The Sybaritic Single is an avid collector of luxury hotel relics. Those are valuable impressions and memories which last a lifetime. With the recently completed refurbishment of the Ritz Paris, the ongoing works at Raffles Singapore and the soon-to-commence refurbishment of Burj Al Arab in Dubai, many of the great accessories and interior elements are often lost in the transformational transit. And while some great hotels follow a great tradition of sending selected vintage pieces to their most loyal patrons, others just dispose of them thoughtlessly.
The Ritz Paris decided to follow a different path. While the hotel itself is already reopened and highly successful, it has appointed Artcurial to host a five-day auction listing many of the pre-refurbishment relics from the old Ritz. The incredible 326-page catalogue – a collector’s gem in its own right – features anything from coat hooks (EUR 50-80) and small bedside lamps (EUR 200-300) to the ceremonial cheese service trolley from L’Espadon (EUR 800-1,200) and the grand metal and marble tochères gracing the hotel entrance (EUR 8,000-10,000) – an impressive collection of more than 10,000 items, separated into 3,406 lots in total.
Those willing to recreate the Suite Imperiale at home (the Sybaritic Single among them), can bid for the entire interior set, estimated at EUR 12,830-18,450. Quite a bargain, considering that those plush sofas, buffets and curtains were silent witnesses of so many events, including the final night of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed in 1997. The 37 lots from the original Suite Mademoiselle C, where Gabrielle Chanel spent many years of her life, are estimated at EUR 21,250-30,800.
The auction will take place in Paris on 17-21 April 2018.