For nearly two centuries, Le Meurice has epitomised Parisian luxury, drawing royalty, artists and discerning travellers into its world of refined splendour. Nestled between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde, this legendary palace hotel blends 18th-century grandeur with contemporary artistry, all while upholding the highest standards of service. Deputy general manager Christophe Chopineau offers a glimpse into the hotel’s unique character, from its ties to Salvador Dalí to its Michelin-starred dining experiences and commitment to sustainability.

Tell us briefly about the history and specific DNA of Le Meurice?

Le Meurice is strategically located opposite the Tuileries Gardens and has held its sway as one of the first Parisian luxury hotels dating back to 1835. Reflecting its uninterrupted attachment to the French art of living, Le Meurice is a magical, serene and elegant place, where the refined splendours of 18th-century architecture meet the design of Philippe Starck and Charles Jouffre, the French artisan-designer who created the sumptuous drapes and hangings of the Grand Foyer at the Opéra Garnier. It is also where Alain Ducasse, the most Michelin starred Chef in the world, celebrates the seasons with his culinary creations. His heavenly cuisine elevates Parisian gastronomy to the rank of art. He brings past and present together with flavour and flair. As for Cédric Grolet, elected the world’s best Pastry Chef in 2018, the lines in front of his shop within the hotel speak for themselves!

In the heart of Paris, a minute’s walk away from Place Vendôme and Rue Saint-Honoré, where luxury stores and boutiques showcasing young designers flourish, Le Meurice gradually unveils its secrets, as a haven of peace where you can truly be yourself.

As the deputy general manager, what is the first thing you notice when you enter a hotel and which details do you pay particular attention to?

This is difficult to explain as it is all about feelings and perception. When entering Le Meurice for example, you immediately feel a sense of belonging. You get like magically attracted by every place and the warm welcome of the people. That’s what it is all about! Each palace has its own story and Le Meurice, which is part of the iconic hotels of Dorchester Collection, has always stood out as the jewel among French palace hotels since 1835. It reflects elegance and stays true to its philosophy of the art of living à la française. It is also the place where you can be yourself, where there are no dictates. Maybe it is because since its creation, it has nurtured intimate links with artists leaving behind wonderful stories, all witness to its legendary extravagance. 

How do you maintain consistent service standards at the property?

I would say that our profession is made of passion and transmission, both of which have always been of paramount importance to us. They have undergone a vertiginous evolution in recent years, not only in terms of service excellence, but also in terms of guest experience and staff development thanks to cutting-edge training initiated by Dorchester Collection. Training is consistent throughout your journey with the Collection, internal promotions are frequent and encouraged, and there are several programs tailored for junior staff to help them evolve within the Collection as well as for more senior staff members to allow them to become inspirational leaders and/or ambassadors to the Collection.

Le Meurice is only a short stroll from Le Louvre, which to most visitors is the must-see Paris art institution. Do you have other favourite cultural destinations close by?

The Museum of Decorative Arts (MAD) is right across the street in the northwestern wing of the Louvre. It is the largest museum of decorative arts in continental Europe and its collection is primarily composed of French furniture, tableware, carpets such as those from Aubusson, porcelain such as that by the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres, and many glass pieces by René Lalique, Émile Gallé and many others. It includes numerous works in the Art Nouveau and Art Déco styles and modern examples by designers like Eileen Gray and Charlotte Perriand.

A short 2 minutes’ walk away from the hotel, on place de la Concorde, is the Hôtel de la Marine, the former ministry of the French Navy. The building was entirely renovated between 2015 and 2021 and displays the Al Thani Collection presenting international and inter-cultural works of art from the extraordinary collection of Sheik Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, representing civilizations around the world. The building is absolutely stunning and the exhibition art at its finest.

Tell us more about the unique art collection at Le Meurice?

As soon as you enter the lobby, you are in front of “The Kiss”, a monumental artwork by Zoulikha Bouabdellah who was awarded the very first Meurice Award for Contemporary Art in 2008 and which is now part of the hotel’s artistic DNA.

Salvador Dalí is very present of course, the Suite he occupied for at least a month every year still displays some of his original furniture he brought by himself.

In almost every corner of the hotel, you will be discovering smaller or larger artworks and it is a real pleasure sitting in one of our restaurants or in the bar and let your eyes stroll through the room, coming across so many features and spotting some hidden secrets!

What can visitors to Le Meurice expect in terms of dining experiences?

As you know, we are working with Alain Ducasse and I would consider him as a pioneer and visionary. His culture and curiosity allow him to be always ahead of the curve. As a skilled and decisive captain, he federates our teams led by Executive Chef Amaury Bouhours who takes them constantly up to the next level proposing new challenges. His focus is on the product and those who provide it; he always would prefer seasonal culinary experiences to exotic creations and is adept of authentic taste while offering a global experience where every detail counts. Alain Ducasse and Amaury Bouhours aim to defend the culinary French heritage that is similar to the identity of Le Meurice where we strive to combine tradition and modernity.

The dining experience is of course about what is on the plate – and Chef Clémentine Bouchon from Le Dalí masters this art at its finest by sublimating and transforming the best ingredients into tasteful dishes – but also about the ambience. Whereas Le Dalí is the vibrant heart of the hotel and offers the guest a magnificent spectacle of palace life, the gastronomic restaurant elevates the dining experience to another dimension.

Of course, competition in this field is growing constantly in Paris, but I believe we have solid assets to be competitive. Our offers between the fine dining restaurant, the Dalí restaurant, the Bar 228 and the banqueting reflect a great variety allowing to meet every guest’s expectations. Cédric Grolet’s pastry masterpieces are another asset to the hotel and the Michelin Guide obviously plays an important role at Le Meurice, as we have always stood out among the best.

How important is sustainability in your culinary approach and how will you reflect this across the hotel’s dining venues?

At Le Meurice, every outlet – from the Michelin-starred Le Meurice Alain Ducasse to the staff restaurant – focuses on local and seasonal products. This is one of our top ESG priorities: we aim to be proactive in reducing our environmental impact as much as we can. We want to play our part in contributing to decrease noxious emissions.

Whenever we can, we process locally grown products. All of our suppliers are asked to sign our ESG charter to ensure our and their commitment to sustainability and responsible procurement and cultivation. We are also the first Palace hotel to be awarded three stars from the Ecotable label for our gastronomic restaurant, a French distinction for sustainable F&B management of which we are very proud.

How much of a focus has your spa product been?

We are having a strong partnership with Valmont since 2008, culminating in the opening of La Maison Valmont in 2020, the brand’s Parisian flagship retail store. Valmont are pioneers when it comes to continuous cutting edge training for their therapists, be it for innovative treatments such as Hydrafacial technology or the modern lympathic drainage by Renata França.

Our Spa has 4 treatment rooms, 2 of which are double rooms, and all benefiting from natural light.

The hotel has hosted many renowned artists in the past, most famously Salvador Dalí. Were any of the current staff around when he was still a regular?

Unfortunately not. The employees with the highest seniority – nearly 40 years – arrived just after Dalí’s last stay with us. However, when I arrived, there were still some people who had known him. For more than 30 years, he spent a least one month per year at Le Meurice, bringing his own furniture, sometimes his pet, an ocelot called Babou, or even a Harley Davidson motorbike into the living room! He always rented the same Suite, as he heard that King Alfonso XIII of Spain had been there once. In addition, Dalí was a monarchist. His excentricity was somewhat exhausting, but he turned out to be nice and friendly with the staff, even offering them lithographs he produced here. Today the Suite bears his name.

What makes a hotel stay an unforgettable experience?

Le Meurice has an amazing historical background anchored in art and culture. It is true to the 18th century French spirit with no display of style, but with true elegance and chic. It is all about sophisticated details that are skilfully arranged in each of the rooms and suites providing a very authentic environment. When you wake up at Le Meurice, you definitely know you are in Paris! 

Ideally located opposite the Tuileries Gardens, between Place de la Concorde and the Louvre, Le Meurice provides a haven of tranquillity to countless important personalities since it opened in 1835. As for the distinguishing characteristics, it is not that much about the hotel’s material features, it is more about the staff!

Le Meurice is part of Dorchester Collection. What kind of value does this bring to the property?

Guests have references and they know in advance that the employees will take care of them, be always available for special requests and make them feel secure. Dorchester Collection focuses on the human dimension with our “We Care” approach, and our leitmotiv is treasured by guests, cherished by employees, celebrated worldwide. That says it all! The special way to create a home away from home for your guests can only consolidate your relationship and enhance loyalty. We have guests who have been coming to Le Meurice for more than 30 years, passing on their passion to their children and grandchildren.

What is your outlook on growth for the property and what is the key focus for the property in 2025?

2024 has been an exceptional year for Paris, the impact of the Olympics was very positive in terms of image (remember the great views of Paris’ iconic landmarks during the sport events!), organisation and security. Many of those who did not travel during the last summer and who saw the beautiful pictures of Paris and its surroundings on TV would now like to catch up their stays. The reopening of Notre Dame in December was another highlight: visits of the rebuilt cathedral are skyrocketing (I was lucky to be able to go and must admit that it is absolutely stunning!). Hence reservations increase steadily and I am confident that this trend will continue throughout the year. At Le Meurice, everyone is prepared and we are looking very much forward to welcoming regular and new guests from all over the world as we have been doing for 190 years!

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Karma Automotive on Thursday unveiled the new Amaris series plug-in hybrid coupe during the company’s first Create Karma product presentation event held in Irvine, California.

Karma was gearing up to launch a separate coupe, the fully electric Kaveya, in 2026, but the company on Thursday said it would delay that model to 2027 due to changing demand dynamics for electric vehicles in the high-end sector. The Amaris will help plug the gap by launching on the market in late 2026. An Ivara electric SUV is also due in 2027.

Unlike the Kaveya, which has been designed around a new dedicated EV platform capable of delivering over 1,000 hp, the Amaris will use a modified version of the platform found in Karma’s sole vehicle currently on sale, the Revero sedan, helping to accelerate its development. The Revero’s platform can actually trace its roots back to the original Fisker Karma, launched early last decade. Karma was born out of the remains of the original Fisker, which went bankrupt in 2013.

Karma on Thursday also said the previously announced Gyesera electric sedan will now initially arrive as a series plug-in hybrid, and with revised styling compared to the original design first shown a year ago. The Gyesera series plug-in hybrid is due later this year and will replace the Revero, which has been on sale since the 2017 model year.

Karma Gyesera

“We’re building a range of vehicles that will deliver exceptional EV torque and performance paired with worry-free cruising range, a combination that only [series plug-in hybrids] can deliver,” Marques McCammon, Karma’s president, said in a statement.

Series plug-in hybrids, often referred to as extended-range electric vehicles, feature electric powertrains but with smaller batteries compared to the typical EV. Instead, a gas engine acts as a generator to top up the battery, and in some cases, also sends power directly to the electric motor(s) during high-load situations.

For the Amaris—and likely the Gyesera, too—Karma will use a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine as the generator instead of the turbocharged 3-cylinder currently found in the Revero, which relies on two electric motors at the rear axle to generate a peak 536 hp. The Revero also comes with a 28-kwh battery, which Karma estimates can deliver 80 miles of pure electric range. Karma hasn’t provided further details on the Amaris powertrain but said the car will accelerate to 60 mph in under 3.5 seconds and top out at 165 mph.

Pricing and the start of deliveries for the Amaris and Gyesera haven’t been announced. Production is scheduled to take place at Karma’s plant in Moreno Valley, California.

If you are a watchmaker called XY & Z, and one of your collections is called Y1, it had better be an important watch. So it is with the unmistakeable Lange 1, which began life in 1994 with the rebirth of A. Lange & Söhne. Possibly the world’s most famous yet exclusive round watch with an asymmetrical dial, the Lange 1 is the face of the brand – the first watch you think of when you hear the name A. Lange & Söhne. The importance of that year, 1994, will not be lost on you, and we thought to revisit one of our favourite models of our time with some exclusive photographs; these were generously shot for us, at our direction, by a photographer commissioned by A. Lange & Söhne for this purpose. Really, this story is just some text to run alongside these wonderful images.

Having said that, there is some heavy history here, all linked with how A. Lange & Söhne was revived after the fall of the Berlin wall. You can almost feel the echoes of that era in the iconic design of the Lange 1. Widely recognized as a contemporary horological icon, the Lange 1’s aforementioned asymmetrical dial makes it instantly recognisable, even if you look at just a cropped image of the watch or if you remove the brand name. Today, it is emblematic of Glashütte-style watchmaking but its success was far from assured.

In the early 1990s, Glashütte was far from its current stature as a hub of German watchmaking, and the Lange 1 faced scepticism as it aimed to rival Switzerland’s dominance in haute horology. Günter Blümlein and Walter Lange were undaunted as they worked tirelessly to bring A. Lange & Söhne back to life. As Blümlein remarked in a 1994 interview with one of our favourite watch writers Gisbert Brunner, “The 1994 A. Lange & Söhne wristwatches and all upcoming models are anything but epigones of watchmaking legends.” This ethos guided the brand’s revival, creating timepieces rooted in the craftsmanship of traditional watchmaking but totally in the spirit of the new era of mechanical watchmaking excellence. Not for nothing, the Lange 1 was instrumental in birthing and defining this new era.

The team behind the Lange 1 are a veritable who’s who of watchmaking at that time, including the likes of Helmut Geyer, Annegret Fleischer, Kurt Klaus, and Blümlein himself of course. They spent years refining the dial’s proportions, while also developing the movement behind that first watch, reference 101.001 with its originally hidden calibre L901.0. Exhibition casebacks were not the norm 30 years ago and A. Lange & Söhne debuted the Lange 1 with a solid gold caseback. This changed a year later with the introduction of a sapphire caseback, but – visible or not – the calibre was meticulously finished.

To honour the 30th anniversary, A. Lange & Söhne has released two special references of the Lange 1 and Little Lange 1 (a watch that debuted some years after the Lange 1). The first pairs a platinum case with a jet-black onyx dial, marking the debut of this gemstone in the collection. The second, in pink gold, features a striking blue 925 silver dial. Both models are powered by the L121.1 calibre, showcasing signature Lange features such as a three-quarter plate, untreated German silver, blued screws, gold chatons, and a hand-engraved balance cock. The detail-oriented collector will notice that the same calibre works equally well in both the 38.5mm Lange 1 and the 36.8mm Little Lange 1. Limited to 300 pieces for the Lange 1 and 150 for the Little Lange 1, these timepieces epitomize timeless elegance and technical mastery. As a quick aside, our photos here showcase only the two versions of the Lange 1.

“The Lange 1 is a timepiece that unites everything that distinguishes a refined mechanical watch: originality, timeless elegance and horological precision, down to the last detail,” explains Wilhelm Schmid, A. Lange & Söhne CEO. “When it was launched thirty years ago, it broke the existing design rules and defined its very own style. This innovative force is embodied by our ambition to never stand still.”

This article first appeared on WOW’s Festive Issue #76

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Eddie Jordan, the charismatic former Formula 1 team owner and television personality, has died at the age of 76.

Born in Dublin in 1948, Jordan initially pursued a career in banking before discovering his passion for motorsport. He began racing karts in the early 1970s, eventually moving up to Formula Ford and Formula Three. However, he is best known for founding Jordan Grand Prix in 1991, a team that competed in F1 until 2005.

Jordan’s team was instrumental in launching the career of Michael Schumacher, who made his F1 debut with Jordan Grand Prix at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix. Schumacher qualified seventh but retired early in the race due to car trouble. After that he swiftly moving to Benetton, where he would go on to win the first two of his seven world titles.

Under Jordan’s leadership, the team secured four Grand Prix victories and became known for its vibrant presence in the paddock.

After selling his team in 2005, Jordan transitioned to a media career, providing F1 commentary, initially for the BBC starting in 2009. He was also briefly part of the hosting team for “Top Gear“ in the last decade, alongside Matt LeBlanc, Chris Evans, Chris Harris, Rory Reid, and Sabine Schmitz.

Jordan passed away peacefully in Cape Town, South Africa, surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife, Marie, and their four children.