Communication Bleu Petrol

🎨 Increasingly, hotels offer themselves as sources of inspiration and artistic residency. Fiermonte Museum in Lecce and The Dolder in Zurich feature rooms amidst art collections. Madeleine Arles and Villa Médicis in Rome go further, housing artists themselves. Residency programs invite artists to stay and create for weeks or months. Since 2021, Abadía Retuerta in Valladolid, Spain, a Leading Hotels of the World member, annually invites artists to produce works, including Moroccan painter Abderrahim Yamou's three large plant compositions.

🍽 In June 2023, three-starred chef Michel Guérard celebrated his 90th birthday at his residence in Eugénie-les-Bains, a village in the Landes region made famous by Maison Guérard, a countryside Relais & Châteaux. Shortly after, over a hundred of his peers, mostly starred chefs, paid tribute to him at Domaine de Primard, near Giverny. Guérard, who revolutionized gastronomy by combining lightness with flavor, might have continued his career in Paris if not for meeting Christine Barthélemy, a HEC graduate and heiress of the Chaîne thermale du soleil, in 1972. Their love led him to the Landes and transformed Eugénie-les-Bains and haute cuisine. Christine's sudden death occurred in 2019.

🏡 In Paris, Boulevard Rochechouart, nestled between historical venues Trianon and Élysée Montmartre, a new discreet 4-star hotel with a glass and light wood façade has opened. Owners Abel Nahmias, a producer, and Julien Labrousse, an architect designer, launched the hotel featuring 16 rooms, including some with terraces and 4 duplex rooms for 4 adults, emphasizing craftsmanship, uniqueness, comfort, and affordability in this vibrant Parisian district. The lobby and reception desk were designed by Labrousse himself.

🏖 Baja California extends over 1,700 kilometers to the southern tip at Los Cabos, offering a landscape of contrasts with the Pacific Ocean, Sea of Cortez, desert, and mountains. The region's tourism boom began with deep-sea fishing, popularized by Ernest Hemingway's pursuit of marlin. The Bisbee’s Black & Blue fishing tournament, now 35 years old, offers multimillion-dollar prizes. Los Cabos attracts tourists, including billionaires and celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Aniston, primarily from major American cities. The Corridor of Los Cabos features over 10,000 hotel rooms, with international chains such as Marriott and IHG present, and the first luxury hotel now named Palmilla.

📈 Cupra, originally Seat's sporty label before becoming independent in 2018, has sold 750,000 vehicles in the past six years. The Spanish car brand plans to enter the North American market by 2030 and currently has 900 sales points worldwide, including 'City Garages' in nine major cities, one being Paris. Their SUV coupe, the Cupra Tavascan, offers a 500+ km electric range and comes in two versions: the 286 hp V and the all-wheel-drive VZ.

🏛 Staying at a castle-hotel in France offers a historical and luxurious experience. The Château Hermitage de Combas in Hérault, built in 1260, sits on a 75-hectare property and offers two large, fully-equipped ground floor apartments with a terrace. Guests can enjoy a pool, tennis court, and a new spa with various facilities, located 15 km from Béziers and Pézenas. Château de Foncscolumbe, near Aix-en-Provence, part of the 2L Collection and a Relais & Châteaux member, features a Quattrocento-style façade, 50 classic rooms and suites, a French garden, and a cedar planted by the Queen of England in the 1960s. Its restaurant, led by Chef Marc Fontanne, recently earned a Michelin star.