by “There are only five of these in the world. The Disney watch represents the special time you will share with us and the fleur-de-lys represents royalty,” Cristina told me, caressing a Victorian-inspired gold locket pinned to the lapel of her dress. .
Cristina was one of five “royal greeters” who worked the lobby, in dapper hats and tails, at Disneyland’s newly reopened five-star flagship hotel in Paris. Since 1992 for visitors who want to practically wake up in the theme park, this popular hotel with a candyfloss-pink Victorian-style facade and a mansard roof closed in 2021 for a much-needed renovation.
Disney royalty – mostly princesses – is the new theme, with an elevated level of five-star luxury to match. The general manager of the hotel, Majbritt Iaconis, was at the Paris, Plaza Athénée, Ritz and Mandarin Oriental hotels in Paris.
Decorative elements such as chandeliers – not to mention the 18 themed suites and refined Castle Club rooms with private check-in, a personal concierge and an elevator delivering guests directly to the Disneyland Park entrance – feel like an ambitious nod to the French capital’s palace hotels (which category that is better than five stars). There’s even a sleek Clarins spa offering pampering treatments for adults and children.
Fun interaction with Disney princesses is an attraction of the redesigned hotel and an intrinsic part of its new USP: immersive storytelling. Albert and Camille of the Royal Company – two new characters specially created for the hotel – are also on hand to greet people entering the lobby with singing, dancing and theater in the company of Disney princesses.
Belle invites the Beast’s guests to act and before you know it, you could be singing A Whole New World in karaoke with Princess Jasmine – consider yourself warned.
Laurent Cayuela, official show writer at Disneyland Paris since 2001, trains sixteen “story keepers”. From the Central Rotunda lounge, with its royal blue vaulted ceiling, 82 feet high, hand-painted with 632 fleur-de-lys, I. He must have seen a dozen princesses advancing in circles around the elegant chateau-esque galleries on the upper floors.
Then, of course, there is the food. Mickey and Minnie visit the Royal Banquet restaurant, with seafood and amazing desserts in particular; Disney princesses are the belles of the ball in the La Table de Lumière dining room, inspired by the mirrored ballroom of the Palace of Versailles. Food at these restaurants doesn’t come cheap: the Royal Banquet will set you back €100 (£86) each (€50 for children aged three to 11); at La Table de Lumière it will cost you €120/60 to be their guest.
It’s hard to tear yourself away from the stunning lobby, styled like a castle library with a fireplace, bookshelves bound in faux leather and a crystal chandelier that rains 20 feet from the ceiling in 12,000 hypnotic drops of sparkling glass pearls, prisms , octagon and shining stars.
With its much-anticipated reopening, Disneyland Paris reached out to many of the 200 French and European companies it asked to share their companies. savoir faireand the craftsmanship and attention to detail is excellent.
The 2,600lb chandelier was blown by a master glassblower in the Czech Republic. Third generation jacquard specialists Dutel made fabrics for 27,777 suits worn by the hotel’s staff of 800 in the French silk weaving capital of Lyon. At 6pm every evening, the delicate scent of flowers that hits you when you arrive in the lobby gives way to a warmer and velvety night scent of rose and musky sandalwood.
The Royal Collection Boutique, which, unlike other Disney hotel shops, is open only to hotel guests, sells both scents, as well as the Sleeping Beauty Castle model by Parisian glassmaker Miguel Arribas, which is woven from two million loops glass and me for €150,000 (£128,000).
Sylvie Massara, the creative talent behind the park’s themed hotels since 1996, designed the themed rooms – 16 Signatures, as well as a variety of Princes and Royals – including Disney Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel.
The canopy over the bed in my Deluxe Room – felt, as a bedside switch flicked, reeded and changed hue – was quite tame compared to the full-size suit of armor and Princess Aurora’s pink flip-flops dress and blue i. the Sleeping Beauty Signature Suite, or the snow-white grand piano and unrivaled park view in the Frozen-themed Royal Room (there’s also a Frozen-themed Signature Suite). While entry-level Superior rooms start at a relatively affordable £250, a night in the Royal Suite, which sleeps two adults and a child, is priced at £9,375 for the next available date in February (including park tickets) .
The morning after my visit, thanks to the location of the hotel near the gates of the park, I fought the evil on Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain and saved the world from an interstellar threat with the Avengers several times under 10 am. Later, I could easily retire to the hotel for lunch and again for afternoon tea and a recovery swim in the pool.
Passing the shop on my way to a pre-dinner cocktail at the Fleur de Lys bar that evening, I saw a trail of golden glitter leading into the Royal Tailor Salon. Little Cinderella emerged, spellbound by her own magical transformation. “Disney adults” will love this hotel – and even the most skeptical will find it hard not to be enchanted – but for children, it’s another level of magic entirely.
The Disneyland Hotel offers Superior rooms from £250.
