Jacques Grange gave The Mark a distinctive design vocabulary: bold black-and-white stripes, custom furnishings, and art and lighting commissioned specifically for the hotel. Working with Parisian antiquaire Pierre Passebon, he brought in contributors including Ron Arad, Vladimir Kagan, and Mattia Bonetti, giving the public spaces the appeal of a design collection. Upstairs, rooms take a more uncluttered approach, with views over Madison Avenue, East 77th Street, or townhouse gardens. The Upper East Side address puts Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art within easy reach, while Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s restaurant and Caviar Kaspia—with its caviar-topped twice-baked potato—give visitors reasons to linger downstairs.
"In 2017, The Mark, just blocks from the Met, saw Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen, Selena Gomez, and Zendaya exit through the lobby on their way to the gala."
Bulgari’s jewelry designs find an architectural expression at its Paris hotel: the Parentesi motif runs along the facade, while the house’s eight-point star appears inside. Designed by Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel’s ACPV Architects, the 76-room-and-suite hotel brings a distinctly Italian character to Avenue George V in the Golden Triangle. Marble, silk wallcoverings and varnished eucalyptus woodwork sit alongside lacquer, parchment and straw marquetry crafted by French artisans. That exchange between Italian design and French craft extends to Il Ristorante – Niko Romito, set in a private garden, where Parisian-style banquettes are made in Italy and the menu centers on contemporary Italian cooking.
Karl Lagerfeld’s Grands Appartements give Hôtel de Crillon a distinctive design pedigree behind its Neoclassical façade on Place de la Concorde. Art runs through the hotel, with sculpture, painting and photography by established and emerging artists sharing space with its historic architecture. The rooms take a residential approach, pairing custom art and comfortable furnishings with marble bathrooms; suites add bespoke furniture, textiles and individually selected objets d’art. Tucked-away courtyards offer a quieter setting within the property. For an evening overlooking the square, Les Ambassadeurs serves cocktails alongside live music, with a terrace beneath the arcades—a place to appreciate the architecture as part of everyday hotel life.
