Four are in Paris - Le Bristol, Le Meurice, the Plaza Athénée and the Park Hyatt Vendôme - and four in the provinces - Les Airelles and Le Cheval Blanc in Courchevel, the Hôtel du Palais in Biarritz and the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat in St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Surprisingly, this list does not include two of the capital's historic establishments, the Ritz and the George V.
The provinces also have their share of disappointed guests. Like the Carlton, the InterContinental hotel on the Croisette in Cannes and a major venue for the festival, which was also rejected despite the fact that its management was certain of its nomination following a multi-million euro restoration project undertaken over the last two years.
Prestigious failures
"I don't understand, I'm very disappointed".Christopher Norton, Director of the Four Seasons George V, immediately reacted. And to see himself supported by his competitors. For François Delahaye, General Manager of the Plaza Athénée and Director of Operations for the Dorchester Group, which also owns Le Meurice, it's a question of "the right thing to do"."a mistake that totally discredits the new label. For anyone who knows anything about the hotel industry, it is unthinkable that the George V is not a palace". That was all it took to raise suspicions about the criteria and, above all, the credibility of a jury made up more of celebrities than real professionals from the hotel and tourism industry.
To prevent the storm from getting too big, Atout France - the French tourism promotion body behind the new national hotel criteria - quickly announced a new wave of nominations and set 30 June as the closing date for the next round of applications. Future awards of the label should be announced in November. To be continued...
