Paris_ The Collected Traveler - Barrie Kerper [241]
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Paris Splurges
In addition to the Four Seasons George V, there are a number of palace hotels and other very grand places to consider for a splurge, for just one night or several, including Le Bristol (112 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, 8ème / +33 01 53 43 43 00 / lebristolparis.com), Hôtel de Crillon (10 place de la Concorde, 8ème / +33 01 44 71 15 00 / crillon.com), Le Meurice (228 rue de Rivoli, 1er / +33 01 44 58 10 10 / lemeurice.com), Plaza Athénée (25 avenue Montaigne, 8ème / +33 01 53 67 66 65 / plaza-athenee-paris.com), and the Ritz (15 place Vendôme, 1er / +33 01 43 16 30 30 / ritzparis.com). Of this last, Travel + Leisure special correspondent Christopher Petkanas has said, “For sense of arrival nothing can touch it.” I am partial to Le Meurice because of its history and its location on the rue de Rivoli (I love the arcades), and the view from the rooms on the Tuileries side—overlooking the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre—takes my breath away.
Pavillon de la Reine (28 place des Vosges, 3ème / t33 01 40 29 19 19 / pavillon-de-la-reine.com). This lovely inn, among the most romantic in Paris, takes its name from Anne of Austria, who slept here just before her wedding to King Louis XIII (after which she became la reine, the queen).
It’s wonderful enough to stay in the vicinity of the Place des Vosges, but even more special to stay in a building that is actually a part of it. Pavillon is the only hotel on the place and its entrance is tucked away, so unless staying here tourists don’t usually wander by, adding to the hotel’s exclusivity. Pavillon was recently completely renovated; the interior décor, which blends soft and bold colors with velvets and arabesque-patterned fabric in the hallways, was the vision of Didier Benderli, formerly with Jacques Garcia and designer of David Bouley’s namesake restaurant in New York. A member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, the hotel remains privately owned by the Chevalier family and is managed by director Tim Goddard, who oversaw the multi-million-euro renovation and has been at the hotel for nearly twenty years.
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Each of the forty-two guest rooms and twelve suites is unique, but they all are elegant and evoke a sense of calm and intimacy. Indeed, from the minute you step into the Pavillon’s lobby you feel you’ve entered a different world, peaceful and far removed from the bustle on nearby rue des Francs-Bourgeois. There are lots of antiques and exposed wood beams throughout the hotel, but in addition to this Old World quality there are plenty of contemporary touches in both the public and the guest rooms, notably with the flat-screen TVs atop carved wooden chests and Molton Brown toiletries in the modern bathrooms. The duplex rooms on the first floor were decorated by interior designer Nathalie Prost—whose other hotel credits include the Lancaster, Sofitel Bora-Bora, and Club Med Kos—and they are warm, cozy, and fantastic. The Suite de la Reine, with an enlarged, handwritten parchment page from Rimbaud’s Une Saison en enfer above the bed, is one of the most unique and comfortable hotel rooms I’ve ever seen. A small Carita spa (two treatment rooms, fitness room, Jacuzzi, and steam room) was added during the renovation, and offers an anti–jet lag massage; there is no restaurant, and the breakfast room is open only to guests.
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The hotel still attracts an artistic clientele; Jean-Paul Gaultier once lived in the hotel, and a look at the guest book reveals the names of John Malkovich, Jane Fonda, Christian Lacroix, and Jeremy Irons, who wrote, “What? Write in a book / Where gentlemen look / And ladies spy / Not I, not I!” Rates range from 375 to 835 euros. Note: A sister hotel, Le Pavillon des Lettres (12 rue des Saussaies, 8ème / +33 01 49 24 26 26) opened in the fall of 2010. I haven’t seen the hotel yet, but it’s also designed