The Experience
The Hotel Fouquet’s Barrière
The first luxury Parisian hotel to obtain the famous 5th star, the hotel is also a forerunner in sustainable development. The hotel boasts three ISO standards: ISO 9001 – service quality, ISO 14001 – environmental commitment and SA 8000 – safeguarding human rights and children’s rights. Having these three standards is a unique achievement in the internationalhotel industry.
The ever-famous Fouquet’s brasserie, adored by past and present artists.
For over a century, our brasserie on the Champs-Élysées has been a genuine stage depicting Parisian life where heaps of film stars, writers, politicians and businessmen have always stopped off.
The institution’s long story began at the beginning of the 20th century when Louis Fouquet, a café owner, bought Le Critérion, a discrete tavern mainly used by coach drivers. His instinct was spot on and it turned out to be an excellent deal boosted by its location on the famous Champs-Élysées! The busy heart of the capital did not have any cafés or restaurants at all. In those days, the tout-Paris all flocked to “Maxim’s”, Maxime Gaillard’s fashionable bistro; Louis Fouquet decided to anglicize the name of his brasserie in the same way, and Le Fouquet’s was born.
After he died, Léopold Maurier, who owned two important Parisian restaurants, Le Café de Paris and Le Pavillon d’Armenonville, took over. He decided to turn Fouquet’s into a luxury establishment aiming to attract the elegant clientele that he saw at Longchamp and Auteuil race courses. Two legendary Head Chefs, Auguste Escoffier and Prosper Montagné turned the restaurant into one of the best eating houses in France. Le Fouquet’s became a favourite with personalities from the horse racing world; race-goers, owners, trainers, jockeys and reporters made the restaurant their headquarters. From 1916 on, it also became a haunt for crack pilots, heroes of French aviation, who would spend every evening at Fouquet’s bar, which was renamed “Bar de l’Escadrille” (the squadron bar).
Talking films marked the beginning of the 30s, and the construction of impressive cinema theatres such as Le Normandie or Le Colisée, turning the Champs Élysées into “film avenue” and Le Fouquet’s the film community’s central meeting point. Raimu, Marlène Dietrich, Colette and Fernandel would meet Carné, Clouzot, and Guitry to sign their contracts. Raimu’s favourite spot was on the terrace facingsouth on Avenue Georges V, where he could be found at the end of the morning every day. Many of the Silver Screen’s masterpieces were agreed on that very terrace or inside the restaurant.
Later on in the 50s, a new wave embodied by Godard, Truffaut and Chabrol took over and made the brasserie their headquarters too.
Several years later, one evening in May 1976, and with a little help from his friends, Maurice Casanova bought Le Fouquet’s from the famous restaurant-owner Jean Drouant. Assisted by his daughter, Maurice Casanova took on the task of adding new prestige to Fouquet’s by organising major cultural events, such as the Theatre Tribute Gala dinner, which was a huge success covered by the press. In February 1980, the French César Awards Ceremony, presided by Jean Gabin was wound up by a gala dinner at Fouquet’s and has been an annual tradition ever since.
Fouquet’s future looked uncertain in the middle of the 80’s; the Kuwaiti businessmen who owned the building wanted to end the restaurant’s lease. It looked like the end was nigh when a legal decision was made on 25 May 1988 to close the famous brasserie. Shutting down Fouquet’s meant erasing the Champs-Élysées most lively symbol, and a protection committee was set up followed by an international and national movement to save the restaurant. Many different celebrities joined the movement including Prince Rainier, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Charles Trénet. A request to subscribe to the National Heritage Sites of France was made. Finally Le Fouquet’s was officially classed as a National Heritage Site by Jack Lang, Minister of Culture, on 19thOctober 1988. Ten years later in 1998, backed by their company, Groupe Lucien Barrière, Dominique Desseigne and his wife Diane Barrière-Desseigne purchased Fouquet’s giving the restaurant a second lease of life for it’s 100th anniversary…
In November 2006, Dominique Desseigne made a family dream come true by adding a luxury hotel to the establishment. The Hôtel Fouquet’s Barrière offers guests all the simplicity of hospitable, elegant luxury that 5-stars encompass. Architect Édouard François and decorator Jacques Garcia designed warm, modern settings combining 3 styles; Baroque, surrealist and classic. The Hôtel Fouquet’s Barrière is one of the most recent Parisian palaces boasting high-tech technologies aiming to optimise customer comfort. To respond to the most demanding requests, the hotel also provides personal butlers to offer customers services corresponding to their wishes.
Fouquet’s restaurant has been a meeting place for figures from the world of culture and the film industry for decades, and welcomed a host of celebrities once again this year. Bérénice Béjo and Omar Sy were awarded Césars for best actress and best actor respectively, surrounded by the larger film community who came to dine and celebrate this wonderful moment in line with tradition. A rare listed site in the heart of the Champs-Élysées, Le Fouquet’s is a living institution that continues to embody the spirit of the chic Parisian brasserie through the chapters of its history.
Travelwizard.com Guests Receive:
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- up to the Deluxe Suite category
- Guaranteed upgrade at time of booking
- up to the Deluxe Suite category
- American Breakfast for up to two in-room guests daily
- One 50 Euro credit voucher valid for spa treatments
- For stays of 3 or more nights:
- One way private transfer
- Early check-in/late check-out
- subject to availability