Le Week-end and the Plaza Athenee Paris

Went yesterday afternoon to see Le Week-end, because I leave tomorrow for Paris and wanted to further whet my anticipation for my 48 hours in my favorite city in the world.

Though the LA Times critique calls this "a sour and misanthropic film masquerading as an honest and sensitive romance," I actually found the movie fun — but perhaps that's because it's set in Paris, and I love everything Parisian! Without giving away the [thin] plot, the film opens with Nick and Meg on the Eurostar. This unhappily married English couple is headed to Paris to celebrate their anniversary. They arrive at their cheaper-than-cheap hotel in Montmartre and lug their suitcases up the stairs (no elevator here). Their drab, postage stamp room is barely larger than the bed within, and the small balcony looks down onto the nondescript street below. Meg refuses to stay. She drags Nick and their luggage into a cab which careens through Paris with the sunroof open, to better show us the sights.

Passing a stunning art-deco hotel near the Seine, Meg asks the cab to stop. I immediately whispered to Claire, "It's the Plaza Athenee!" They go into the hotel to get a room for the weekend and learn the hotel is totally booked. No rooms to be had. They sit on a sofa in the lobby to rest and are approached, shortly later, with news that a Suite has opened up … so they book the Suite for the weekend.

Its balcony on avenue Montaigne offers a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower. In the course of the film, we also see the ivy-covered courtyard of the hotel, the ivy being home to song birds who fill the courtyard with music. We see the illuminated bartop at Bar 228. We see the Dorchester Collection lapel pin on the front desk agent. Though we are never explicitly told the name of the hotel until the last moments of the final credits, this is indeed the Plaza Athenee Paris.

Currently closed for a complete renovation, the Plaza Athenee Paris will reopen in the summer of 2014. I'll be meeting with its sales manager this Wednesday to learn all about what you can expect when this Parisian palace hotel reopens its doors to welcome guests. In the meantime, know that any Dorchester Diamond Club travel consultant can get you the following amenities at the Plaza Athenee Paris:

• guaranteed upgrade at booking (up to the Jr. Suite category)

• 100€ hotel credit for a guest room (a daily credit if you book a Suite)

• Full Breakfast daily (including room service and anything on the menu except caviar and champagne)

• premium internet for unlimited devices

copyright (c) 2014 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.