Paris1972-Versailles2003

I have mentioned this briefly in my many posts on Paris since 2010 !! However, I need to update this older post with new text links and photos !! I have great memories of these hotels and would like to share it with the world, Oh yes I worked for them in a top management position,,,, Therefore, let me tell you a bit on the jewels of Paris, the Intercontinental Hotels !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I,

Intercontinental Hotel or l’Inter (now the Westin Paris Vendôme) on rue Castiglione near the Tuileries garden,  and the Le Grand Hotel Intercontinental and its wonderful Café de la Paix by the Opéra Garnier. These two in Paris were my main, also the Holiday Inn and Crown Plaza and the Inter Carlton of Cannes ; all own by the Intercontinental Hotels Group, Owned outright not franchise or managed but owned at that time ok.

I used to worked in them, and was in charge of all Intercontinental hotels with wonderful professional and human experiences to remember forever. Two wonderful years bouncing from one to the other in an top management position in the Accounting dept. A great group of people still in touch with many and always looking forward to be back with the group wishing if now retired, The experiences were awesome a classic group and top hotel services.

I went thru wonderful Christmas parties for the employees (bringing families for many funny moments) , to welcoming and meeting some of the famous and known such as U2, Condoleezza Rice , Sec of state USA; Stéphane Bern , French actor, presenter and many many more. Working with the upper class of the French nobility including Princess Napoléon, to the marquis and dukes of France; and the famous brands who held many events in the hotels from Louis Vuitton, Chanel, the big companies of our world both French and international to the fabulous Fashion Weeks of Paris.

Funny stories from how to keep famous groups in the hotel because the money was late in arriving, to doing special invoicing for Louis Vuitton and Sanofi pharma group; to helping with the princesses and prince of the Middle East; and of course helping my colleagues from serving as English/French  translator for the film crew from South Korea (needed to spent a night in the hotel ,junior suite looking at the Eiffel tower!); and helping out the expat community on providing free host in the great salon (historical monuments of France) for charitable events (raising funds for the hurricane Katrina of New Orleans LA USA).

The Le Grand hotel at the corner of 2 rue Scribe,and 12 blvd des Capucines, has a wonderful bar with leather sofa seats and piano music to soothe your soul in Paris, You do not have to stay in the hotel to come in. It ,also, has a great I-Spa by Algotherm. La Verriére is a wonderful garden style bistro with a great glass cupola right in the middle of the hotel. It was built between 1861 and 1862 for the coming of the Universal Exposition of 1867. The palace hotel was opened in great pomp by the Emperatrice Eugénie (Spanish wife of Napoléon III ) as well as the Café de la Paix in May 1862 . The salon a historical monument of France here is call Salon Opéra and on the side is facing the Palais Garnier opéra house!

The Intercontinental Paris-Le Grand Hotel : https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/gb/en/paris/parhb/hoteldetail#scmisc=nav_hoteldetail_ic

The Paris tourist office on Le Grand Inter Hotel : https://parisjetaime.com/eng/accommodation/intercontinental-paris-le-grand-p2995

The ceilings of the Café de la Paix (see post) were done by Charles Garnier who did the Opera as well, and many others, they are historical monument of France and the intricate work you see, has even more value than those in the hotels. You do not have to eat in to just past in and see the ceiling.

The official Café de la Paix : https://www.cafedelapaix.fr/en/

The HQ handling all the hotels was at the Intercontinental Paris or affectionally called L’Inter. My office was in the mezzanine section off the general public but we needed to walk into the public areas unassumed and enjoy the beauty ! It was at the corner of 3 rue de Castiglione and rue Rivoli. It opened in 1878 as the Hôtel Continental. It was built at the lot of the old Ministry of Finances burned in the uprisings of 1871 ; the Grand Dukes of Russia stayed here each time passing by Paris.  The hotel was renamed  the Inter-Continental Paris in the 1970’s then the The Westin Paris in 2005 ,and now call the The Westin Paris -Vendôme from  2010 , and now part of Marriott. The historical monument of France here is call Salon Imperial (or Napoléon).

It ,also has the WestinWORKOUT® Fitness Studio , and great bar ; wonderful restaurants Le First, and Le Terrace under the cupola in the garden center of the hotel; but my favorite and always around was Le Tuileries Bar ,very cozy sofas and great drinks, taking you back to the 19C: Again, you do not have to stay in the hotel to come in,

The official Tuileries Bar : https://www.tuileriesbar.fr/

The official Marriott on the Westin Paris Vendôme Hotel : https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/parvw-the-westin-paris-vendome/overview/

The offices were again in the mezzanine area on the L’Inter (Westin) off the general public but we could walk all over, and I did as my job will take me to see the restaurants/bar personnel as well as the rooms. The walks between the l’Inter and Le Grand were sublime passing by the Place Vendôme into the Place de l’Opéra!!  Many of the colleagues working in non management positions are still there as well as some who have move up to management position now. A good bunch of people.

One other IHG property I was responsible for was in Cannes, the Carlton Intercontinental Hotel in the Croisette! I visited there,and knew all the management staff;some came over to Paris later on. A rich history as well since 1913 as the Carlton Hotel catering to rich and noble Russians from the Grand Duke down. In 1922 the first league of United Nations was held here,and the film Festival of Cannes was done here in 1939.  The Hitchcock film To Catch a Thief was done here in 1954, and Grace Kelly Princess of Monaco had it as almost her personal residence. It became as we know it today in 1982 when the IHG took majority interest. Now its simply the Carlton Cannes  a Regent Hotel owned by Katara Hospitality.

In all, in those early years of 2004-2006, I was, also, responsible for the Holiday Inn -pl de la République in Paris (now a Crown Plaza hotel still IHG), and the Holiday Inn Disneyland ,who of course, I not only visited on business but also stayed with the family while going to Disneyland Paris(the hotel is now call the Vienna House Magic Circus Hotel).

Those days were good and the ambiance fantastic, I always stayed now in these hotels even in other visited abroad like the Intercontinental Castellana in Madrid, or the Athenatum in Athens Greece or the Intercontinental Dusseldorf in Germany. And many Holiday Inns all over.

It was sad to leave it as the group had the L’ Inter contract of mine sold with the hotel to a pension investment group from Singapore and were taken over on management initially by the American chain Starwood who name it one of their brands a Westin, I stayed for the changeover of hands and then left with a good French transition package, Many of my management collegues were also on the same boat and they have gone to even bigger posts and me elsewhere in management with French multinational corp’s La vie est belle ! However, the experiences of the professionalism of the personnel from the top down and the human touch so huge will never be forgotten, This is France at its best and I missed the ambiance, the friends, the place. Life went on…..

There you go folks, this was a wonderful chapter in my experiences in my belle France, I truly recommend you staying on them if you can, they are tops le chic chic of France you won’t go wrong there, I say ! They are an institution of Paris ,and France ! Again, hope you enjoy the post on the jewels of Paris, the Intercontinental Hotels as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!