Time still flies by. For more than a hundred years, Barrière has been moving ahead with this in mind: time lost can be regained but never needlessly suspended. Such is the ambience and spirit of well- being that forges the quality of the welcome. In keeping with the modernity of facilities, materials and spaces without taking away from the fundamentals. Preserving without stultifying anything. That was Group founder François André’s idea and the approach endorsed by his successors: Lucien Barrière, Diane Barrière-Desseigne and Dominique Desseigne. In 2019, Barrière will be offering grand luxuries, luxuries in the plural, in its 18 establishments - including two outside France, because a break for two, with friends or family, is not experienced and appreciated in the same way. On the beachfront, in the city, the country, the mountains, the surroundings are also inside. The destinations stamped with the Barrière logo - Le Majestic in Cannes, Les Neiges in Courchevel, Le Fouquet’s in Paris, Le Normandy in Deauville, L’Hermitage in La Baule, Le Naoura in Marrakesh, etc. - have in recent years created décor and hospitality for comfortable, elegant and discreet stays. 2019 is the opportunity to discover three surprising destinations, new or restored but, either way, avowedly 5-star, to celebrate the first twenty years of a new century.
LE GRAND HÔTEL. CHIC SAILING IN DINARD’S BRETON AIR
Brittany is like the sea that surrounds it. She tells no lies, even if sometimes not the whole truth. A question of nuance or discretion. On these sheltered pirate shores, belayed in light-coloured stone, the solid and splendid shell of the Barrière Grand Hôtel in Dinard embraces each morning the Baie de La Vicomté facing it, Saint-Malo in the distance. Stories of European princes and travelling dukes (including Edward, unruly son of Victoria and future glorious King of England) still woven into its walls, but also the here and now in an atmosphere of luxury and tranquillity.
IN THE MORNING.
When you see the light of day, you will appreciate breakfast with discreet ‘French-style’ service in one of the 86 Suites and Rooms in which you have spent the night or around the harmonious buffet laid out in the restaurant, according to your preference. Outside on the terrace, if you so wish. Pearls of marine dew already evaporated in the sun. The morning taken up with a treatment at the Spa Diane Barrière, a few moments swimming in the pool, the calm of the garden with the light from the Vicomté…
A STONE’S THROW AWAY.
Go around Le Grand Hôtel to the left on foot. In five minutes, you are in Place Crolard where three weekly markets are held (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday). In summer, the stalls are in place from 5 pm to 10 pm. Walking along the 14 km stretch from La Vicomté to La Roche Pelée is a Dinard way of life. Must-sees: the coastal path, the Promenade du Clair de Lune (conceived in 1931 on a new embankment), the Yacht Club created in 1932 and the crazy Belle Epoque villa architecture. Unexpected palm trees everywhere, replanted out of the west winds and well-established on these shores after the Paris Colonial Exhibition in 1931.
AT MIDDAY.
Now time - sometimes – for the weather forecast. Local, not national. All it takes to decide to transform lunch served on the Blue-B terrace into a roving picnic is a light sea breeze or a bit of tidal wind to blow away the clouds. Before – and why not - boarding a sea taxi or sea bus for a Dinard-Saint-Malo round trip.
AT SUNSET.
In the iodized evening air, Le Grand Hôtel turns on its lights and sets the ambience for your well-being: after the morning, discover exclusive and personalised treatments in the luxurious tranquillity of the 300 m² Spa Diane Barrière for exclusive and personalised treatments from Biologique Recherche or Ligne St Barth ; or Breton-British comfort and marine cocktails in ‘333’, the historic Grand Hôtel bar which, for over a century and sometimes discreetly, has seen the most famous crowned royals, Hollywood actors, literary minds and sports stars come and go.
AT NIGHT-TIME.
A navy-blue dinner awaits you in Chef Daniel Leguenan’s restaurant. Moments of simple abandonment to deliciously simple but masterfully orchestrated flavours. Followed by a stroll at rising or falling tide, if you so wish, the bewitching smell of the sea and the stars above - with or without another stop in ‘333’. The light wind in the bay is already dropping outside. Another beautiful Dinard night.
AT LE FOUQUET’S HOTEL SPARKLE IN PARIS, THE CITY OF LIGHT
Paris, the living city, said Hemingway. Nothing here set in stone, but nothing forgotten. Everything always on the move, even the deepest roots, the most tucked away ideas. Le Fouquet’s is an oasis in this living city. It has come through a century - the 20th century – with its eras of torment together with happy modernity. Here it is in 2019, watching over the Champs-Elysées, reinvigorated by the strength of its history under the direction of interior designer Jacques Garcia, who created, inter alia, the spectacular Signature Suites. In Paris, history is a companion, but pure chance is the real guidebook. Chance meetings, conversations, grumbling on terraces, table corners in a bistro, big boulevard ‘numbers’ and (often) the smallest things. In Paris, you wouldn’t say entertaining ‘à la Française’ but profess to welcome ‘à la Parisienne’. Le Fouquet’s, on the other hand, chooses to invite you to ‘La Capitale’. The French Paris version.
IN THE MORNING.
You wake up in one of Le Fouquet’s 101 Rooms and Suites. Paris is right under your balcony. And, like Honoré de Balzac’s hero Rastignac, you get the urge to say, ‘To us both!’ There you go. Mission accomplished. Le Fouquet’s has done its job: making Paris captivating. To the point of conquering it, or else seducing it. To clarify, when he looks at Paris, Rastignac says, ‘To us both, now!’ Fortunate timing as ‘now’ is about Fouquet’s excellence.
A STONE’S THROW AWAY.
All of Paris is a stone’s throw from here…
AT MIDDAY.
The real luxury of Fouquet’s is not being an address in the Golden Triangle - George V, Montaigne, Champs-Elysées - but its ambience, even at lunchtime, often said to be too quick in Paris. That’s why, at Barrière’s invitation, the world-famous Michelin-starred Chef Pierre Gagnaire slips in his own tempo. La Brasserie on the ground floor continues to mirror the sometimes-confusing seasons as it always has. Le Joy on the first floor formulates an assertive and serene recipe for well-being every day. While the terrace, an unexpected and spectacular skylight, unveils flavour and snack treasures. From the ‘made by Le Fouquet’s’ menu.
AT SUNSET.
Let yourself go to the Spa Diane Barrière. This is one of the last mysteries of Paris: precise and personalised Kos treatments await you in the ultra-comfort of a space created for your well- being. Otherwise, let go in the pool, or else among the best fitness and relaxation facilities. Before resurfacing in the Le Lucien bar, for example. Welcome to Paris by Le Fouquet’s.
AT NIGHT-TIME.
Hemingway also liked to wait for Paris, the living city, to wake up to the night. For him, it was ‘something to celebrate’ on the Champs-Elysées, a starting point for navigating from one side of the Seine to the other. In 2019, on the Champs-Elysées, opposite Fouquet’s and its famous Bar de L’Escadrille, ‘Le Club Barrière 104 Champs-Elysées’, legendary place has just reopened its doors and poker tables in a different Barrière ambience (*).
AT THE CARL GUSTAF EXPERIENCE THE LUXE- BUNGALOW IN SAINT BARTH
It will be open at the end of 2019. Hôtel Barrière Le Carl Gustaf has the discreet luxury of well-being under the sun. Here in Saint Barth time is a variable, not a determinant. In other words: ‘Whoever, whatever, whenever’. In truth, everything runs like clockwork. Saint Barth is a paradise of sweet surprises. Luxury without excess.
IN THE MORNING.
Light is already flooding the Carl Gustaf tropical garden when the morning - early in the Caribbean - gently lights up this plantation setting overlooking the vast and tranquil blue sea horizon. You will have spent the night in one of the 23 Rooms and Suites, converted into cottages, loft and villas (each with private swimming pool). Discreet ‘French-style’ service will have been according to your breakfast wishes. A light breeze hugs the fine lines of the Carl Gustaf’s sober colonial architecture, rooted here for almost two centuries.
A STONE’S THROW AWAY.
Lazing on Shell Beach, the dream beach accessible a few minutes’ walk through the Carl Gustaf garden. Or walks in the vicinity: around the streets of Gustavia with their colourful and romantic shops, or to the natural and little-known marine swimming pools in Grand-Fond or Petit-Cul de Sac. For snorkelling and scuba fans, diving to discover the other blue Saint Barth world: passing shoals and stingrays, corals, wrecks asleep since the days of sailing ships.
AT MIDDAY.
Yours is the only rhythm. In Saint Barth, the clocks are set to light time. Nestling at midday in the welcoming shade of Le Shellona restaurant on Shell Beach. Enjoy the sunny dishes of Chef Yannis Kioroglu here: mahi-mahi fish with coconut milk or raspberry-watermelon lemonade. Then, back to lazing on the beach, for whoever wants to. Tonight, rendez-vous at The Fouquet’s?
AT SUNSET.
While Carl Gustaf prepares your evening under the stars, moments of relaxation, well-being and luxurious pampering at Spa Diane Barrière which offers pure and personalised treatments from organic cosmetics brand Biologique Recherche- an exclusive in Saint Barth. Other well-being moments are available: yoga in a quiet space, the possibility of private yoga sessions and massage on bungalow terraces and in-room; or in a fitness studio with an array of Pilates and the best equipment. The atmosphere in the bar too with its cocktails and view of the port of Gustavia when the sun goes down.
AT NIGHT-TIME.
The Saint Barth stars keep their promise: bringing you a gourmet rendez-vous with the world-famous stars of Chef Pierre Gagnaire, who illuminates each dish on a menu of light ‘twisted’ flavours - as he puts it - French-style, with the blue of the Caribbean. The bar buzzes with cocktails. The tropical garden goes to sleep. In the silence and gentle warmth at the end of the day, Gustavia’s beach and streets are close by, all set for a night walk. At the Carl Gustaf in Saint Barth, nights are as beautiful as days.
