Hotel Marignan, Paris, France

Once a Sofitel not always a Sofitel - not when Nathalie Richard has bought the building. To give this four-star Champs-Elysees hotel some five-star cachet, the Cafés Richard heiress dialed society designer Pierre Yovanovitch, beloved for his monochrome schemes and connections to the world's finest dealers of mid-century antiques. Marignan treated the Haussmann terrace like the home of a client, laying graphic marble in the foyer and designing voluptuous upholstered seating for the Lounge Bar and eponymous French bistro. Seventy small guest rooms became 50 spacious ones, including 10 suites stretching across the front of the building with views to the Eiffel Tower.