hospitalitystyle.com

(July 2009) posted on Wed Jul 29, 2009 EDT

Let There Be Light: Richmond International’s award-winning design uses open spaces, spectacular lighting and glass to update this legendary property.

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By Kara Gebhart Uhl

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Turning 100 is a milestone, even for a legend like the Trianon Palace Versailles. To mark the occasion, this suburban Parisian five star did what any self-respecting celebrity would do: Get a makeover. A $30 million one, in fact.

Part of the reinvention revealed a provocative new side, like the decisions to hand over the reins of the venerable restaurants to controversial Michelin-starred chef Gordon Ramsay (an experiment that earned Gordon Ramsay au Trianon two Michelin stars but ended shortly thereafter with Gordon Ramsay Holdings selling its stake in the fine dining and its sister, La Veranda, back to the hotel. But the fine dining restaurant still bears his name under a licensing agreement) and change the hotel's brand allegiance from Westin to Waldorf-Astoria. The rejuvenated interiors had to match the new attitude. Leadership wasn't going to settle for another heavy-handed knock-off of the neighboring Château de Versailles.

"The client gave us complete [design] freedom," says Fiona Thompson, design director with interior designer Richmond International. "The only restrictions were the operational program requirements."

Taking full advantage, Thompson and her team purged the hotel of its reproduction Louis XV furniture, the public area's black and yellow faux marbre effects and the bar's painted timber paneling. Out went the overly ornate moldings and outdated lighting. Anything they deemed tired, dated, dark or, in Thompson's words, "pokey" was deleted. What emerged were the beautiful bones of the garden retreat envisioned by the original architect, the renowned René Sergent (who also designed the Savoy and Claridge's) and a modern direction that focused on one simple concept: light.

A BRIGHT FUTURE

Openness and lightness became the link for the hotel's past, present and future. Thompson started at the main entrance. Working onsite with Paris-based Ertim Architectes, she relocated the reception desk to a more private area adjacent to the lobby, creating a grander entrance and opening up a better circulation route.