Hotel du Marc

Madame Clicquot’s former domicile gets a top-to-toe makeover

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Housed in the former residence of Madame Clicquot herself, Hotel du Marc is a place to stay unlike any other. As if the historic setting in Reims, France wasn’t enough, Veuve Clicquot recently completed a head-to-toe renovation, updating the interiors and facade to create the kind of charming experience for which many hotels strive but few achieve.

The facade underwent extensive repairs—though WWI-era pockmarks left by mortar shells remain—and now sports a smart-looking new awning (made locally, along with other new features), but it’s the decor, a mix of antique pieces, custom art and other clever design elements, that makes for a visit not just comfortable but totally enchanting. The surprises begin right away when, greeting guests at the entryway, a grometrically mirrored installation in tribute to Issey Miyake’s “Pleats Please,” recasts a problematic space by containing a cloakroom with serious “wow” effect.

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Stairs leading up to the rooms honor the famous chalk caves of Reims with an ombre carpet that fades from white to burgundy—for the Pinot grapes, of course. The vine-like balustrade, designed by Pablo Reinoso, also evokes the neighboring fields, culminating in the twisting and turning wood of the artist’s captivating site-specific sculpture at the top of the stairs.

From there, a hallway swathed in their trademark yellow, leads to a handful of spacious rooms, each featuring a design tied to a season as well as a place. Details such as Fornasetti plates (a favorite part of the “Rome” room where I stayed when Veuve Clicquot invited us to preview it last month), and bathroom tiles incorporating touches of gold into an anchor pattern inspired by the Veuve Clicquot logo, make the rooms as elegantly pleasant as the rest of the house.

Downstairs, a library, lounge, chef’s kitchen and other spaces for entertaining promise many occasions for enjoying the bubbles responsible for the whole affair. On our visit, the kitchen transformed from an afternoon hands-on cooking demo to a post-dinner screening of Lady Gaga concert tapes, to give you an idea. A formal dining room is literally the heart of the house, featuring woodwork taken from the castle of Eduard Werle (Clicquot’s business partner) around which the house was initially built. Formerly painted white, the wood was restored and painted black, nicely offsetting frescoes depicting scenes of life in Champagne.

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A cellar stores wine used in the house, as well as rare bottles, still wines and (eventually) Andree Putman’s 2005 writing table for the brand. The feature also allows the building to have a Canadian well, which keeps the building 13 degrees cooler in the summer as well as providing heat in the winter, part of the winemaker’s ongoing efforts to be environmentally conscious.

Alas, this kind of experience does not come without exclusivity; staying at the Hotel du Marc is by invite only. For more photos, however, check out Notcot’s coverage.


Goodwood Revival 2011

Vatican Ferraris, other gorgeous mid-century cars and more at the U.K.’s biggest vintage car show

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The annual vintage car show at Goodwood is so much more than that. With races, air shows, thousands dressed in period costumes and even a working ’50s-era supermarket, the event provides a playground for those in love with bygone ways of life. As the guest of Veuve Clicquot, it was hard not to also be taken with the scene, arriving in high vintage style in Pierre le Gloahec-Hénanff’s gorgeous (and appropriately champagne-colored) Jaguar E-type. The MoMA-approved aggressive bonnet and beautiful wood interior make it easy to understand why so many are such big fans of the car—Pierre’s driving (he used to race Jaguars and now spends his days at Le Petit Hôtel des Hortensias in Brittany) didn’t hurt either.

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We knew we were off to a good start when stopping for gas along the way, we ran into friends of his who brought a Vatican Ferrari (the manufacturer used to give the Catholic city cars). The pair, dressed in full vestments, caused a passerby to pee her pants from laughter.

Proceeding to the plot of land known as Goodwood, we started seeing vintage planes zip across the sky. The open airspace is just one of the impressive features of Goodwood, which dates back to 1697 when the first Duke of Richmond established it as hunting grounds.

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At the Revival, you have your choice of activities—shopping, eating, visiting the recreated Tesco—but we headed to the space Veuve hosts near the track to watch the races. When the vintage race cars aren’t speeding around what has been called the most beautiful track in the world, you can go check them out in the barracks.

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There, you have the chance to see some of the most famous winning models, a vintage car-lovers dream. It’s tough to pick a favorite, but the 1956 Ferrari 860 Monza is definitely up there.

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Of course, just a year older, the Type Ferrari 250 TR57 is stunning too.

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Fast-forward to 1961 and you have Ferrari’s 250 GTO SWB “Breadvan.”

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Following that year, Ferrari made this yellow-and-green 250 GTO.

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But not all the stunners were Ferraris. For a futuristic vision that dates back to 1954, there’s the Mercedes Benz 1196 Streamliner.

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This ’57 Aston Martin DBA1 also caught my eye.

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And the blue 1951 Maserati A6GCM, as well as its little brother from 1953, are both Richmond Trophy-winners.

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Bugatti’s 1947 Type 73C has the distinction of having earned a Goodwood Trophy.