Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/575200
62 BAL HARBOUR Of all the marvelous and storied hotels in Paris, none is more iconic than the Ritz Paris, and no designer more mythologized than Coco Chanel, who maintained an opulent suite overlooking Place Vendôme for 34 years, until her death in 1971. The five-star hotel opened in 1898 by the Belle Epoque dream team of Swiss hotelier César Ritz and chef Auguste Escoffier, was home to a veritable who's who of 19th and 20th century glitterati: Ernest Hemingway, Audrey Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman, Cole Porter, Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, among them. More than a century later, the hotel closed in August 2012 for an extensive renovation project. More than three years and 200 million euros later, the Ritz Paris is poised to open its doors this winter. Restored to its prestige and grandeur, the Ritz Paris will also pay homage to its onetime resident with the Chanel au Ritz Paris, Chanel's first-ever spa. Invoking Coco Chanel's penchant for self-creation and mystery, executives from both the Ritz and Chanel have kept the details a closely guarded secret, for now. They've said only that the "exceptional partnership… will provide guests with a unique sensorial and customized experience inspired by Chanel's art of skincare." Translation: the spa will feature Chanel's skincare line in its treatments, and what we hope will be a spa studded with tasteful intertwined C's, camellias and quilted fabrics galore. For those looking to extend the Chanel experience, check into the new Coco Chanel Suite inspired by the one the designer originally occupied and by the décor she loved so much. Chanel, who once said, "I don't understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little, if only out of politeness," makes perfect sense as a spa muse. "Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it's not luxury," she is said to have opined. What better credo for a spa than that? DÉJÀ VU Once home to Coco Chanel, the hotly anticipated reopening of the Ritz Paris pays homage to one of its most famous residents with the Chanel au Ritz Paris spa. BY JACKIE COOPERMAN An illustration of the lobby at the Ritz Paris, the hotel where Chanel's first spa will debut later this year. IMAGE COURTESY OF RITZ PARIS