Laurent de Gourcuff is proud of his Monopoly game published in the colors of Paris Society. On the squares of the board appear all his Parisian restaurants, from Monsieur Bleu to Apicius via CoCo, Girafe, Gigi, Bonnie, Mun, Le Piaf… “That’s it, my Monopoly board is done. I had to find the right addresses, I got what I wanted. In Paris, I no longer have any place in my sights”comments the founder of Paris Society, a structure which brings together around seventy restaurants, nightclubs and event venues, bought at the end of 2022 by the hotel giant Accor.
The game of Monopoly ends with the “rue de la Paix” of Paris Society: the Vaux-de-Cernay abbey, a hotel installed in a 12th century Cistercian monasterye century, on the edge of the Rambouillet forest (Yvelines). An extraordinary site, which was the property of Baroness Caroline de Rothschild, before being converted into a hotel at the end of the 1980s. The Accor subsidiary renovated it from top to bottom: 65 million euros of work have been undertaken, says Laurent de Gourcuff, 47 years old, jeans, Veja sneakers and turtleneck sweater. On this project, he worked hand in hand with Sébastien Bazin, the CEO of Accor, with whom he is close. The walls were bought by the Banque des Territories and the Keys fund.
Open since the end of October 2023, the abbey has integrated all the ingredients of these new country hotels which are springing up around Paris. Swimming pool, spa, brunch in a Hogwarts-style refectory (the castle hosting Harry Potter’s school), childcare, yoga classes, cinema room, karaoke room, arcade, loan of bicycles to explore the park of 80 hectares, tennis courts, boats on the lake, three restaurants, two bars… The whole thing resembles a luxury vacation club in a castle atmosphere, for rich Parisians who want to go green on weekends and there meet their peers.
300 euros per night
“That doesn’t remind you Downton Abbey ? », says Alexandra de La Brosse, the communications director of Paris Society, as she strolls through the abbey’s series of lounges decorated by Cordelia de Castellane, designer for Dior. An astonishing mix of antique furniture, tartan, floral tapestries, large armchairs and Chesterfield sofas, “which is a hit on Instagram”, comments this former press secretary at the Elysée, during the time of Nicolas Sarkozy. Word of mouth had its effect: the abbey was full during the Christmas holidays and for the weekends at the start of the year.
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