A PARISIAN STOPOVER FOR THE LEADERS OF THE PENINSULA HOTELS (France)
For an evening at their Parisian palace, the international leaders combined immersion in the heart of the Hong Kong luxury hotel brand with a feast for the palate. |
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A PARISIAN STOPOVER FOR THE LEADERS OF THE PENINSULA HOTELS (France)
For an evening at their Parisian palace, the international leaders combined immersion in the heart of the Hong Kong luxury hotel brand with a feast for the palate. |
Category: Europe - France - Exclusive experiences
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Article written by Vanessa Guerrier-Buisine on 2024-10-17
 Gareth Roberts, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, parent company of Peninsula Hotels
Photo credit © Vanessa Guerrier-Buisine
The crème de la crème of The Peninsula Hotels gathered on Avenue Kléber for a sensory voyage around teas and the emblematic luxury hotel brand.
For the team of leaders, Paris was one of the European stops orchestrated to promote the brand in a setting that was both friendly and elegant. After Madrid, Munich and London, Gareth Roberts, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, parent company of The Peninsula, launched the evening at the Parisian palace. The Briton, who took up his post last August, recalled one of the components of the brand's DNA, the exploration of innovation and creativity, and reiterated his commitment to leading the brand into the future.
While the big news of the week was the appointment of a new CEO, Frenchman Benjamin Vuchot, who will take up his post in March, the brand with 12 luxury hotels had plenty of other messages to communicate. Caroline Goux, Senior Vice President Sales since 2019, spoke about the very recent openings of Peninsula London and Peninsula Istanbul, and the renovation of Peninsula New York, which last September unveiled a new rooftop, one of the brand's signature hotels.
Alongside Gareth Roberts and Caroline Goux, Carson Glover, Senior Vice President, Brand Marketing and Communications, and general managers who have been loyal to the brand, often for more than 20 years, were present, including Maria Zec, Regional Vice President and Managing Director of Peninsula Chicago, and Jonathan Crook, head of Peninsula Istanbul. Vincent Pimont, General Manager, Peninsula Paris, with his 17 years of loyalty, played host to the evening, accompanied by his neighbour from across the Channel, Rolf Buehlmann, who was appointed Managing Director of The Peninsula London in February. Throughout the evening, the presence of all these guests helped to cultivate the atmosphere of human warmth, conviviality, elegance and refinement that is the hallmark of Peninsula hotels, and none of them feigned enthusiasm at the idea of seeing the almost century-old brand evolve.
A legacy of creativity
During her presentation, Caroline Goux returned to the fundamentals of The Peninsula Hotels. ‘We are hotel finishers,’ she said, emphasising the longevity of the 96-year-old company. This longevity is due as much to the meticulous choice of each location - more than 30 years of research have gone into the opening of a London showcase - as to the strong link forged between The Peninsula and art, ‘a reason to travel’, said the SVP Sales.
The Art in Resonance event, deployed in each of the group's 12 properties, is part of this approach. At Peninsula, works of art are showcased in masterpieces such as the dancing leaves by artist Luděk Hroch and his 800 pieces of hand-blown Lasvit crystal, which take pride of place in the lobby of the Parisian palace. But art is also considered from a broader perspective. Here, creativity is encouraged at every level, not least in the restaurant offering.
On Wednesday evening, Florent Martin, head sommelier at the Peninsula Paris, took over the Gershwin room to talk about the work he is doing at the hotel to turn a new reality - the decline in alcohol consumption - into an inspiration. Here, the man who has been awarded the title of MOF in 2019, works on researching and creating new proposals.
The tea and food pairings are just one example. And the sommelier takes us on a journey through the Peninsula hotels. Under his expert guidance, teas from around the world have been used to enhance scones, Madagascar vanilla from Peninsula London, williams pear frosting from Peninsula Bangkok and crispy wafers from Peninsula Hong Kong... At every table in the hotel, the sommelier arouses the curiosity of his guests, even if it means upsetting their habits. Like the guests who order a simple Coke only to be offered more exclusive suggestions, such as Kombucha, one of the drinks created by the sommelier's ongoing work with his partner producers. Creating exclusive experiences and pioneering trends that will become habits seem to be part of the brand's DNA.
The directors of Peninsula wanted to take their guests on a journey. And they succeeded, with not only news from here and abroad, but also palates that took to the skies for an evening in Paris.
 From left to right, Caroline Goux, Senior Vice President Sales, Maria Zec, Regional Vice President and Managing Director, The Peninsula Chicago, Carson Glover, Senior Vice President, Brand Marketing and Communications, Gareth Roberts, Chief Operating Officer, and Jonathan Crook, General Manager of the Peninsula Istanbul, honoured this prestigious event with their presence
Photo credit © Vanessa Guerrier-Buisine
 Gareth Roberts, Chief Operating Officer, and Jonathan Crook, General Manager of Peninsula Istanbul
Photo credit © Vanessa Guerrier-Buisine
 Carson Glover, Senior Vice President, Brand Marketing and Communications for the brand's hotels
Photo credit © Vanessa Guerrier-Buisine
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