Paris' Famed Hotel de Crillon for Sale at $420 Million
Paris' famed Hôtel de Crillon, one of the world's most luxurious hotels with a clientele of celebs and royalty, has been put up for sale by its American owner Starwood Capital for about $420 million. Constructed in 1758 as a government building commissioned by Louis XV, the palatial edifice (above) near the Champs Elysées on Place de la Concorde was converted into a hotel 100 years ago. Its Leonard Bernstein suite, on the top floor with a wrap-around terrace, features one of the late maestro's pianos.
Other luminaries past and present who have patronized the Crillon include Marie Antoinette, King George V, the Shah of Iran, Winston Churchill, FDR, Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie O, Mariah Carey, Madonna and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The hotel is more likely to be sold to a high net-worth individual or a property investor rather than one of the large hotel chains, the Times of London reports. Starwood took over the Crillon in 2005 as part of its €2 billion acquisition of Taittinger's hotel and champagne empire.
A rose by any other name would still be a rose, but if you called it Elvis, you could certainly charge a lot more for it. Celebrity names and images have a lot of selling power because they provide instant recognizability; they are their own brands. Business Week 
