Children's size bathrobes and slippers are available in the rooms. Unlike so many other luxury hotels, children here are welcome at the bar, where the stools are at their height and the menu of cocktails It has the same design as the cocktail one. They are also not banned in the spa, in which they offer treatments from the age of six. And there is a Kids Club where you can go to color, read and have fun and, best of all, meet a Disney royalty character. “We are the kingdom of princes and princesses, this is the place of children, not their parents. It is their kingdom, and we have done everything to make it that way,” explains Majbritt Iaconis, director of the Disneyland Hotel, in Paris. After five years of work, it reopened its doors at the end of January. A comprehensive renovation that has only preserved its now iconic Victorian-style façade and pink tone, the one that many feel chills upon seeing because it is the entrance to, they say, “the place where dreams come true.” If you're not a lover of a little fairy dust, this is not your place.
This is the world's first five-star hotel dedicated to the stories of Disney royalty, so its narrative is made up of many other stories. Those of Cinderella, Belle, Aurora, Tiana, Snow White, Ariel, Aladdin, Rapunzel, Elsa, Moana and Raya. Protagonists of 11 films, released between 1937 and 2021, whose references can be seen from the carpets to the ceiling. The lobby already makes it very clear: set in the libraries of French castles in tones of ivory and gold, it is crowned by a large crystal chandelier that represents the castle of the Sleeping Beautya work 11 meters long and weighing more than a ton made in the Czech Republic by an expert in glass and Bohemian crystal.
Of course, there is more, because if there is a place where the concept of an immersive experience makes sense, it is here: not only do princesses and princes walk through its hallways and restaurants, so do Mickey and his friends; The Troupe Royal sings in chorus or unexpectedly begins to interpret stories; Story Keepers lead private expeditions to unlock the facility's secrets; and there is the My Royal Dream experience, where little guests become their favorite character thanks to makeup, hairdressing, manicure, costumes and accessories (of course, the price is not included in the reservation, and ranges from 95 to 440 euros per child). The hotel, whose background music, of course, is a selection of Disney soundtracks, has its own fragrances: one for day and one for night, which can be purchased in its Royal Collection Boutique, with souvenirs exclusive.
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“This has not just been a renovation in which design is involved. The challenge has been to integrate all the details and ensure that the technical part is not very obvious to the guest: to make it seem like magic,” explains Sylvie Massara, who has been working at the company for 30 years. The magicians Responsible for the immersive experiences, both in the parks and in the hotels, are the so-called Imagineers, a combination of the words imagination and engineering, since their work merges both. She has been part of the team of ten people from Walt Dinsey Imagineering Paris who has worked on this project. They have done it in collaboration with Walt Disney Animation Studios, so that, for example, the wall of the suite room of Frozen be it like Elsa's castle in the movie or the fireplace in the suite room of the Sleeping Beauty It's the same as the one that Aurora enters before pricking herself with the spinning wheel – by the way, a room in which a suit is displayed that changes color from pink to blue and there is a soldier with armor who is not that he is poorly placed, it is that is sleeping-. “My mission is for guests to delve into the stories of this hotel, and to create an emotion for them,” summarizes Massara, for whom technical skill is as important in his work as being able to draw magic; “Be like a child, but not draw like a child,” she jokes during the conversation at the Fleur de Lys Bar, an environment themed with the flower symbol of French royalty.
It took two years to think and design the concept; Added to this was a year of selecting European suppliers and entrusting them with the work; and, finally, two more years to remodel the hotel, which has 487 rooms and suites and is located just a few minutes from being in front of the iconic Disneyland Paris castle. Will the guest notice that the frame of the mirror in the room reminds us of Rapunzel's golden hair? That the handles on the cabinets are pink, like the one in The Beauty and the Beast? A detail that does not go unnoticed is the magic mirror: it transforms into the television.
“There is no specific style, it is a current site with references that suggest royalty and at the same time something timeless. We want guests to feel at home,” describes Thomas Muller. He is a set designer for Walt Diseny Imagineering Paris, and he does not abandon his smile during the hour-long tour of the hotel during his presentation to the European press, to which he was invited. The traveler. Muller knows him inside out, as he has been involved in everything he has had to do with integrating stories into design (“I have a really cool job”). For example, in the choice of the portrait gallery that hangs in The Royal Banquet restaurant, with one room dedicated to families, another to cooks, another to villains and another to horses (what would have happened to Maurice Yeah Philippe wouldn't have warned Bella?). That has been her biggest playground, she says. Now it has become Mickey, Minnie, Goofy or Donald Duck, who walk around dressed in exclusive gala suits; You get up more times to greet them and take a photo with them than to go to the buffet. “Everything has been created specifically for the hotel, we have collaborated with Walt Disney Animation Studios and its archives to honor the stories and be faithful to the work of the creators, with prints and details that are seen exactly as they are in the films.” La Table de Lumière is the hotel's other restaurant, and pays tribute to the ballroom of Beauty and the Beast, which in turn was inspired by the gallery of mirrors at Versailles. Here you eat in the company of iconic Disney couples.
“It's not just a five-star hotel, in fact, I don't like to talk about stars. We are out of that game, because the experience we can offer is live entertainment from morning to night. Where else can you do that! Parents also return to their childhood, we all have memories,” says Iaconis, who has been in the hotel sector for three decades and has worked as manager of operations in distinguished hotels in the French capital, such as the Ritz Paris, the Plaza Athénée or the Mandarin Oriental. She joined the project about 10 months ago, and her first role was to hire the 800 Disneyland Hotel workers, whom they call Cast Members and for whom 27,777 pieces of costumes have been created. What led you to accept the position? “It was the first call, I heard something…”, Iaconis gets emotional. And she continues: “I heard excitement in the other voice. I said, cool, I have to go to the next step. And then I heard something she had never heard before, a lot of kindness… Every step was wonderful. It wasn't just a facade, it came from the heart. And from the first day I started, everyone has been there for me if I needed help, and that's the first time that's ever happened to me. I even have acquaintances who tell me that they don't recognize me,” she laughs. “If I could start my life today, and it were 20 years earlier, I would have started working here. It's like a fairy tale.”
A fairy tale that, in this case, has a price worthy of kings and queens. A night in a superior room, with two double beds for two adults and one child, costs from 1,100 euros (it may vary depending on the season). Of course, it includes tickets to both parks for all guests (with the advantage of being able to access before the official opening, Extra Magic Time, they call it). There are T-shirts about Disney with the slogan “The most expensive day in history.” Also those that say “The happiest day”. Here, both things can be true.
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