Plaza Athénée
Historic luxury hotel on Paris’s Avenue Montaigne, known for haute-couture associations, distinguished dining, and its red-canopied façade.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Plaza Athénée is a historic luxury hotel at 25 Avenue Montaigne in Paris’s 8th arrondissement. Opened in 1913, it became closely associated with the elegant residential and couture character of Avenue Montaigne and developed a reputation for discreet, highly personalized hospitality. Its distinctive exterior, marked by red awnings and flower-filled balconies, has made the property one of Paris’s most recognizable grand hotels. The hotel forms part of Dorchester Collection, an international portfolio of luxury hotels controlled through the Brunei Investment Agency. Although the brand is centered on a single Paris property rather than a large standardized hotel chain, its name functions as a major hospitality brand within the collection. The property combines guest rooms and suites with fine dining, bars, private-event spaces, wellness services, and concierge-led experiences. Its location places it near the Champs-Élysées, the Seine, the Grand Palais, and the luxury boutiques of Avenue Montaigne. Plaza Athénée’s identity has been shaped by its relationship with fashion and the arts. The hotel has hosted designers, entertainers, diplomats, business leaders, and international visitors, while its interiors and public spaces have appeared in media and popular culture. The property is particularly associated with the television series “Sex and the City,” in which it was used as the Paris hotel of the character Carrie Bradshaw, further strengthening its global popular recognition. A major renovation completed in the mid-2010s expanded the property by incorporating several adjacent buildings and added rooms, suites, event facilities, restaurants, and a larger spa. The renovation preserved the hotel’s historic character while introducing contemporary design and updated operating infrastructure. Culinary offerings have included Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, La Cour Jardin, Le Relais Plaza, La Galerie des Gobelins, and hotel bars, with menus and restaurant concepts changing over time. Plaza Athénée competes in the upper tier of Parisian luxury hospitality alongside other historic palace hotels. Its positioning rests on heritage, location, service, architecture, fashion credibility, and gastronomic ambition rather than on scale. The hotel remains active as a Paris property and continues to operate under the Plaza Athénée name within Dorchester Collection.
History
Plaza Athénée opened in 1913 at 25 Avenue Montaigne, a location that placed it in the middle of Paris’s developing luxury and fashion district. From its beginning, the hotel was designed to serve an international clientele seeking grand-hotel accommodation in the French capital. Its exterior became especially recognizable through the use of red awnings and flower-filled balconies, features that remain central to the property’s visual identity. During the twentieth century, Plaza Athénée established itself as one of Paris’s leading luxury hotels. Its location on Avenue Montaigne connected it with couture houses, luxury retail, theaters, diplomatic activity, and the cultural institutions of central Paris. The hotel’s appeal was based not only on accommodation but also on the combination of formal dining, salons, bars, private entertaining, and personalized service expected of a Parisian palace hotel. The property later became part of the Dorchester Collection, a portfolio of high-end hotels operating in major international destinations. Through the collection, Plaza Athénée retained an individual identity rather than being converted into a standardized chain hotel. The property is ultimately associated with the Brunei Investment Agency, which owns the hotels in the collection through its corporate structure. In the early 2010s, Plaza Athénée undertook one of the most consequential changes in its modern history. It closed in 2013 for a large-scale renovation and expansion involving neighboring buildings. The work added rooms and suites, enlarged the hotel’s functional footprint, refreshed public areas, and introduced additional restaurant, bar, event, and wellness facilities. Designers sought to modernize the property without eliminating its historic Parisian atmosphere. The hotel reopened in 2014 with a larger and more contemporary operating platform. The renovation also supported a renewed culinary strategy. Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée reopened with a menu emphasizing vegetables, grains, cereals, and seafood, alongside the restaurant’s high-end French gastronomic tradition. Michelin awarded the restaurant three stars in 2016. Other hotel venues, including La Cour Jardin, Le Relais Plaza, La Galerie des Gobelins, and the bars, contribute to the property’s broader dining and social identity, although concepts and menus have evolved over time. Plaza Athénée has maintained a strong relationship with fashion and popular culture. Its Avenue Montaigne address places it next to major couture activity, and the hotel has been used by prominent guests and represented in entertainment media. Its appearance in “Sex and the City” as the Paris hotel associated with Carrie Bradshaw introduced the property to a wider television audience and reinforced its image as a glamorous destination. In the twenty-first century, the hotel has continued to operate as a single-property luxury brand within Dorchester Collection. Its competitive proposition is built around heritage, a highly visible location, individualized service, sophisticated dining, and the symbolic value of staying in one of Paris’s best-known palace hotels. Unlike mass-market hospitality brands, Plaza Athénée does not compete through geographic scale or standardized room products. It competes through prestige, atmosphere, culinary credibility, and the accumulated cultural meaning of the property.
- 2016
Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée receives three Michelin stars
[3]The restaurant regains Michelin’s highest restaurant distinction following its relaunch and culinary repositioning.
- 2014
Plaza Athénée reopens after expansion
[1]The renovated and enlarged property resumes operations with updated interiors, new facilities, and an expanded culinary program.
- 2013
Major renovation and expansion begins
[1]The hotel closes for a major project involving adjacent buildings, guest accommodation, restaurants, event spaces, and wellness facilities.
- 2004
The hotel is featured in “Sex and the City”
[2]Plaza Athénée is used as the Paris hotel associated with Carrie Bradshaw in the television series, giving the property a prominent global pop-culture association.
- 1995
Plaza Athénée appears in popular culture through “French Kiss”
[2]The hotel was used as a filming location for the romantic comedy “French Kiss,” adding to its visibility in international screen culture.
- 1913
Plaza Athénée opens on Avenue Montaigne
[1]The hotel begins operations at 25 Avenue Montaigne in Paris, establishing the property that would become one of the city’s best-known luxury hotels.
Products and positioning
Ultra-luxury Parisian palace hotel combining heritage architecture, haute-couture associations, personalized service, destination dining, and a prominent Avenue Montaigne location.
Accommodation · 1913
Guest rooms
The hotel offers individually designed luxury rooms combining classic Parisian decorative references with contemporary amenities. Many rooms reflect the property’s Avenue Montaigne setting through views, balconies, or access to the hotel’s distinctive façade and service environment.
Accommodation · 1913
Suites
Plaza Athénée’s suites provide larger living areas, enhanced privacy, and more elaborate design treatments than standard rooms. Signature suites draw on Parisian decorative traditions and the hotel’s fashion-district location, with selected accommodations offering notable city or courtyard views.
Fine dining · 2000
Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée
The hotel’s flagship gastronomic restaurant operates under the name of chef Alain Ducasse. Its post-renovation cuisine emphasized vegetables, grains, cereals, and seafood while retaining the precision and service associated with haute cuisine. The restaurant received three Michelin stars in 2016.
Restaurant
La Cour Jardin
La Cour Jardin is the hotel’s seasonal courtyard restaurant. Its sheltered garden setting provides an outdoor-oriented dining experience within the property and is a major part of Plaza Athénée’s summer hospitality identity.
Restaurant and brasserie
Le Relais Plaza
Le Relais Plaza offers a more relaxed dining format than the hotel’s principal gastronomic restaurant. It is associated with classic French brasserie culture and serves as a social venue for hotel guests, local diners, and visitors to Avenue Montaigne.
Spa and wellness
The Dior Institut at Plaza Athénée
The Dior Institut provides beauty and wellness treatments within the hotel, linking Plaza Athénée’s luxury hospitality offer with the couture and beauty heritage of its Avenue Montaigne surroundings.
Brand decisions
2014
Repositioning of the flagship culinary offerProduct launchBackground
The renovation created an opportunity to refresh the hotel’s dining identity and distinguish its principal restaurant within Paris’s highly competitive luxury gastronomy market.
Action taken
The Alain Ducasse restaurant relaunched with a culinary concept giving greater prominence to vegetables, grains, cereals, and seafood.
Aftermath
The restaurant received three Michelin stars in 2016, reinforcing Plaza Athénée’s positioning as a destination for high-end dining.
2013
Temporary closure for renovation and expansionStrategyBackground
The historic hotel needed to modernize its guest rooms and operating infrastructure while increasing its capacity and broadening its food, beverage, wellness, and event offer.
Action taken
Plaza Athénée closed temporarily and incorporated neighboring buildings into a major redevelopment, adding accommodation and new or expanded guest facilities.
Aftermath
The property reopened in 2014 as a larger hotel with refreshed interiors and a broader luxury-hospitality platform.
Recent events
- 2016
Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée receives three Michelin stars[3]
Other · Product generation
The restaurant led by Alain Ducasse regained a three-star Michelin rating after its post-renovation relaunch and a substantial shift toward a more plant-focused and marine-oriented culinary concept.
- 2014
Plaza Athénée reopens after its renovation[1]
Other
The property reopened with expanded capacity and redesigned public areas while retaining its recognizable Parisian identity, including the red awnings and floral balconies.
- 2013
Plaza Athénée closes for a major renovation and expansion[1]
Other
The hotel temporarily closed for an extensive renovation that incorporated neighboring buildings, upgraded rooms and suites, and added new food-and-beverage, event, and wellness facilities.
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