Le Meurice () is a Brunei-owned five-star luxury hotel in the 1st arrondissement of Paris opposite the Tuileries Garden, between Place de la Concorde and the Musée du Louvre on the Rue de Rivoli. From the Rue de Rivoli, it stretches to the Rue du Mont Thabor. The hotel was opened in 1815. It received the "Palace" distinction from the French government in 2011. Le Meurice is owned and operated by the Dorchester Collection, a luxury hotel operator based in London. The hotel has a staff of over 400 and houses 160 rooms decorated in the Louis XVI style, which start at US$1,235 per night.
History
Early years
In the mid-18th century, the French postmaster, Charles-Augustin Meurice (born 1738), understood that English tourists wanted to be on the continent with the comforts and conveniences they were used to at home. In 1771, Meurice opened a coach inn on Rue Edmond Roche in Calais, the Hôtel Meurice de Calais. In 1815, he opened the Hôtel Meurice in Paris, originally located at 223 Rue Saint-Honoré. Le Meurice offered everything to make life easier for the traveler; apartments of various sizes, areas set aside where travelers could sit and talk, specialty laundry soap, English-speaking staff, and currency exchange, among other amenities. The hotel advertised, "For an English traveler, no hotel in Paris offers more benefits than Le Meurice."
In 1835, Le Meurice moved from Rue Saint Honore to its current location on the Rue de Rivoli, in a new luxurious building, close to the Tuileries Palace. A wealthy clientele followed, and during the July Monarchy to the French Third Republic, Le Meurice welcomed the high society of the time, who appreciated the quality of service, the refinement of the rooms and lounges, as well as the exceptional location of the hotel in the heart of Paris, near luxury boutiques.
In the latter half of the 19th century, Henri-Joseph Scheurich was its proprietor and, in 1865, he is documented as managing the hotel under the London and Paris Hotel Company. He is mentioned again in 1867, at which time the hotel offered large and small apartments, or single bedrooms; and featured a reading room and smoking room. In 1891, the hotel had electric lights, new plumbing, and accommodated 200 guests; Scheurich was still the proprietor.
Early 20th century
In the early 20th century, one of the shareholders of the new company was Arthur Millon, owner of Café de la Paix and restaurants Weber and Ledoyen. To compete with the Ritz, which opened in 1902, Millon turned to a great Swiss hotelier, Frédéric Schwenter. Under these two men, Le Meurice was enlarged by the addition of the Metropole Hotel, located on Rue de Castiglione. Then, with the exception of the façade, the hotel was rebuilt under the guidance of the architect Henri Paul Nénot, winner of the Grand Prix de Rome. For interior decoration, especially for rooms on the ground floor, the Louis XVI style prevailed. The rooms were equipped with modern, tiled bathrooms, telephone, and electric butler bells. Public rooms were relocated and reinforced concrete was added for privacy, and the elevator was a copy of the sedan chair used by Marie Antoinette. Other additions included the grand salon Pompadour with white trimmings, a restaurant with marble pilasters and gilded bronzes as a living tribute to the Peace of Versailles, and the wrought iron canopy over the lobby.
World War II
Between September 1940 and August 1944, the hotel was requisitioned by the German occupation authorities. In August 1944, the Meurice became the headquarters of General Dietrich von Choltitz, the military governor of Paris. von Choltitz famously disobeyed Hitler's commands to level the city of Paris. Hitler's reported question screamed to von Choltitz over a Hotel Meurice telephone, "Is Paris burning?", later served as the title of a best-selling book about the liberation of Paris, and the 1966 film which was shot partly at the Meurice.
Recent history
During its long existence, Le Meurice has experienced several transfers of ownership as well as major refurbishments: one from 1905 to 1907, the second in 1947 and most recently in 1998. Each of these renovations included modernization and beautification of the hotel.