AccorHotels had been looking for a prestigious address in Paris for its Sofitel brand for a long, long time. The French group's hopes were often dashed when the opportunity arose to take over a luxury hotel such as the Crillon or the Royal Monceau, which finally came under the AccorHotels umbrella through the purchase of Fairmont Raffles.
According to Le Figaro, the French group has found the project of its dreams at 144-150 avenue des Champs-Élysées, in a building owned by Groupama. The building, which currently houses a cinema and shops, is to be transformed to accommodate around a hundred rooms, topped off with a rooftop swimming pool.
To set up in Paris, AccorHotels has chosen its design brand So Sofitel, which is present in Bangkok, Mauritius, Singapore and Hua Hin and is used to working with big names in fashion such as Christian Lacroix, Kenzo Takada and Karl Lagerfeld.
Scheduled to open in 2021, the Sofitel So will be the fourth five-star hotel to be built directly on "the most beautiful avenue in the world", alongside the Marriott, Claridge and Fouquet's Barrière.
