George Condo Helps Shape a Masterful Suite at the Legendary Hotel Le Bristol in Paris
The dazzling Suite Impériale has been reimagined as a private, art-filled retreat with garden views and space for entertaining
Paris has a long, illustrious history of artists mixing and mingling in its iconic hotels—from Pablo Picasso at the Lutetia to Salvador Dalí at Le Meurice. Today, George Condo is keeping that tradition alive, at Le Bristol, his cherished right-bank home away from home in the City of Light since 2004. “They let me paint in my room, the service is impeccable, and the room service is delicious!” he says.
While there, he sometimes works late into the night, accompanied by loud music. One evening, Elvira Oetker, a member of the family that founded the Oetker collection of hotels, including Le Bristol, wondered about the noisy upstairs guest only to find out it was the famed artist. Soon after, an introduction was made, during which she revealed that the hotel planned to renovate Condo’s preferred Suite Impériale, among other signature accommodations, with Paris-based designer Pierre-Yves Rochon. The artist was intrigued by the idea of helping redesign his favorite suite. As such, an unusual and inspired creative collaboration began with Condo, Rochon, and Le Bristol artistic directors Elvira and Narcisa Oetker, wives of Oetker scions Alfred and Ferdinand Oetker, respectively.
“Le Bristol has a particular ethos, a very French sense of restraint, and a relationship to history that requires a precise approach rather than a grand gesture,” says Rochon of the undertaking. “In an iconic house, the temptation is always to make a statement. The responsibility is the opposite: to intervene quietly, preserve what already works, and focus on adjustments that change daily life. The space already had a strong layout. The question was not how to overturn it but how to refine it, so that it would feel immediately like a Parisian apartment rather than a signature suite.”
Also dubbed the Condo Suite, the 3,475-square-foot Suite Impériale has been completely reimagined as a private, art-filled retreat with a dining area, multiple salons for entertaining, garden views, and a gracious primary bedroom and bath. Design details include de Gournay hand-painted wallpaper, Chinese lacquer tables, and Lyon silk velvets, plus a main entrance doorknob imagined by the artist. A separate room next door serves as Condo’s studio when he is in residence. “They always keep my easel and art supplies, so that whenever I am in Paris, my sketchbooks, paper canvases, or whatever are completely intact,” shares Condo.
The artist curated the collection on display, including 11 of his own artworks as well as eight Alberto Giacometti drawings in the main entrance, a Marc Chagall lithograph, and four pieces by Jean Cocteau.
Condo always finds himself perfectly at home there whenever he comes to Paris, such as his trip last fall for the opening of his solo exhibition at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris. Surrounded by his personal things, he paints around the clock, always with music playing, then unwinds with his favorite room service meal: scrambled eggs with truffles and Champagne. Bien sûr.
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2025 Spring Issue under the headline “Suite Home.” Subscribe to the magazine.