 paris { france }

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+33 [0]1 42 22 97 40 +33 [0]1 45 44 89 97

photo: jrme dalmeida interiorspictures.com

reservation@labellejuliette.com www.labellejuliette.com

the graphic design for everything related to la belle juliette was created by the brussels-based agency of emmanuel blondiau: www.neutre.be

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annex: an interview with anne Gelbard

Can you tell me how you ca me to be involved in the project? I met Alain Bisotti of the Htel Paris Rive Gauche label at the Maison & Objet trade fair in Paris. Thats where I show my home decoration collection based on my haute couture work. He then introduced my to Corinne and Pascal Moncelli, the owners of La Belle Juliette, and after a series of discussions and conversations we decided to collaborate on the birth (or rather, rebirth) of their new hotel. It was a very down-toearth meeting, with a great feeling of complicity, shared ideas and trust. did you have your ow n persona l feelings or con nection w ith Juliet te reca mier did that cha nge in a ny way over the course of creating the interiors? It was Corinne who had an attachment for this 19th century heroine and introduced me to her. Juliette Rcamier has a certain renown of course, but shes not really known for what she did. I really got to know her while designing the hotel. I had to steep myself in her era, her life, like an actress researching her character. My feelings about her evolved over time, as theres an iconic image of her (as the most beautiful woman of her era), but she was also a real businesswoman, kind of a forerunner of what is now known as marketing or PR. Some of the designs youve chosen are far more contemporary than rcamiers life. how do you see these reflecting her style or the legends that surround her? It was an era with a lot happening. Society was going through radical change, new values were being formed. It was just after the Reign of Terror that followed the French Revolution. Philosophy, design, the way of dressing, the whole way of life were perpetually changing. Greek references, the republic and democracy were the basis for constructing a new lifestyle, a new aesthetic. Societys values were very free. You have to remember that death and violence were both very close. What now seems old to us - the Directoire style - was new and innovative at the time, and both Juliette Rcamier and Josphine de Beauharnais were considered trendsetter. So it seem logical to me - obvious even - not to betray Juliette, to introduce key pieces of contemporary design like the Risom chair or the Saarinen table, or excellent new pieces of current design like Arik Levy and Sam Baron. Im not here to copy the style of an era, but to understand a character. It also allowed me to bring in young creators and photographers like Elene Usdin, Valentine Fournier and Marie Maurel du Maill who will be giving us their vision of Juliette. Can you describe what your main inspiration a nd desires were in creating these interiors? Each floor marks a strong element from Juliettes life, either key people like Madame de Stal, her best friend and mentor, or Chateaubriand, the great love of her life - or snapshots from her life, like Italy, her refuge and venue for the cultural and political gatherings for those exiled by Napoleon Bonaparte, or the literary salons, the causeries (where people

met to talk) that were very much in vogue at the time. Juliettes was the most frequented and lively of the time. These themes are spread over the four floors where the rooms are. Youll start on the second floor up by getting to know Juliette Rcamier. I wanted very sober, monochrome tones here (Juliette wore all white, right up to the end of her days) and Madame de Stal, a very strong influence who will be represented by bold, contrasting colours. The third floor is inspired by Italy and evokes movement, long voyages by coach and horse. This explains the simplicity of the materials and styles used. The accent is on the walls, the colour of the sky, with large frescoes that suggest imaginary landscapes lost in the mist. The fourth floor, dedicated to Chateaubriand, is laid out like his memoirs from beyond the grave. Its the the most masculine of all the floors. The fifth f loor, called Les Causeries, represents socialising and tells of certain characters of the time; scientists, philosophers, actors or women of loose values. Its the most classic of the levels, with heavy curtains, plaster mouldings and antique furniture (taken from the previous hotel and completely transformed by Ludovic Avenel). The ground f loor is also designed like a home with the antechamber or salon des voyageurs which will be a space for photo exhibitions (the HPRG label is a sponsor of photography), the reception area, round, which will be like a cocoon that welcomes guests, the Talma bar, a homage to a famous actor of the time and friend of Juliette, who often entertained her salon, the music room, and the library. Each space is designed like a living space. The idea is to give the impression of walking into Juliettes townhouse and feeling at home, not just in a hotel. The spa is a poetic stroll, like a secret garden or the Grecian baths and reproductions of caves that were popular at the time. With a fresco called The extraordinary garden by Jean Boggio for Frantz, youll discover a laid-back, calm space magnified by this ceramic landscape.

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Even if each floor has been designed to represent the fundamental symbols of Juliettes life, I wanted each detail to be like at home; reassuring, comfortable. I want to intrigue and surprise guests and make them feel at ease. For me, we are in Juliettes home, or at least my vision of it. What was the building like when you bega n? A superb, impressive faade, a faded interior and a strange floor plan all stretched out that makes the building so particular, like a picture book. Were there a ny speci f ic cha llenges you faced? Special moments? Specific challenges, yes!!! Its the first time that I have been asked to design a space that must stand the test of time, an interior to be lived in. You have to be sure that your designs on paper and your dollhouse model really represent what you have in mind. There have been many special moments too, one in particular: a weekend in Brussels with lots of laughing, snowball fights, and lovely meals, when we went round the antique stores like curious children, looking for objects and furniture with 20cm of snow outside. We all went: Vincent Bastie, the architect on the projects, Corinne and Pascal Moncelli, Alain Bisotti, and Emilie Corre who has helped me to transform my ideas into reality, doing a great translation job. I only had a fashion vocabular y at the beginning, and it wasnt easy to turn that into architectural language. I definitely needed an interpreter who could understand my way of explaining things from a fashion background. Each profession has its own language, each idea has a huge number of ramifications when it comes to technical details, finishing touches and lots of other elements...

Throughout the conception of the project, the atmosphere was excellent, full of exchanges, thoughts about the essence of the project, its form, and the solutions to each question.
id love to be able to talk as well about your general st yle a nd approach in decorating a nd working w ith clients. how would you describe this? do you have a pa r ticula r sig nature in your work? My approach for this hotel was to make a place, a reassuring house, not a concept. Juliette was an excellent host, so I wanted to make the hotel a warm cocoon for voyagers discovering Paris. As a place of luxury too, I wanted to avoid the simple solutions, anything too showy, and get back to chic, quality materials, use hand-crafted wallpapers, specially-created paint colours - the real luxury of the era - painted frescoes, fabrics woven to order. The time needed to design and build the space was also a luxury that we gave ourselves. Coming from the world of fashion and haute couture, a special harmony, a resonance of colours and materials, is especially important to me. The sculpting of spaces, complementing elements, the surprise given by the subtle mix of contemporary and antique are also very important to me. Is that my signature? Humorous touches - like bubbles of oxygen - without which life would be completely dull. In fact, I hate anything serious, boring, pedantic or fake... I like poetry, the imaginary. With Corinne et Pascal Moncelli, we got on absolutely perfectly. They are concrete people, open, frank, with the right words to help things advance. Together with Alain Bisotti, everyone gave their time and energy to the project. Its a hotel that comes from the heart. The numerous restrictions and obligations dictated by the workings of a hotel were just bumps along the way. I adopted a phrase said to me by one of my teachers: Going beyond restrictions is the greatest of liberties. I really feel like this first experience will be remembered as my best: a fascinating theme, a huge amount of freedom and trust, amazing, funny, adorable bosses... and feet on the ground. I hope that the guests will feel this ambiance when they stay at La Belle Juliette.

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