Bernard Magrez to launch chain of boutique hotels

Bordeaux magnate Bernard Magrez, owner of four classified estates, will next year open the first in a small chain of boutique hotels.

A typical Napoleon III salon in the style Magrez intends for the hotels

The first of the Bernard Magrez Boutique Hotels is to be housed in an 18th century hotel particulier which Magrez bought last year, on rue Labottière in downtown Bordeaux, directly opposite the Cultural Institute which he opened in October 2011.

‘I have long believed that wine is one expression of a wider culture, and boutique hotels are the natural next step to both the art institute, and the luxury wine tourism service that I launched a few years ago,’ Magrez told Decanter.com.

The first Bordeaux hotel will have just eight rooms, and will offer wine tastings, wine tours and an extensive wine cellar to guests, as well as the use of a chauffer-driven Rolls Royce. The interior will be decorated in the Napoleon III style; Magrez plans to charge from around €400 per room.

‘I am hoping for similar clientele to the Grand Hotel in Bordeaux, but those who may prefer more privacy and exclusivity – and of course those who wish to be immersed in the world of fine Bordeaux wines.’

The opening is planned for October 2013, with plans to open further hotels in Belgium and London in 2014 – although the sites have not yet been chosen – and four other countries over the following years.

Bernard Magrez’s Bordeaux holdings include Chateau Pape Clement, Chateau la Tour Carnet, Chateau Fombrauge and Clos Haut Peyraguay; other holdings include vineyards and properties in Roussillon, the US, Spain, Uruguay and Morocco.

Written by Jane Anson in Bordeaux