Sybaritic Single Says Starting Hotels Isn’t Simple
Not everyone should do luxury hotels. Even the greatest vendors rarely have what it takes to succeed in the art of hospitality. The Sybaritic Single believes that the hotel recipe includes exceptional talent, decades of experience as well as an almost intimate knowledge of the guests and their unspoken wishes.
Following the pompous promise of ultra-luxurious suites priced from €10,000 a night, meticulous planning, tedious recruitment and administrative permits granted back in 2023, Bernard Arnault abandoned plans to develop a hotel business under the Louis Vuitton brand with its flagship at 103-111 Champs-Élysées. Today, he believes that LV should remain focused on its core business: leather goods and the craftsmanship that has made it successful.
And yet, giving up the idea of having a “hotel” is easier said than done.
Marking the 130th anniversary of the monogram, LV opened several “Louis Vuitton Hotel” pop-ups across the world, from Mayfair in London to New York, Bangkok, Seoul and Shanghai.
The Sybaritic Single pops into one of them and is quickly gutted: half of the menu items at Bar Noé aren't available, the caviar is mediocre at best (arrives without any accompaniments: they "ran out") yet Ruinart Blanc de Blancs is perfectly chilled.
The hotel-inspired scenography feels vintage, cramped and not particularly luxurious. Iconic bags such as the Keepall, Speedy and Alma are each associated with different rooms, accompanied by archival trunks, vintage handbags and visual materials that chart the evolution of the Monogram pattern. Tucked away, the Neverfull Gym nods to the eponymous tote’s strength-to-weight ratio – just 800 grams, yet capable of carrying up to 100 kilograms.
Despite long velvet ropes outside the main entrance, there are barely any other guests - the DJ is visibly bored while the Sybaritic Single sips away in the Prohibition-era intimacy of the basement.
In the end, it’s actually good that Vuitton won't open a full-time hotel, and Arnault is a wise man to realize this. It might be wiser to create a couple of exclusive suites, similar to those at Dior and Boucheron, reserved for the very best clients visiting Paris: discreet private apartments rather than a conventional luxury hotel.
