PARIS, FRANCE - From the teaspoons to the tables, the content of one of Paris' grandest hotels goes up for sale or wreckage when the Royal Monceau closes down Sunday for a year-long makeover by designer guru Philippe Starck.
The four-star traveller's haven located on a luxury avenue a stone's throw from the Arc de Triomphe reopens in the autumn of 2009, revamped by Starck who, the management said, "has never done the whole of a hotel in France."
But first a million euros worth of furniture and bits and pieces are to be auctioned from June 19 to 22, and on June 26 select guests are to join a performance-style VIP 'Demolition Party' to wreck and smash whatever is left.
Proud of its stylish French ways, the 1928-built 265-room (all with bathrooms) Royal Monceau has played home to many a distinguished guest - Ernest Hemingway, Walt Disney, Joseph Kessel, the Aga Khan, General Eisenhower, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears and Robert de Niro.
In 1990 Madonna made her clip 'Justify My Love' there. And the late night demolition orgy is to feature Micky Green and a bevy of performance artists playing with whatever is left behind.
New owner Alexandre Allard, a baby-aged billionaire of 39 who came up trumps on the Internet and purchased the valuable realty in 2007, 'decided to change everything' to the tune of 100 million euros, the management said.
The new decor will be 'art deco revisited' to titillate the tastes of a younger and more family-oriented though still cash-credible set.
Rates currently vary from 460 euros a night a room to 1,650 for a suite or 7,000 for the royal suite.
From Thursday, auctioneers Cornette de St-Cyr will be offering 2,360 batches for sale, "with lots of bargains to be made", said the company's Hubert Felbacq as many of the batches have been estimated at under 100 euros.
For less than 100 euros there will be curtains, prints, ice buckets and dishes. For 200 to 300 euros, there arebathrobes, dressing tables, chests, bar stools, and the like.
Among more expensive pieces are an 18th century commode estimated at between 10,000 to 12,000 euros and a Louis 14-style marble table worth between 25,000 and 30,000. But there are also marble statues, mosaic mirrors from an Indian palace and even a garden tent in metal and glass. --AFP
