The latest episode of the “New Heights” podcast Wednesday gave a timely nod to the movie “An American in Paris.” The American, in this case, is Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
The podcast title? “A Kelce in Paris, NFL Schedule Reactions and Horse Beef.” After the introductory music, Travis Kelce opened the show with the Frenchiest of greetings: “Bonjour!” His brother, Jason Kelce, asked: “Travis, where are you at?” As if the world didn’t already know where he was over the weekend. Who didn’t see Travis Kelce dancing and enjoying girlfriend Taylor Swift’s 87th “Eras Tour” concert in Paris? (Yes, 87, Kelce’s jersey number.)
The tour continues Friday in Stockholm, Sweden, so it appears the couple is spending some downtime “on the continent” before Kelce Jam this weekend at Azura Amphitheater. “I can neither disclose that information, nor do I know,” responded Travis, who at one point was drinking from a tea cup. “I can give you a continent: I’m in Europe. This isn’t like the guessing game. We’re not guessing where Travis is.”
Before leaving Paris, Swift was staying at the historic Hôtel de Crillon with its Michelin-starred restaurant, one of the city’s most luxurious hotels where suites range from $4,600 to $21,000 a night, according to the New York Post. It sits in the heart of the city, next door to the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy and within easy walking distance of the city’s most famous attractions — the Champs Elysees, the Louvre and designer stores including Louis Vuitton.
Tourists snapped photos of Kelce shopping at Louis Vuitton, and Kelce met one wearing a Chiefs jersey. Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck stayed at the hotel during their honeymoon in 2022, just two in a long line of celebrities who have laid their heads there — Leonard Bernstein, Madonna, Andy Warhol, Bette Davis, Sophia Loren among them.
“The storied neoclassic property dates back to the 18th century, when King Louis XV asked architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel to build two palaces a few blocks away from the Seine,” Vogue wrote when Lopez and Affleck stayed there.
“The western building has had many lives: It’s where Benjamin Franklin signed a treaty with the French government that recognized the Declaration of Independence, where King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette holed up before being guillotined during the French Revolution, and, after it officially became a hotel in 1901, where Woodrow Wilson stayed while in town to sign the Treaty of Versailles.”
Now managed by Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, it is known for luxurious amenities including “Les Grands Appartements” designed by the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. What would Marie Antoinette have said about a TV in the bathroom? The hotel “has a way of making all of its guests feel like VIPs,” lifestyle journalist Erica Wertheim Zohar wrote for Forbes in 2022 after staying there.
“There is no check-in desk at the hotel; instead, arriving guests are led into a separate discrete reception room where the check in process is handled by multiple staff.” Zohar noted that the hotel has become an attraction itself, “as evidenced by the ever-present crowd of curious onlookers typically found outside its front entrance.”
And oh, the cuisine.
“And while the luxe hotel includes quite a few equally impressive perks — like a personal butler service — the haunt’s culinary vision takes the experience a whole step further,” notes Delish.
“The property’s on-site restaurant, Nonos par Paul Pairet, features traditional French cuisine ‘with a twist’ and includes an expansive oyster bar, steak frites, and a lobster gratin. “The main dining hall has fresh seafood, charcuterie, and artisan cheeses while guests (like Swift) can enjoy 24/7 room service.
“We have a feeling Taylor didn’t go hungry during the stay.”
