Charming hotel in Paris 17th, 4 star hotel near Champs Elysees and Palais des Congrès, Eco-label Hotel in Paris, Hotel with oriental garden

The former private mansion that is now the Hôtel Regent’s Garden was a gift from Emperor Napoleon III to one of his most devoted servants, Dr Conneau.

It was a period when Offenbach’s operettas paid tribute to the Parisian light-hearted way of life and when France’s capital was undergoing daily transformations, notably around the Place de l’Etoile, under the orders of Baron Haussmann, Préfet de la Seine.
Not far away, the Monceau district was changing equally rapidly as many opulent private mansions sprung up to reflect the prosperity and success of a new social caste: business bankers who were to become Imperial barons.
Sumptuous parties were thrown, demonstrating the inimitable charm of the “Parisian way of life” to the onlooking world.
The Andre Jacquemart Museum provides a fascinating insight into the extent of the influence and patronage wielded by this social class.

At the same time, the capital’s population was literally exploding, forcing the city to spill out beyond its walls. Streets grew wider and longer and Strauss’ heady waltzes could be heard on every corner.
The street changed name three times from Rue des Ternes, then Labordère in 1862, and finally to Rue P. Demours in 1868.

Doctor Henri François Eugène Conneau was born in Milan in 1813.
After graduating from medical school, Henri moved to Rome where he met the exiled Bonaparte family and took part with the sons in the 1830 Italian uprising. Soon afterwards, Henri became the private secretary and physician of Queen Hortense (wife of Louis Bonaparte and mother of Louis Napoleon, future Napoleon III), remaining with her until her death in 1837.
On her deathbed, Hortense entrusted young Henri Conneau to her son, asking the Prince to employ the young doctor and “keep him close to his person”.

As a result, Conneau was to accompany the Prince through thick and thin and his devoted services and steadfast friendship earned him many honours as a token of the Emperor’s gratitude for his unwavering loyalty. Henri Conneau died in Corsica in 1877.

At the time of Napoleon III, the private mansion did not have its present wings and was flanked by stables and a saddlery for two horses on one side and by a room for the coachman and an attic on the other.

The current car park was formerly a circular driveway with a central paved area that enabled coachmen to drive in from one side, drop off their passengers and continue out the other way.

It wasn’t until 1924 that the new owner, Emile Dufaut, decided to transform the mansion, adding two wings and building four shops on the street.

The establishment became a 35-room hotel and was refitted in 1937 by Mr Boucher, who altered the facade.
In 1950, Mr Marcel Pirali pursued the renovation; the shops were pulled down to allow the street to be widened and the central courtyard was turned into a car park.

From owner to owner, the hotel was progressively refitted and renovated, first becoming a Mapotel hotel and then a Best Western establishment in the late Eighties