Alain Ducasse arrives at Le Meurice

In the last few years super luxury hotels have been working to make their restaurants destinations in their own right. Very often they’ve put in big names to emphasise this – think of Gordon Ramsay at Claridges and Helene Darroze at the Connaught.

  Now the Hotel Le Meurice, the first palace hotel in Paris, has invited Alain Ducasse to take over the management of its kitchens. He will bring his distinctive take on contemporary French haute cuisine.

  From September, Ducasse will start working in the gastronomic restaurant, one of the most beautiful rooms in Paris with its18th century style revisited by Philippe Starck in 2007, and the restaurant le Dalí, where the spirit of the surrealist artist still reigns supreme.

A feast for the eyes: the gastronomic restaurant of
Hotel Le Meurice, Paris

  Ducasse commented, “I am honoured that Franka Holtmann, general manager of Le Meurice, with the support of François Delahaye, chief operating officer of Dorchester Collection, has asked me to come and join Le Meurice. French cuisine has a major place, a role and an impact in the world today. I am pleased to contribute to its success in the two finest locations in Paris: Hotel Plaza Athénée and Le Meurice.”

  Alain Ducasse has over 25 years of experience and has designed the menus of many prestigious establishments worldwide, from Monaco to New York, Tokyo and Doha. At Le Meurice, he will offer an impeccably prepared cuisine that more than ever reflects his philosophy of focusing on the very essence of the product, continually seeking both

simplicity and generosity.

  His impact at Dorchester Collection, with three-star restaurants at Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris and The Dorchester in London, is a key factor in his arrival at Le Meurice.

  “In view of the closure of Hotel Plaza Athénée in order to expand it, I have the marvellous opportunity to continue offering contemporary French cuisine at Le Meurice. My philosophy still remains the same: a cuisine that concentrates on the essential with taste at its forefront."

  His world-renowned expertise is backed by his excellence in sharing knowledge: as a trainer and mentor, Alain Ducasse is now taking up the challenge of a new three-star restaurant.

  Christopher Cowdray, chief executive officer of Dorchester Collection, commented:   “Dorchester Collection seeks to align itself with the very finest and most prestigious global partners. Given the long-standing success of Alain Ducasse at two of our hotels, selecting him to oversee the culinary operations of Le Meurice was a natural choice to ensure its gastronomic reputation not only in Paris but the world.”

Conrad Hotels & Resorts Introduced Customised Luxury Bathing Experience

With luxury hotels it's the details that matter - and one of the most important details are the toiletries in the bathroom. Five star and luxury hotels are constantly looking for new suppliers and. Now Conrad Hotels & Resorts has revealed a new way to customise travellers' luxury hotel experience by offering a choice of in-room lavish bath amenities, the first hotel brand to offer this service across all its properties around the globe. Via the Conrad Concierge App, the innovative new mobile technology providing a smart luxury service in 13 languages, all Conrad guests have the ability to customise and create an individual hotel experience, by choosing from a selection of three distinct bath amenities to be placed in their bathroom before they arrive. 

Time for Toiletries: Conrad Hotel & Resorts 

 

  With the Conrad Concierge App, guests can now customise the details of their hotel stay before; during and after each visit from a smartphone or tablet using a personalised reservation number and within minutes can customise their experience by individually selecting their desired product for their stay.

  The cutting-edge mobile technology allows guests at a Conrad property to experience the smart luxury service that Conrad provides, with every guest’s stay as unique and individualised as they are. Whether choosing from the three lines of bath amenities, a preferred pillow from the pillow menu, or pre-ordering dinner through room service, every detail can be customised via the app.

  "The option to individually select your bath amenities from this diverse and indulgent lineup is another example of how Conrad Hotels and Resorts delivers luxury on your terms, like our pillow menu and bespoke martini offerings," says John Vanderslice, global head of luxury and lifestyle brands at Hilton Worldwide. "It's also a simple convenience that allows our guests to travel on their terms."

   

Conrad guests can enjoy "Personalised Luxury at your fingertips" with the following lines:

·         Seeking serenity? Click and choose Aromatherapy Associates - Rich in precious essential oils and active botanical extracts, each Aromatherapy Associates product is carefully blended using the purest ingredients to enhance a natural radiance and vitality throughout the body. Guests will receive Balance shampoo, Balance conditioner, Balance body lotion and Revive shower gel and body lotion.

·         Feeling exotic? Click and choose Shanghai Tang - A fashion icon known as the ambassador of contemporary Chinese chic luxury products for the global market, Shanghai Tang offers guests its new line of Mandarin Tea shampoo, conditioner, lotion, shower gel and soap, each of which works to leave the hair and skin beautifully moisturized with a long-lasting feeling of freshness.

·         Living organic? Click and choose Tara Smith Vegan Hair Care - As one of the most innovative and well-respected celebrity hairstylists in the industry, Tara Smith has a keen understanding of luxury. Now, Conrad guests will be able to use her celebrity-tested vegan skincare products themselves, including Shine On shampoo & conditioner, Soften Up body lotion, Wash Up shower gel, and Clean Up bath soap.

Conrad Concierge App is available in 13 languages and is designed for Apple^®[1] and Android^TM[2] operating systems, so guests can access this personalised luxury via tablet or smartphone.

  Aromatherapy Associates, Shanghai Tang and Tara Smith Vegan Hair Care amenities are currently available at all Conrad Hotels & Resorts. They are also carried by the world's leading luxury spas, fragrance boutiques and department stores. To learn more about Conrad Hotels & Resorts visit www.conradhotels.com. To learn more about Aromatherapy Associates, Shanghai Tang, and Tara Smith Vegan Hair Care, visitAromatherapyAssociates.com, Shanghaitang.com, and TaraSmith.com.

Claridge’s unveils the Map Room

Claridge’s, the Art Deco hotel in Mayfair, has unveiled the Map Room, a dedicated space designed expressly to meet the needs of today’s global business traveller. Creating office facilities for business guests which are also smart and appropriate to the look of a classic luxury hotel  such as Claridge's is a new challenge facing iconic hotels.

  The Map Room marries the needs of  modern travelers with the style and art deco flair for which Claridge’s is renowned.  Elegantly designed by internationally renowned British design workshop Linley, who has balanced sophistication and functional design with technical innovation, the Map Room keeps business travelers in touch and ‘in the know’ however far from home they may be.

The Art of Business: The Map Room at Claridges

  The Map Room at Claridge’s is far more than just a place to catch up on emails, check the latest market movements or arrange to meet with clients. With all the style that makes Claridge’s so special, and the impeccable service that ensures everything runs like clockwork, it is a beautifully designed bolt-hole created to inspire the generation of ideas and the flow of conversations. In fact, to impress this point, Claridge’s will shortly be launching their own inspirational gallery where some of the hotel’s distinguished guests will reveal items that have been the source of their greatest inspiration and creative genius.   

  Commenting on the creation of the Map Room, General Manager Thomas Kochs said: “We set out to create a special place for our guests that makes a nod to the past but also references the present and the future. We wanted to apply the same magic, touch, feel and subtle emotional experience that we deliver in other parts of the hotel. Welcome to business travel, Claridge’s style”. 

  The focal point of the room, and the piece from which it takes its name, is a magnificent marquetry wall-size map of the world alluding to the notion of the adventure inherent in travel. Designed by Linley, it is crafted from macassar and walnut veneer and crowned by a bespoke steel clock sat on the Greenwich meridian.

Charting your business success:
The golden age of travel married with
modern business needs at the Map Room

  Drawing on the glamour of the golden age of travel, when liners sailed the Atlantic and deco décor dressed the first-class lounges of the Orient Express and the Queen Mary, Linley’s design pays homage to the hotel’s celebrated art deco aesthetic with hand-crafted furnishings, from the signature Transatlantic Chair with its generous curves, to the glamour of the high-backed Salon Sofa. Even the carpet has been specially created for the room, based on geometric patterns originally produced in the 1930s by American-born textile and rug designer Marion Dorn. Across two walls are in-built solid wood bookcases, where guests will find a comprehensive library, covering art, fashion and design brought together by luxury book publisher Assouline. There’s also a carefully sourced selection of magazines from Monocle to Intelligent Life, to the Robb Report and The Rake.

  "Creating interiors for this beautiful hotel feels very natural to me, I admire the history and heritage of Claridge's; so the Map Room was an absolute joy to work on," says designer David Linley.  "Claridge's, like Linley, is a global company so it seemed appropriate to use maps to illustrate the space and the romantic notion of adventure. Inspired by journeys the marquetry map provides a talking point about world travel and the red banquettes emulate those found in a 1920's first class train carriage. The result is in a giddy and glorious celebration of British life and design, past, present and future."

  In creating this elegant take on a space in which to do business, the team at Linley has also incorporated the very latest technical innovations demanded by business-people on the move.  The Map Room will feature iPads and laptops for guests to utilise, and quieter corners for more discreet discussions, interviews and conversations in confidence. All the facilities of the Map Room are accessible by room key to Claridge’s guests 24/7 as well as supported by one of the world’s most celebrated concierge teams. Throughout the day, timely deliveries of gourmet treats are brought fresh from Claridge’s kitchen. There’s also a fridge area, tucked away on one of the bookshelves, well-stocked with refreshments and complimentary water, and a Nespresso machine, just in case guests need to keep jet lag at bay for a little while longer.

Baccarat crystal opens new concession at Harrods

Baccarat, the luxury glassmaker, has recently opened their new concession at Harrods ahead of the brand’s upcoming 250^th anniversary. The move comes as Harrods continues to expand and develop its luxury concessions with new names and brands.

Crystal clear: the new Baccarat concession at Harrods

  Situated on the second floor of luxury department store, Harrods in Knightsbridge, the expansive 200 square-meter space, designed by acclaimed architect and designer Rafael de Cárdenas, is an experiential destination. Following Cárdenas distinctive design concept of Baccarat’s New York flagship store, it features individual spaces to showcase Baccarat’s three main product categories: Home Decoration, Lighting and Jewellery. Although each space has its own focus, they all reflect the richness of the Baccarat lifestyle and the brand’s celebration of artisanship and design.

  With a history reaching back three centuries, Baccarat remains more than ever a symbol of timeless beauty and unrivaled luxury. With the opening of the New York flagship store and Harrods Concession in London, Baccarat will continue as a leader of luxury lifestyle and allow the legend to live on for the next 250 years.

 

Sparkling: Baccarat's signature vases

Baccarat is a French luxury brand internationally renowned as a leader in high-end and exclusive crystal products. Since its foundation in 1764, the company, whose artisanal manufacture is based in Baccarat in the Lorraine region of Eastern France, has been synonymous with a unique savoir-faire and has come to symbolize an inimitable French Art de Vivre. For nearly 250 years, the brand has inspired leading designers from across the world. Ranging from iconic lighting to unique tableware and decorative objects, fine jewelry and tailor-made flacons, the brand’s products and tradition of excellence are widely distributed around the globe. Explore the world of Baccarat at www.baccarat.com

Girard-Perregaux launches Tourbillion Bi-Axial Tantalum and Sapphire

A Tourbillon Bi-Axial with high-tech materials: an iconic design inspired by a Tourbillon pocket watch from the 1860s, a style that has nevertheless maintained its modern appeal. The new tantalum Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon Bi-Axial with three sapphire bridges imposes a vision of time where precision, both technical and esthetic, is the watchword. 

  A new limited edition of 12 pieces has been released. This time, the Tourbillon Bi-Axial has chosen tantalum because of its durable, malleable and corrosion-resistant gray-blue metal, which is usually used in the chemical, electronic and aerospace industries. In addition to its many technological assets, it also lends a masculine and contemporary style to the watch.

Tantalum Talent:
The Tourbillon Bi-Axial

  The pure design and strong character of the timepiece are conveyed by the style of the three bridges cut in sapphire. Both imaginative and imposing, they have a metallic black finish that accentuates their volume for a striking visual effect. Gold, steel, glucydur and grade-five titanium contribute in their own way to optimize the tourbillon bi-axial mechanism and highlight its components. It offers surprising delicacy: the two cages, featuring more than 110 parts, only weigh 0.8 grams. The platinum is decorated by a traditional circular guilloche motif, counterbalanced by its galvanic gray finishing, while the barrel bears the characteristic elliptic pattern of the famous nickel and silver three parallel bridge

pocket watch made by Constant Girard in the 1860s.

  Visible from both sides of the case, the bi-axial rotation of the tourbillon is hypnotic. Oscillating with the strict precision, the system is fitted with two concentric cages enabling the regulating part to make multi-dimensional rotations, thus compensating for power variations caused by gravity. The internal cage bearing the balance, balance spring and escapement completes one turn on its axis in forty-five seconds. The external cage completes one revolution in one minute and fifteen seconds on a second

axis. These different positions guarantee excellent precision. Inspired by its 19th Century origins, this new edition of the Tourbillon Bi-Axial forms a link between these time periods. Benefiting from

cutting-edge technology, it calls on rare manufacturing expertise. 

  In its day, Constant Girard’s pocket watch brought in a new vision of Fine Watchmaking, crowned by a first class prize at the Neuchâtel Observatory and a distinction at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1867.

Breitling - Avenger Ramps up the Power

There’s always a market for chunky, masculine, complicated watches – as Breitling has long demonstrated. The models in the Avenger line have been redesigned in a style that is even more technical, functional and sophisticated. An exceptional look for these trustworthy companions on the most extreme missions.

  We’re promised absolute power, steely muscles, peerless performances and extraordinary precision. The Avenger by Breitling has been designed to offer a maximum of security and reliability. A maximum of sturdiness and shock-resistance with its robust construction and its substantial lateral reinforcements. A maximum of functionality, with its large screw-locked crown and non-slip grip. A maximum of readability, with its thick glareproofed sapphire crystal and its oversized hands, numerals and hour-markers.

Watch this space: Breitling's Avenger

  Breitling now gives a new face to outstanding accomplishments by redesigning the entire Avenger line in a resolutely original style. The slimmer case adopts an even more ergonomic profile. The new stencil-type numerals with their taut, dynamic lines, further strengthen the ties with aviation. The new engraved and satin-brushed bezel is adorned with integrated rider tabs. The readability is optimized by large hands and hour-markers accentuated by a luminescent coating. Titanium casebacks – bearing a conversion scale for Anglo-Saxon metric measurements – keeps the case lighter.

  The new Avenger II collection comprises four models endowed with highly distinctive functions and characters. Four instruments for all manner of missions:

the Avenger II chronograph, featuring a 43 mm diameter, water resistance to 300 m (1,000 ft) and pushpiece guards screwed into the steel the Super Avenger II chronograph, boasting an imposing 48 mm diameter and also water-resistant to 300 m (1,000 ft) the professional super-diver model Avenger II Seawolf, water-resistant to the fabulous depth of 3,000 m (10,000 ft) and equipped with a security valve serving to equal out the differences of pressure between the inside and the outside of the case the new Avenger II GMT, with an extremely practical and readable second timezone display in 24-hour mode, a bidirectional rotating bezel serving to read off a third time zone, as well as water resistance to 300 m (1,000 ft).

The Avenger models are available in several dial colours, with stencil-type numerals or hour-markers, on a rubber strap or on the new Professional bracelet with redesigned links. They are all equipped with mechanical selfwinding movements chronometer-certified by the COSC, the highest industry benchmark in terms of precision and reliability – and the only one based on an international norm.