Geraldine Dobey, General Manager Of Mandarin Oriental Paris.

Geraldine Dobey, General Manager Of Mandarin Oriental Paris speaks to Renae about the exciting way forward for the luxury hotel industry in Europe.

Geraldine Dobey is Irish, and Area Vice President for Mandarin Oriental and is based at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Paris. She has a reputation as one of the rising stars of the luxury hotel industry in Europe.

The Mandarin Oriental Paris:

The 138 room Mandarin Oriental in Paris opened in 2011 so is a relatively new hotel for the city. It is one of the city’s most exclusive, and elegant. It is owned by the Jardine Matheson Group, a conglomerate with strong expertise and heritage in Hong Kong and Asia, which was origianlly founded in Canton in 1832 by Scottish traders William Jardine and James Matheson.

The Mandarin Oriental Paris is in the heart of the golden triangle in Paris. Located on exclusive Rue Saint-Honoré, it has a Michelin star restaurant helmed by the famed Chef Thierry Marxi including two-Michelin starred Sur Mesure.

In addition, there is all-day dining at Camélia, a French style Cake Shop by Mandarin Oriental, a slick cocktail bar, as well as L’Honoré serving nutritious, health conscious cuisine.

The imposing and instagrammable stone bar is a feature of the hotel, and Bar 8 weighs a whopping nine tons and was designed by Agence Jouin-Manku. Intricately assembled from stone quarried in from Spain, it originally weighed 50 tons and was cut in Italy by craftsmen working round-the-clock for two months who then shipped it to Paris.

The interiors by local Sybille de Margerie has created a Parisian interpretation of Mandarin Oriental’s Eastern values in connection with the striking French building, as well as the surrounding district and the cultural setting of this hotel.

Her approach is evident in the layout of the spaces as well as in the choice of materials, fabrics, textures and colours. There are many innovative and intimate design features including 138 Swarovski crystal butterflies that “fly” from the hotel’s grand entry doors to the lobby.

Wellness is a priority, at the hotel and the hotel features a 14 meter lap pool, fully equipped fitness and wellness center and an expansive spa area, measuring 900 square meters. There are yoga classes and fitness instructors on hand.

Geraldine Dobey:

Gerladine has two decades of expertise in the top end of the luxury hotels industry , mostly in Europe. She has achieved success in a variety of managerial roles at some of the biggest premium hotel organisations in the world in London and Paris including The Hilton and The Langham in London, The Hilton in Geneva and six years at Hôtel Barrière Le Fouquet’s Paris as General Manager.

Geraldine speaks candidly here with Renae about how the growth of the luxury hotel industry in Paris, changes at The Mandarin Oriental in Paris and beyond, and the huge changes within the luxury hotel industry in France. She reveals the future of luxury travel as she sees it, and how the entire concept of luxury is changing with changes and growth in technology.

You can watch every episode with spectacular visuals from some of the world’s best and most luxurious hotels over on Renae’s YouTube channel, “Renae’s World, Where to From Here”. Click here for the interview and to see some spectacular vision of The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Paris.