Old World Charm

feBusiness Traveller checks out Hotel Regina, one of the landmarks in Paris

Steeped in the history of traditional, family run deluxe properties, the 107-year old Hotel Regina offers a warm and a typically French welcome. Centrally located in the heart of Paris, the grand old hotel, which housed Hitler and his top generals during World War II boasts of rooms with views of the Louvre Museum or the Tuileries Garden.

The imposing edifice, which combines three distinct architectural styles (arcades, typical characteristics of the rue de Rivoli, rows of balconies and an imperial style roof) dates back to the Second Empire and was built on the site of the Royal Riding School stables of the Palais du Louvre. Comprising of 120-rooms and suites (each room is soundproof and air-conditioned), the hotel is a perfect mix of old-world grandeur of antique furniture and huge chandeliers and modern facilities including conference rooms.

The hotel's entrance under the arcades and its sculpted oak and curved glass revolving doors symbolising French luxury, appears in numerous films both French and foreign. While the rooms with modern bathrooms, some of them decorated with specially created frescos in a turn of the Century theme may exude and old-world charm, they are equipped with a range of modern amenities like direct dial telephone, integral modem point, high speed Wireless Internet access, SDA telephone lines, voice mail facility, mini-bar, television sets with infrared Internet keyboards, 'pay channels,' individual safe and 24-hour room service.

Dinning at the hotel also takes one back to a bygone era. The restaurant - Le Pluvinel - has been renovated in an Art Nouveau style and benefits from two distinct advantages: a Majorelle style chimney that radiates warmth throughout the restaurant, and lunch and dinner amongst lush vegetation and the sound of birds. Chef Riebbels offers a stunningly inventive seasonal a la carte menu, which is changed thrice a year, according to market availability.

Another restaurant to tease your taste buds is The Salon de Thé, which serves lunch, and offers the same choices as Le Pluvinel plus a bar menu. In the middle of the afternoon, this room decorated in warm panelling is transformed into a tea room where a cup of tea or hot chocolate can be enjoyed, with delicious cakes and pastries. Vintage and class, Hotel Regina is certainly French hospitality at its best.