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4 months ago
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Australia's canoeing, kayaking and rowing teams are getting the royal treatment as they stay in what looks like a palace at the Paris Olympics - while other stars are stuck sleeping on cardboard beds in the athletes village.
Gold medal rowing hope Jessica Fox has given fans a glimpse of the teams' incredibly luxurious accommodation, which puts the village well and truly into the shade with its incredibly ornate chandeliers and painted ceilings that look like they belong in the famous Palace of Versailles.
The lucky few are staying at Château de Guermantes about 35km west of Paris, which was built in 1710 and has featured in films like Amadeus, Dangerous Liaisons and the James Bond movie Moonraker thanks to its beauty.
Boasting 66 guest rooms, it also features its own gallery - based on the famous Hall of Mirrors in Versailles - and the stunning la belle inutile hall, which is covered in stunning piece of art.
The lush grounds are equally impressive and the chateau also boasts a gym and several fully equipped meeting rooms for business seminars and the like.
'We're not in the village this time but rowing and canoeing are based out here and the set-up is absolutely incredible,' Fox said in an Instagram video as she showed her fans around the stunning building.
'We walked into our rooms to see the Paris doona and all our Australian Olympic goodies ... this is incredible.'
The canoeing, rowing and kayaking teams are getting the special treatment because their events are being held at the Vaires-sur-Marine Nautical Stadium on the city's western outskirts, almost 40km away from the village.
Star rower Jessica Fox has given fans a look at the stunning 18th century chateau she and her teammates are calling home during the Paris Olympics (pictured)
Fox (pictured) described the Château de Guermantes as 'incredible'
The chateau - which was used in the James Bond film Moonraker - is nothing like the bare-bones accommodation at the athletes village (pictured)
If the stars stayed with the rest of the Aussie team in central Paris, they would be facing a four-hour bus trip every time they compete.
Fox - who has taken out a gold, silver and two bronze at previous Olympics and 14 golds at the world championships - is just one big name who is living it up in the chateau.
She's been joined by the likes of Alexander Purnell, who took gold in the final of the men's coxless four rowing at the Tokyo Games, and sprint kayakers Jean van der Westhuyzen and Thomas Green, who also took golds in Japan.
Conditions in the athletes village have already raised eyebrows among the Aussie contingent.
The 'anti-sex' cardboard beds went down like a lead balloon with water polo star Tilly Kearns and her teammate Gabi Palm, who said 'my back is about to fall off' after their first night.
Tennis star Daria Saville revealed the village is nothing like being in a hotel in a social media post on Tuesday.
One of the chateau's most ornate rooms is based on the world-famous Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles (pictured)
Meanwhile, Aussie tennis star Daria Saville (pictured) discovered there is no hotel-like housekeeping in the village, and athletes have to fetch their own toilet paper
'We don't really have hotel-like housekeeping here in the Olympic Village, so you have to get your own toilet paper,' she wrote in a caption alongside video of herself grabbing several rolls.
The rooms in the village don't come with airconditioning, either - so the Australian Olympic Committee is providing athletes with portable cooling units, while most other nations' competitors have to make do with fans.
The move could prove to be decisive for Australia's medal chances given Paris in July can be sweltering, with temperatures as high as 40 degrees.
Last year, the mercury went above 35 degrees for nine days.
English (US)