With Paris Fashion Week now well underway, discover the most stylish hotels in the city of Light…
The Best Places to stay in Paris…
Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris
Inimitable, incomparable and unforgettable – from a stroll along the River Seine or the Champs-Elysées to shopping and lunch on the Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris has it all. Whatever brings you to Paris—the illustrious art and fashion, the charming café culture, or the refined cuisine—the key to discovering the City of Light is to experience the destination as locals do. Through a number of exclusive offerings from Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris, your journey to become a vrais Parisien extends from a sunrise jog past the Eiffel Tower to a celebratory cruise along the River Seine at dusk. Under the wing of a Michelin-starred chef, journey to the centre of a vibrant French market, where you’ll sample fresh ingredients from colourful stalls and gain insight into preparing French cuisine. Where to begin? Arrive at the Hotel, set in the very heart of the city, and leave the details to the expert staff who will ensure that you discover, celebrate and taste the very best that Paris has to offer.
Les Bains As the Studio 54 of Paris, in its heyday Les Bains nightclub welcomed everyone from Yves Saint Laurent and Mick Jagger to Kate Moss and Johnny Depp. Since reopening in March, the Marais icon – once a 19th-century private bathhouse visited by Marcel Proust – invites you to carry on the party and stay the night in one of its 39 rooms and suites. The grandeur of the Haussmann architecture is enhanced by glorious marble bathrooms, wood panelling and antique furniture belonging to former guests, including a rug once owned by Gainsborough. Public spaces galore – including a bar, lounge, terrace and club – mean you can drink and dance almost anywhere, anytime. Or book into La Salle à Manger restaurant, headed up by Michelin-starred Philippe Labbé, where you’ll find a 15-metre-tall private dining-room in the former water tank of the Bains Guerbois.
Park Hyatt Now that the Ritz has closed for refurbishment, the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme has become the city’s central meeting point during Fashion Week. The exotic flocks of editors, stylists and models swoop into the verdant interior courtyard for vodka cocktails, or sip green tea as they perch beside the fireplaces on chilly days. But it’s not simply the great location on Rue de la Paix that makes this my favourite place to stay during show season. The bedrooms provide a calm retreat from the clamour of the catwalks, and behind the hotel’s 19th-century façade, the sleek conversion has excellent soundproofing. With welcoming staff, a warm atmosphere and a wonderful spa, the Park Hyatt is the perfect Parisian haven.
La Réserve A Haussmann townhouse that was once owned by the Duc de Morny, and which Emperor Napoleon III visited, has been restored to more than its former glory for the delectation of guests in search of extreme levels of luxury and privacy. Gold-embossed leather adorns walls, antique parquet decorates floors, Toulouse-Lautrec pastels hang in the suites’ marble-lined corridors. The views are of the Eiffel Tower and the Place de la Concorde. The Elysée Palace next-door – home to François Hollande – is no more glamorous than this addition to the Parisian hotel landscape. After a day shopping on the Avenue Montaigne, guests can lounge in front of open fires, flick through a first edition in the private library or retire to the hammam and pool for a revivifying steam. And if you’re hungry, Jerome Banctel in the Restaurant Le Gabriel serves exquisite haute cuisine. This is an extraordinary achievement: a brand-new classic hotel that
feels like it’s always been there.
Hilton Paris Opera In January, after an extensive $50 million restoration, the former Grand Hotel Terminus in the city’s lively Opéra district joined the Hilton family. Originally designed by the architect Juste Lisch to accommodate visitors coming to the 1889 Exposition Universelle, the hotel has an elegant new scheme by Richmond – the designers behind the recently opened Beaumont in London – which pays tribute to its magical history. Bespoke wallpaper shows illustrations of Parisian cityscapes, while modern needs are met with bedside USB charging points and a hi-tech fitness centre. Sip café au lait or champagne in the magnificent entrance hall, Le Grand Salon, with mosaic flooring, frescoes, and chandeliers set with crystals hanging from the 46-foot-high ceilings. Suite guests enjoy access to the hotel’s Executive Lounge that offers free breakfast, and afternoon snacks and drinks.
The Peninsula Paris The newly opened Peninsula Paris is a gorgeously sleek temple of modern luxury, yet it was originally established over a century ago as the Hotel Majestic, where James Joyce and Marcel Proust dined with Sergei Diaghilev and Igor Stravinsky. In the 1920s, the Majestic remained a fashionable destination – George Gershwin composed ‘An American in Paris’ while staying here in 1928 – but eight years later, the hotel was sold to the French government and requisitioned by the German army during the occupation of Paris. Its post-war history was one of faded grandeur; first as the Unesco headquarters; thereafter the premises for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ international conferences. Finally, after six years of meticulous restoration, the Peninsula opened last August, to dazzling effect. The glorious roof-top terrace and restaurant have views to the Eiffel Tower and beyond; the ground-floor reception rooms are light and spacious; the calm, elegant bedrooms are among the loveliest in Paris, as are the graceful marble bathrooms. Rare is the hotel that combines glamour and tranquillity; the Peninsula has both in abundance.
Hôtel Plaza Athénée The Hôtel Plaza Athénée is the epitome of Parisian luxury. This freshly refurbished five-star hotel stands in a 10-star location, set amid the legendary fashion houses on Avenue Montaigne, with its lavish bedrooms offering spectacular views of the Eiffel Tower on one side, and the Champs-Élysées on the other. The renovation reveals haute couture-themed event rooms crowned by a stunning ballroom, while the iconic shaded courtyard, famed for its à la carte dining in summer, transforms into a magical ice rink in winter. Chef Alain Ducasse oversees the hotel’s cuisine, from his eponymous restaurant under a crystal ceiling, to the listed art deco Le Relais Plaza – a brasserie that hosts regular jazz nights. For those seeking relaxation, the hotel offers Europe’s only Dior Institute, where you can enjoy the most fashionable of spa treatments.
source: Harper’s Bazaar
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