The history of Le Bristol begins in 1758 with the construction of the Place de la Concorde (known as Place Louis XV at the time) and the embellishment of the Champs Elysées. These two efforts combined provide a new Prestige to the Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
The Duke of Noailles sells the grounds on which Le Bristol is built today to one of King Louis XV’s entrepreneurs. At the time of the sale, the lands in question were vast but deserted.
A private hotel is built on these lands some years later. The Countess of Damas acquires the property and leaves it to her daughter, widow of Count Charles de Vogüé.
Since 2009, the Hôtel Le Bristol entered a new chapter in its history when it opened a new wing. With this move the most famous of Paris’s luxury hotels, which in 2008 was named World’s Best Hotel1, Europe’s Best Hotel, World’s Best Luxury
Romantic Hotel and Europe’s Best Hotel Restaurant, strengthened its exceptional reputation in the world of luxury hotels. On top of the 161 existing bedrooms, a further 21 bedrooms and 5 luxury suites furnished to provide supreme comfort were added, as well as a new restaurant, Le 114 Faubourg, with tables available seven days a week offering an original design and a surprising menu.
Hôtel Le Bristol’s new wing, built according to best industry practice, is spread out over a surface area of some 3,250m2, with seven floors and two façades: one that looks out onto Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and another which overlooks Avenue Matignon, giving guests an extensive view of Paris from an angle.
The essential architecture of this Haussmann-inspired building, which was purchased in 1989, featuring a host of friezes and wrought iron works, has been preserved and restored. Adjoining the hotel, it serves to make the building more visible and enhance its profile, a global profile which has always been pursued and nurtured by the Oetker family, which has owned the hotel since 1978.
Ever since he bought the hotel, Rudolf A. Oetker has been dedicated to making Hôtel Le Bristol a unique luxury hotel. He wanted it to be the most beautiful and most prestigious of all hotels of its kind.
To the German business visionary’s mind, Hôtel Le Bristol had to be extended in order to enable it to develop. The acquisition of the former cloister of the Sisters of Hope and its garden in the 1980s gave new life to the hotel, one of the jewels in Paris’s crown.
The family later bought the neighbouring building, which today serves to enhance the hotel. Rudolf A. Oetker’s wish was finally granted. It was made possible by one woman: his wife, Maja Oetker, who became personally involved in the smallest of details of the development of the new wing.
Le Bristol’s history also prides itself with the memory of famous guests: Ava Gardner, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Grace Kelly, Niarchos, Josephine Baker, Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles, Harry Truman, Adenauer and many more…These great figures have also helped in creating the spirit of the establishment.
