The Hotel Crillon, the venerable “Grand Dame” of the Paris hotel world,  has decided it needs a facelift. Like an aging star of stage and screen,  a little freshening is in order and the first step is to liquidate the old gals’s possessions.

The auction is planned for April 2013 and the ‘house cleaning’ of the hotel will be one of those historic moments to remember in Paris.  The articles and decor of the hotel has been done many times over the centuries, most notably about 100 years ago.  If you are not familiar with this hotel, it was built at the time of Marie Antoinette in the 18th century and was considered one of the cities most glorious private homes.  It has been many things since then, but as a hotel, she is best remembered.  If you have ever seen engravings and sketches from French Revolution, you can even see her facade in the background, silently watching the horrors of the day on the Place de la Concord as the guillotine fell  on the world of the aristocracy.  She has stood through it all and never faltered and oddly, provides the French Republic with one of its most historic and notable locations.

But, in the fashionable world of the luxury hotel, where the changing of a cocktail can mean life or death, it was time to take this venerable classic and give it a freshening.  With the Ritz around the corner closing, there will scarcely be a place to stay for the oldsters of the classic regime though they could console themselves with the purchase of one of their favorite chairs from a suite. Some of the world’s finest hotels, will be on hand to select the “creme de la creme” to adorn their royal suites as well as the cachet alone, is worth the price. The top secret nature of her renovation will also be part of this story as it unfolds.

Now, as a boho-luxe sort of gal, my budget is a bit limited. But I am going to start saving right now for an ashtray, a set of coasters, or perhaps even a soap dish, or even a cup and saucer from the Winter Garden,  as I too have a memory to cherish of my visit, when I almost died of a dessert overdose with my  lover in attendance.

Memories, indeed.