The best hotels in Paris, chosen by Condé Nast Traveller editors, from the coolest new boutique hotels to affordable stays, the city’s first palace-status hotel and the grandest grand dames
For those picking a hotel in Paris, there are more options than one person could ever check into. But which are the very best stays in the city? Our editors have narrowed down the list to the smartest Parisian hotels for the ultimate weekender.
Four Seasons George V, 8th arrondissement
Situated off the Champs Elysées, this landmark hotel is a swish experience from the outset – staff in winter coats greet you by name every time you come and go, and the lobby is a flutter of pink ferns and white marble. The bedrooms are a sea of gold – thick curtains with cream tassles, swirly carpets and gold-trimmed frames. The Four Seasons are renowned for being brilliant with families, and there’s nowhere in the hotel little ones aren’t welcome, including all three of the Michelin-starred restaurants. Le Cinq is the hottest table to secure with three Michelin stars – Parisians book months in advance to taste chef Christian Le Squer’s ‘foie gras like a pebble’, a truly beautiful trio of pebble-like pate poached in iodised vinegar broth. But there are two more stars to choose from – one at Italian Le George which serves fluffy focaccia and crispy saffron arancini, and another at L’Orangerie for the fish and plant-based tasting menu. Downstairs, the basement spa is an instantly tranquil escape that feels a long way from the hussle at the foot of the Eiffel tower just a short walk away. A dream Parisian pied-a-terre. Tabitha Joyce
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Chouchou Hotel, 9th arrondissement
This central spot in the middle of the Asian quarter (in the equivalent of London’s West End) is just a 10-minute walk south to the Tuileries. And with the Marais and trendy 11th both very walkable, it’s hard to fault the location. Inside, there’s energy too – the striped-awning-filled food court is strung with festoon lighting and bustling every evening (yes, even on a Monday), throwing out plates of cheese and charcuterie as well as oysters for a euro a go. Upstairs things are considered too, bedrooms are bigger than most in Paris with deep green velvet sofas backed by walls of bookshelves and lit by gold-winged pendant lights. The best rooms have views across copper chimney pots to le Palais Garnier. Breakfast is good but simple so for elevenses we recommend joining the queue at Cedric Groilet down the road for your second croissant of the day. This is a well-priced well-placed Parisian hotel with an excess of good ramen and bubble tea options on the doorstep. Tabitha Joyce
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Brach Hotel, 16th arrondissement
The staid 16th arrondissement hasn’t exactly drawn visitors over the years. So it’s a testament to the cool factor of Evok Hotels that it can take a former mail-sorting facility in this bourgeois, residential district and make it le talk of Paris. After a four-year renovation overseen by designer Philippe Starck, the resulting hotel is as much about a lifestyle as a place to crash. For one thing, the buzzing restaurant draws fashionable locals starting at breakfast and continuing until the early hours with its patisserie, plates-to-share and potent drinks. A terrace bar lures the pretty people. The subterranean fitness club channels a Thirties boxing club and had a waiting list the minute it opened. Even the swimming pool has a killer sound system. The party continues in the rooms, each with its own mini concept store (the mini-bar is so 2018), stocked with pre-made cocktails by the Avantgarde Spirits Company. The design smacks of Starck’s typical sassy eclecticism: walls covered in rich rosewood and leather, African masks and Masai-style beadwork, and in the bathrooms there are potted cacti next to sinks hewn from unfinished blocks of marble. Who knew that the 16th of all places would become the city’s next hip address?
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La Réserve, 8th arrondissement
Designed by Jaques Garcia, colours at La Réserve are largely limited to black, red and green, blue-grey, Champagne and chocolate, with here and there some vivid flashes of gold and pools of burgundy so deep you could drown in them. Facing the Grand Palais and, at a slightly greater distance, the Eiffel Tower, overlooking the Champs-Elysées, a few doors down from the presidential palace – the location couldn’t be much better.
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Le Meurice, 1st arrondissement
Paris’ first palace-status hotel, Le Meurice is a gilded city spin on Versailles – an institution and ornate refuge from the rue Rivoli crowds. Since its 1835 opening, the hotel served as an epic shorthand for Parisian history – Picasso married here, Salvador Dalí lived here, and Queen Victoria stayed here in 1855. Its splendid Haussmann façade overlooks the Tuileries gardens, with a sweeping panorama from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower, and bejewelled Louis XIV wall peacock inside. This is where Philippe Starck’s fabulously jarring modernity creeps in – note his Dalí-inspired sweeping ceiling art in the Restaurant Le Dalí and his transparent plastic chairs spread across the decadent Restaurant le Meurice Alain Ducasse. Rooms and suites vary in size and splendour, all echoing (to a more modern pitch) the 18th-century spirit governing the ground floor. Jocelyn Herland (previously at the Dorchester) is at the helm of the two Alain Ducasse restaurants which, with French classics and Mediterranean dishes, pull in a curious mix of coiffed locals and global movers and shakers. By Rosalyn Wikeley
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Le Bristol, 8th arrondissement
Le Bristol, one of the greatest grande dame hotels in Paris, is undeniably grand, but for all the polished marble, Louis XVI fauteuils, showcases by Paris’ premier jewellers and stupendous flower arrangements, the place feels delightfully warm rather than stuffy, correct rather than stiff, and refreshingly untroubled by corporate diktats. And look out for the fluffy white Burmese cat draped over the concierge desk – this is Fa-Raon, the hotel mascot. Located close to the Elysée Palace – at the quieter end of the chic rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, it was built as a hotel in 1925 and today is owned and run by the Oetker Collection (whose other hotels include The Lanesborough in London and Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes). A six-year, top-to-toe facelift was finally finished in 2018, adding sleek new suites – but the overall style remains untouched: classic, conservative, chintzy and understated. Pale boiserie walls are hung with gilded mirrors, luxuriant Manuel Canovas and Pierre Frey fabrics, rooms are filled with antique furniture and chandeliers, and bathrooms are awash with marble. The loveliest rooms – each different – are the 36 that overlook the 12,900 sq ft enclosed garden, with its geometric lawns, clipped boxes, magnolias, azaleas and honeysuckle. There’s a brilliant La Prairie spa, a delightfully retro pool, plus four Michelin stars under one roof – chef Eric Frechon celebrates 20 years in situ in 2019 and legendary fine-dining restaurant Epicure is often lauded as one of the world’s best. Le Bristol is as quintessentially Parisian as hotels come – no wonder this was where Woody Allen chose to shoot parts of Midnight in Paris.
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Book your stay with ExpediaSinner, 4th arrondissement
It’s not difficult to stumble across a romantic hotel in Paris, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a more explicitly sultry place to stay than the suitably named Sinner. The third Parisian hotel from the EVOK group, Sinner is the naughty little sister in the Haut-Marais channelling medieval Catholicism-meets-Fifty Shades. From the moment you arrive, you’re immersed in the decadent theatrics: ecclesiastically clad staff with glowing red lanterns guide you through the Frankincense-scented, candlelit lobby past the confessional booth and crypt, down dramatically dark corridors with sinister-looking red doors, to your room. Unless you opt for the brooding, almost dungeon-like black and red Justine Suite, the rooms are surprisingly serene and comfortable with pastel colours, Art Deco and classical flourishes, an opulent minibar, a turntable and shelves of art books – although the lubricant in the bathroom and the riding crop in the wardrobe cheekily remind you that naughtiness is more than encouraged. Elsewhere, the suggestive atmosphere continues in the cosy candlelit spa with black-tiled hammam and hot tub, which offers treatments created by Jimmy Jarnet, including a 50-minute blindfolded massage with hands and feet tied (as well as more conventional scrubs and facials). The popular ground-floor restaurant is headed up by Algerian chef Adam Bentalha, and serves an eclectic menu spanning dishes from North Africa, the Middle East, Malaysia and Peru. By day, it’s light and airy, full of sophisticated families enjoying tagines and ceviche while their toddlers try to grab nearby artworks. Head back once night falls and it transforms into a pumping party spot with a dramatic smoke machine, DJ and a crowd of cool kids and flirty couples. Although it’s the ideal spot for seekers of debauchery, hedonists and couples celebrating, ahem, special occasions, you can easily ignore the more sinful suggestions and just innocently enjoy the handy location, comfortable and stylish rooms and exciting food.
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On the oldest square in Paris with its Louis XIII architecture, blush-pink buildings and primped and preened gardens sits a heavy, nondescript door, wedged between a traditional brasserie and a new-age patisserie. This swings into the quiet, cobbled courtyard belonging to Cour des Vosges, a 17th-century mansion that’s a refuge for the cultured polymath with its evocative interiors, a subterranean Roman bath and views across the square. A fictional family art collection is rolled out across the four floors and all the rooms are different. One top-floor room has a bath with a glass-wall view, but it’s the first-floor rooms – traditionally where Parisian nobility would lay their heads – that are the real show-offs, with original wooden beams, terracotta floors covered in baby-blue rugs and clay-coloured, unpainted walls dressed in tapestries and modern art. In one, a steel spin on the four-poster is immense, swallowing most of the room and shutting out the neighbouring retro furniture with futuristic sliding doors. While there’s no restaurant, you’ll find Pâtisserie Brach on the ground floor – a tearoom peacocking feted patissier Yann Brys’ pastries. Breakfast is the headline performance when it comes to food, served in your room with a cavalcade of silverware, cold-pressed juices, pastries, yogurts and organic eggs – to which black truffle and caviar can be added. As for the crowd: elusive movers and shakers who wish to be left alone in the company of Voltaire and de Beauvoir, until another glass of Burgundy is called for. By Rosalyn Wikeley
Read the full Cour des Vosges hotel review.
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Once slightly seedy neighbourhoods most notable for being close to the Gare du Nord and Gare d’Est, the 9th and 10th arrondissements have long been smartening up their act. On a surprisingly quiet stretch of this part of town, bohemian Hôtel Providence is fighting hard for the title of coolest design hotel in the area – and with stiff competition from neighbours The Hoxton and Hôtel des Grands Boulevards. Bedrooms here are swathed in the kind of patterns interiors junkies wish they were bold enough to include in their own home: palm print; black with striking gold leaf; intricate needle-work designs like a Moroccan Berber rug; solid, bold indigo. Bigger rooms are furnished with velvet sofas in deep jewel shades to collapse into after a day of exploring, and some have a balcony overlooking the peaceful street below. All have stylish bathrooms with monochrome metro tiles and double sinks, and rainfall showers. Downstairs, the floral bar spills onto the street outside, where guests drink rosé glacé.
Around the back, a cosy room near the kitchen is the setting for breakfast – although our advice is to get your fill of sensible foods here (there’s plenty of yogurts, fruits and cereals, and an ice bucket of individual green juices) and then head around the corner to Du Pain et des Idées for croissants and pain au chocolat (it’s one of the best boulangeries in the city, so why not?). Also in the area find game-changing bar Experimental Cocktail Club and Big Mamma Group outpost Pizza Popolare, French cousin to Shoreditch’s hottest table Gloria. By Sarah James
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This little Parisienne in the heart of once-sketchy, now super-cool Pigalle (on the on the border of the 9th and the 18th arrondissements) is well thought through. It’s from the group behind Instagram-famous Les Roches Rouges on the Côte d’Azur , so we knew it would be. The rooms, which are small, are kitted out with Art Deco furniture and shelves stacked with well-curated photographs. There are turntables and a selection of vinyl as well as pre-mixed Negronis and Manhattans in bottles in the mini bar. There’s no denying the neighbourhood is lively at night – the hotel is on a strip just south of the Metro that’s full of strip clubs and sex shops, but also fun bars such as Dirty Dick and Lipstick. Downstairs in the lobby, as well as a marble-topped co-working space, there’s a red velvet curtain which pulls back to reveal a velvet banquet, neon sign and pole. Find young couples recovering from hangovers over a breakfast of avocado toast with cream cheese and croissants that’s served until 4pm. For those seeking a cool sleepover within walking distance of a fun night out, this is the place to stay if you’re partying in Paris. By Tabitha Joyce
Shop the interiors of Le Pigalle with Maison Flaneur.
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When Hotel Lutetia first threw open its doors in 1910, it was deemed very much ahead of the curve. A fusion of Art Nouveau and Art Deco architecture, it was the first true luxury hotel on the Left Bank – and to this day it remains the only Palace Hotel to grace this side of town. Camus and Sartre came to ponder existentialism in its grand salons; Matisse and Picasso took up residence in the suites and Josephine Baker’s performances in the bar helped sweep Paris into the Jazz Age. In short, it perfectly captured the artistic zeitgeist of the time. And despite the fact that it has changed hands countless times over the decades, no overhaul of the hotel has been as extreme – or impressive – as the latest one. Overseen by The Set hotel group (of London’s Hotel Café Royal and the Conservatorium in Amsterdam), a four-year overhaul stripped back layers of plaster to reveal original frescoes, opened up gloomy internal courtyards to flood the place with light and slashed the number of bedrooms to create a luxury so often absent in Parisian hotels: space. Downstairs, public areas shine in marble and brass; there’s a hushed spa with a pool actually big enough to swim in; and there are six restaurants and bars – the flagship, Brasserie Lutetia, is overseen by Michelin-starred chef Gérald Passédat. In the bedrooms, hand-blown Murano glass lamps light up tactile wooden panelling painted midnight blue, while baths are carved from two-ton slabs of Carrara marble (ceilings had to be reinforced to take the weight). And at the end of 2018, the final touch was unveiled; a handful of signature suites designed to pay homage to the hotel’s artistic spirit. Fitted out with artworks and antiques supplied by Paris’s most prestigious club of art dealers and collectors, the Carré Rive Gauche suite is more akin to a private museum (and it’s all for sale). The Francis Ford Coppola suite, meanwhile, is a utopia for film buffs. This is the star director’s private home in the city, and he’s filled it with stills, photographs and movie memorabilia from his own collection. His vintage Éclair camera sits on one cabinet, his original annotated copy of The Godfather on another. But the best bit is the terrace – hidden above a slither of retractable-glass roof – which has exactly the type of knockout cinematic views people come to Paris for. By Teddy Wolstenholme
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Book your stay with ExpediaHôtel 9Confidentiel, 3rd arrondissement
Philippe Starck has done it again, and this time he’s brought a flirty Art Deco hotel to the lower Marais. With falafel-favourite Miznon just to the east and French fashion brands The Kooples, Maje and Sandro to the west, this petite mirror-glazed gem is a very affordable and comfortable hideaway with a funky feel to boot. There isn’t a traditional lobby here – blink and you’ll miss the entrance – but, nonetheless, it feels straight out of Twenties Paris, with its dusty-pink and yellow walls, diamond-shaped rugs and geometric-print cushions. Each of the 29 rooms is named after a mademoiselle of the time and has a picture-postcard view of Parisian rooftops and enormous fluffy beds – a welcome retreat for an evening of wine and steak frites. Nicolas de Soto (formerly of Experimental Cocktail Club) is behind the bar, and while the drinks are worth stopping by for, people might not spot it when walking past. Baskets of mini croissants are laid out for breakfast – but we’d suggest heading over to Parisian favourite Circus, on the Left Bank, for their fresh-from-the-oven cinnamon rolls and frothy cappuccinos. By Katharine SohnBook your stay with Booking.com
Book your stay with ExpediaIn 2007 the Experimental Group actually three perfectly respectable former school chums transformed the Paris bar…
Karel Balas
Hôtel des Grands Boulevards, 2nd arrondissement
In 2007, the Experimental Group – actually three perfectly respectable former school chums – transformed the Paris bar scene with their sweetly raffish Experimental Cocktail Club. More recently they went into hotels, first with the charming Grand Pigalle, then with the equally perky Henrietta in London. A few years later they opened Hôtel des Grands Boulevards, which may be the most irresistible of all.Grands Boulevards is at once a historical term, referring to Baron Haussmann’s transformative thoroughfares; a Métro station; and, for many Parisians, words likely to conjure up a rather unkind image of wide-eyed yokels from beyond the périphérique pouring into and out of the theatres in the area. You really ought to join them. This is one of the most diverse and dynamic parts of the city, from those much-loved theatres to the glorious covered arcades and teeming textile workshops.
The would-be flâneur couldn’t choose a more convenient or prepossessing base than Hôtel des Grands Boulevards, an 18th-century townhouse converted into 50 rooms, a restaurant and three bars. Interior designer Dorothée Meilichzon riffs with textures, shapes and colours in her distinctive, delightful way.
None of the rooms are vast but there isn’t a dud among them: with their luscious greens, blues and pinks, they’re at once simple and sensuous. And the group continues to deliver on its experimental promise: whatever you order to drink, expect to be pleasantly surprised. If in doubt, start with the Experience 1: vodka, elderflower syrup, lemon juice, lemongrass and basil. By Steve King
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The Grand Powers in the 1st arrondissement behind the ChampsÉlyses does have a certain grandeur its been a hotel in…
Hotel Grand Powers, 1st arrondissement
The Grand Powers, in the 1st arrondissement behind the Champs-Élysées, does have a certain grandeur – it’s been a hotel in Paris since 1920 and is a stalwart of the city’s scene. Thanks to the building’s corner spot, there are views of the Eiffel Tower just poking above the romantic rooftops from almost half of the rooms.. And there are balconies too, meaning that the bedrooms are lighter, as well as much bigger, than the majority of boutique hotel rooms in the city. Deep red clashes with pale pink; dark teal with spearmint cream; and gilded mirrors complement plush velvets and scrawling florals. A member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World group, the Grand Powers feels cosy, and the staff are exceptionally helpful and delightfully jolly, while not being too much. At breakfast there are just-baked madeleines as well as eggs made to order – the boiled ones come shell-less in silver egg cups with Jenga-style soldiers. But there are also detox juices with beetroot and ginger and sushi-grade salmon in thick slices. This hotel provides quiet respite from the busy shopping district – so much so, you wouldn’t know the Arc de Triomphe was just a 10 minute stroll away. By Tabitha JoyceBook your stay with Booking.com
Book your stay with ExpediaSheer luxury hits you in its grandest form at the Plaza Athne one of the best hotels in Paris. Immortalised as the…
Hôtel Plaza Athénée, 8th arrondissement
Sheer luxury hits you in its grandest form at the Plaza Athénée, one of the best hotels in Paris. Immortalised as the glamorous backdrop in the season finale of Sex and The City, the hotel has 145 spacious rooms and 43 suites, all impeccably furnished – some in Louis XVI and Regency style (six floors) and others in Art Deco style (two floors). Some rooms overlook avenue Montaigne, others face on to a peaceful internal courtyard, where an ice-skating rink is erected in winter. Rooms are beautifully decorated, with elegant furnishings, marble bathrooms and every comfort imaginable: from plasma screen TVs and high-speed Internet access, to a pillow menu, hypo-allergenic linens, and the Berluti Service, bespoke grooming for the well-being of your shoes. The sleek bar serves some of the best cocktails in Paris, all perused on mini hand-held digital screens by an improbably glamorous clientele.Book your stay with Booking.com
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Adèle and Jules are two halves of a single charming hotel or technically two hotels in one block. Reserved romantics…
Hôtel Adèle & Jules, 9th arrondissement
Adèle and Jules are two halves of a single charming hotel or, technically, two hotels in one block. Reserved romantics will appreciate its low-hype offering – 30 varied bedrooms in each of the buildings, a Taittinger-led honesty bar in Adèle and a superb welcome with a proper concierge service. This is combined with a tucked-away location in a newly but not aggressively trendified slice of the 9th, close to rue des Martyrs (food shopping), Grands Boulevards (nightlife) and the Gare du Nord. Designer Stéphane Poux’s style is a deliberate mishmash of urbanity and generous homeliness, his eye travelling around ikat prints, Indian cotton quilts and witty, intriguing artworks. Club rooms have balconies big enough for prolonged nightcaps, a bathtub and twin basins. If you get a view – say of the landmark BNP Paribas building or Grand Rex cinema – the smaller deluxe rooms are charming too. Breakfast features eggs, sausages and mini viennoiseries, and between 4pm and 6pm there’s a pick-me-up of Dammann Frères tea, cakes, pastries and fruit. This takes place in a cosy living/breakfast room lined with decent reading material: not just the usual glossies, but also shelves of Folio paperbacks. The no-restaurant issue is very much a non-issue, with local options including Abri, Vivant and Richer. A sibling to long-time fashion-pack bolthole Hôtel Thérèse in the 1st and Hôtel Recamier in Saint-Germain, this civilised, chic four-star deserves to become a cult hero/heroine as well. By Sophie DeningBook your stay with Booking.com
Book your stay with ExpediaSurely a stay in Paris should mean an inexpensive hostelry with quirky stairs and a receptionist who points you in the…
Hotel Panache, 9th arrondissement
Surely a stay in Paris should mean an inexpensive hostelry, with quirky stairs and a receptionist who points you in the direction of the best tagine or moules, located next to a thrift shop piled with back editions of Tintin et les Egoutiers. And so it is here, in the spirited 9th arrondissement, created by Dorothée Meilichzon, who started off designing toys. The unusual flat-iron shape of Panache’s 19th-century building means that each of its 40 bedrooms has a slightly odd configuration, with everything a little askew, prettily Deco-tiled, dove-grey bathrooms and bevel-edged mirrors positioned to coax a sense of symmetry. All is perfectly quiet until (and this is a moment to cherish) you fling open the windows of your room in the early evening and people-watch from a little balcony overhanging the sweet clamour of the streets radiating from the corner below: locals walking their Jack Russells, antiquarian booksellers hurrying back from the nearby Passage Verdeau, all the café conversations of the Grands Boulevards district. Panache also has a mosaic-decorated restaurant serving Middle Eastern-inspired small plates, with a female sommelier who modishly recommends delicious natural or raw wines supplied by dedicated French growers whose hard-working, summer-dusty hands are sometimes photographed for the bottle labels. Then a stagger up those lopsidedly long-winding stairs to bed. There is little here not to love. By Antonia QuirkeBook your stay with Booking.com
Book your stay with ExpediaThe splendidly named Bambi Sloan who did the interiors of this ravishing little place in the Marais isn’t quite sure how…
Hôtel de JoBo, 4th arrondissement
The splendidly named Bambi Sloan, who did the interiors of this ravishing little place in the Marais, isn’t quite sure how to describe herself. She says she’s part designer, part storyteller. She might consider calling herself a history teacher as well. Among other things, Jobo is an amusing education in certain aspects of French life, art and culture in the post-revolutionary period. The name comes from Josephine Bonaparte, Napoleon’s first wife and, briefly, Empress of France. From this position of eminence, she indulged her racy and refined tastes – leading the craze for leopard skin, for example, and for swans, and, more than anything else, for roses. All of which are not merely in evidence at the hotel but effectively define it. The result is intense but delightful – it’s too witty, too thoughtfully executed to be oppressive. The decadent toffs with whom Josephine caroused in the years after the revolution called themselves ‘Les Incroyables et Les Merveilleuses’. Hôtel de Jobo is both incredible and marvellous. It’s also tiny. The ceilings are low, the corridors narrow and the size of the bedrooms ranges from a mere 15 square metres to a modest 40. But that’s more than enough if you’re Napoleon and Josephine in the early throes of fascination, with no need for anything more than a comfortable bed surrounded by roses and leopardskin and swans. By Steve KingBook your stay with Booking.com
book your stay with ExpediaLE MONTANA Most ordinary citoyens have a better chance of being awarded the Lgion d’Honneur than they have of getting…
Alexandre Bailache
Le Montana, 7th arrondissement
LE MONTANAMost ordinary citoyens have a better chance of being awarded the Légion d’Honneur than they have of getting into the basement nightclub at Le Montana, off the Boulevard Saint-Germain. Since it opened in 2009, it has set new standards in ego-crushing exclusivity and it’s still turning them away in droves. The upper floors of the building, however, have evolved in interesting ways, with the recent addition of a restaurant, six rooms and a roof terrace. The bedrooms, one on each floor, are individually themed but very much of a piece, with designer Vincent Darré’s fingerprints all over them – as yours will be, too, the moment you touch any of the glossy surfaces. There’s the luminous Miroir d’Argent room (mirrors and brushed steel); Blanc Graffiti (inspired by Jean Cocteau’s scrawled-upon studio); Bleu Acide (something to do with Montparnasse in the 1950s); Rouge David X (as in David Hicks, with the X pronounced ‘eex’); Noir Métaphysique (walls painted in de Chirico-esque shapes), and Gris Paris (playful, feminine and not especially grey). All have bathrooms covered from floor to ceiling in black tiles. For easy access to a glamorous club and a spectacular roof terrace, minus the indignities of a long queue and a pre-dawn reverse commute, a room at Le Montana is money well spent. For a quiet night’s sleep, you’ll need to spend a little more on a pair of earplugs. By Steve King
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CONDÉ NAST TRAVELLER, TABITHA JOYCE, AND SARAH JAMES
When Le Roch opened the local parish priest and the headmistress from the school around the corner dropped by to say…
Le Roch Hotel and Spa,
When Le Roch (‘rock’ not ‘rosh’) opened, the local parish priest and the headmistress from the school around the corner dropped by to say hello. They must be pretty chic pastoral types; certainly they’re tending their flocks in a very smart neighbourhood adjacent to the Place Vendôme. But somehow the gesture seems just right. Le Roch, despite its velvety textured swishiness and its fancy address, has a winningly unaffected aura. You sense it the moment you step inside off the rue Saint-Roch – a quiet byway hidden among the grand thoroughfares that dominate this part of the city. There’s an easy flow from lobby through to library, bar, dining room and courtyard. The space is small enough to seem intimate, big enough to seem buzzy – an agreeable balance that characterises the hotel as a whole. Designer Sarah Lavoine’s rooms are elegant but not flamboyant, imaginative but not ostentatious. She has a particular fondness for bleu de canard and subtle Moroccan elements: zellige tiles in the bathrooms and thick, contemporary Berber carpets that feel great underfoot. Staff are enthusiastic and on-it. There’s no attitude but bundles of know-how. Benjamin Camus-Durand is, at 25, the youngest head concierge to have been awarded the Clefs d’Or. The spa is a strong draw. Guests can order their own personalised range of bespoke skincare products, whipped up by cult brand Codage following a consultation and delivered to the hotel 48 hours later. By Steve KingBook your stay with Booking.com
Book your stay with ExpediaGlimpsed from its quiet street behind the ChampsElyses this elegant little hotel could easily be mistaken for a private…
Amastan Paris, 8th arrondissement
Glimpsed from its quiet street behind the Champs-Elysées, this elegant little hotel could easily be mistaken for a private townhouse, which is exactly what the owner, Paris-based entrepreneur Zied Sanhaji, had in mind for his new project. Beyond the discreet entrance that leads to the reception is the lobby – a gorgeously assembled, high-ceilinged space with petrol-blue parquet floors and a gargantuan bookcase lined with leather-bound classics. But the real hub is the cheerful bar, flood-lit with natural light all day, and its leafy courtyard garden for summer soirées. The 24 bedrooms vary from small but cosy to big, attic-like spaces with private balconies. In all, uncluttered simplicity prevails, with white and blue contrasting walls, contemporary walnut desks and immaculate white bed linen; bathrooms are sensible and decked out in marble, some with standalone bathtubs, all with large showers. Generous breakfasts – fresh fruit, cheese platters, smoked salmon and baskets of croissants – are served at one long, high table in the bar. The hotel also has a small pop-up shop stocking a range of art, jewellery and homeware from lifestyle brands such as Lola James Harper and NOCC interior design. After midday, the bar morphs into Anouk, an informal restaurant for light meals (chicken-liver mousse with whisky-spiked jelly; avocado toast; passion-fruit cheesecake). And you’ll be back again after dark for a flashy signature cocktail, such as the G&T infused with goji berries or squid ink. By Lanie GoodmanBook your stay with Booking.com
Book your stay with ExpediaC.O.Q. HOTEL The acronym actually stands for Community of Quality and the idea is to showcase French creativity in a…
C.O.Q Hotel, 13th arrondissement
C.O.Q. HOTELThe acronym actually stands for Community of Quality, and the idea is to showcase French creativity in a laid-back, guesthouse atmosphere, a concept masterminded by the owner, entrepreneur and first-time hotelier Michel Delloye. Don’t be misled by the name: it has nothing to do with the puffed-up Gallic rooster, le coq, the emblem of French pride. There’s nothing remotely showy about this place in the 13th arrondissement. The 50 bedrooms – dreamed up by young interior designers Pauline d’Hoop and Delphine Sauvaget of Agence Favorite – are a study in sober elegance, with deep-blue walls, 19th-century portraits in gilt frames, and accents in mustard, rust and pink. Go for one of the bigger rooms with balconies and baths instead of showers, or a deluxe ground-floor room, hidden away on a terrace around the back. Quirky Made in France goodies – from tricolour men’s underwear to watches – are on sale in the lobby, where visitors can help themselves to a glass of Bordeaux while browsing. And with 20-odd French vintages stocked in the honesty bar, guests tend to make themselves at home in the cosy winter garden, lined with woven rugs and brocante finds. Breakfasts are bountiful – freshly squeezed juices, charcuterie, cheese and granola – but ask for the sublime, soft-boiled organic egg, served with baguette strips for dipping. By Lanie Goodman
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Book your stay with ExpediaIt took three years to retune this onetime grand hotel more recently a clinic occupying a huge Haussmannian chunk of rue…
Hotel Bachaumont, 2nd arrondissement
It took three years to retune this one-time grand hotel, more recently a clinic, occupying a huge Haussmannian chunk of rue Bachaumont. The location is fantastic for Paris lovers who are just as into the hip food scene as they are the Musée d’Orsay and the Louvre. The trade-off for such a central stay is that the rooms are Paris-standard stingy in size, although you do get handsome design by Dorothée Meilichzon involving lots of mirrors, her signature upholstered headboards and smart Pierre Frey fabrics. If you jump straight into a suite, or at least a deluxe double, and give the noisy street-side rooms a miss, you won’t feel hard done by. Otherwise, the smaller rooms make perfectly good crashpads from which to enjoy the buzzy restaurant and bar, masterminded by the Experimental Cocktail Group. These spaces are on either side of a glazed passageway, tricked out with Phaidon and Taschen wares and trendy little cacti. More of Meilichzon’s covetable textiles give the lofty dining room a grown-up, fashion-y appeal, although it’s a young crowd who flirt over the roast-chicken rillettes, steak tartare and lamb shoulder to share. The vibe is still cool at breakfast when witch-house tunes drift around as creative-industry types attack Alain Milliat fruit juices, very buttery scrambled eggs and home-made chocolate-and-hazelnut spread. Stay a few days and make yourself at home in this car-free rue Montorgueil neighbourhood, which is almost entirely composed of bakeries, food and wine shops, bistros and bars. By Sophie DeningBook your stay with Booking.com
Book your stay with ExpediaCONDÉ NAST TRAVELLER, TABITHA JOYCE, AND SARAH JAMES
The French while loftily affecting to despise American culture have always been obsessed with certain of its…
Guillaume de Laubier
Nolinski Paris, 1st arrondissement
The French, while loftily affecting to despise American culture, have always been obsessed with certain of its manifestations – jazz, for example, and film noir, which they loved so much they named the entire genre. Perhaps it’s the very intensity of their love that prevents them from making many decent films noirs themselves. But when they do get it right – think of Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samouraï – the results can be sensational. I mention this because Nolinski, in a fine six-storey Haussmannian building on the Avenue de l’Opéra, moments from the Comédie Française, is rather like that. Its designer, Jean-Louis Deniot, fresh from his success with the Chanel spa at the nearby Ritz, has woven an intriguing nest from elements gathered with magpie relish from all over the world. (Many are for sale to guests – putting the ’boutique’ back into the boutique hotel.) Nevertheless, there’s a distinct preponderance of mid-century urban America about Nolinski – brassy, varnished, hard-edged, angular. And yet a certain Frenchness also inheres. One example: every room has a mini-bar housed in a cabinet designed in imitation of a safe – a bank safe of the kind a robber would crack in a film noir – inside which, among the spirits and sodas, guests will find a bottle of jus de cassis. Which is as quintessentially French as a mini-bar designed to look like a safe is American. A Le Samouraï moment: a collision of two worlds, from which both emerge not only unharmed but enhanced. By Steve KingBook your stay with Booking.com
Book your stay with ExpediaWith its creamy stone façade and slategrey bar and restaurant this freshly restored hotel is a real standout among its…
Kristen Pelou
Grand Pigalle Hotel, 9th arrondissement
With its creamy stone façade and slate-grey bar and restaurant, this freshly restored hotel is a real standout among its well-worn neighbours on a lively street in trendy SoPi (South Pigalle). It was conceived by the innovative Experimental Group – three childhood pals who founded the Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels and a flurry of Experimental Cocktail Clubs – as a ‘Bed & Beverage’ hotel. Here, the cocktail is gleefully celebrated, from the gold pineapple ornaments on the doors and the carpets patterned with Martini glasses right down to the bathrooms stocked with Cognac-scented products packaged in mini liquor bottles. Designed by Dorothée Meilichzon, the rooms are uncluttered, with vintage-style furniture, faux fireplaces, original pressed ceilings and colourful tiled bathrooms; mini-bars are well stocked with craft beers and pre-mixed Negronis for that one last nightcap.Book a garret-style room under the eaves on the top floor for the consummate bohemian experience and sweeping views across Montmartre. There’s no need to venture far for sustenance: the restaurant serves delicious bistro food (sea-bass carpaccio with yuzu; Basque-inspired cheeseburgers with chorizo) and has an impressive wine menu (200 varieties and counting). The buffet breakfast is a riot of homemade breads, jams and cakes, laid out prettily on the zinc bar. By Lanie Goodman
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Book your stay with ExpediaJust 10 minutes walk from the Gare du Nord this is a very affordable Art Decostyle option in South Pigalle. The hotel is…
Julie Ansiau
Hotel Bienvenue, 9th arrondissement
Just 10 minutes’ walk from the Gare du Nord, this is a very affordable Art Deco-style option in South Pigalle. The hotel is part of the portfolio of Adrien Gloaguen (the independent hotelier behind nearby Hotel Panache and Hotel Paradis) sits on the grounds of the old Hotel Fenelon. But it’s no surprise that as the area has raised its game – it’s a favourite among the hipster set – so has this hotel. Chloé Nègre is behind the smart interiors, and her carefully manicured touches (candy pink and white stripes and floral armchairs, a plant-filled courtyard with a patterned floor) have been popping up all over social media. The bedrooms, in pastel shades with huge matching velvet headboards and geometric-patterned carpets, are pretty mini, but nonetheless make for a great Parisian pied-à-terre, as the hotel is walking distance from the Tuileries Garden and the Marais. By Tabitha JoyceBook your stay with Booking.com
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