In a city defined by Belle Époque grandeur, the celebrated palace hotels of the French capital are becoming more competitive, investing in more rooms and lavishing attention on ever-smaller details.
Recent high-luxe arrivals with 100-plus rooms – The Peninsula Paris, Mandarin OrientalParis and Shangri-La Hotel Paris – have headquarters in Asia and blend their own sense of style with French character.
Hôtel Plaza Athénée, meanwhile, reopened last year after a $320 million makeover of its 154 rooms and 54 suites.
And within the coming year, the Crillon and the Ritz are set to emerge from long beauty sleeps.
So, even thoughParis reigns supreme in grand luxury – many hotels are small, privately run affairs. They are boutiques. And here’s three of the best.
La Réserve
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La Réserve
La Réserve
Swiss hotelier Michel Reybier spared no expense in the renovation of a 19th-century palace on Avenue Gabriel, just a few steps from the Élysée Palace, the presidential residence.
La Réserve
La Réserve
Once owned by Napoleon III’s half-brother, the Duc de Morny, and more recently the home of Pierre Cardin, the Haussmann-era house of 14 rooms and 26 suites, many with Eiffel Tower views, overlooks a garden near Élysée Palace.
La Réserve
La Réserve
Interiors blending opulence and “intelligent luxury” were fashioned by the maverick architect and designer Jacques Garcia, France’s most fêted stylist.
La Réserve
La Réserve
More than 120 artisans, including some from the Louvre, uncovered original cornices and mouldings that had been concealed by false ceilings, laid 250 tonnes of marble and draped 6000 metres of fabric during the two-year project.
Grand Pigalle Hotel
Grand Pigalle Hotel
This is the first hotel by the trio of French childhood friends who founded the Experimental Cocktail Club in Paris in 2007.
Grand Pigalle Hotel
Grand Pigalle Hotel
The hotel’s 37 rooms are flooded with light, their well-designed bathrooms stocked with products by Buly, one of the coolest new beauty houses in Paris.
Grand Pigalle Hotel
Grand Pigalle Hotel
Romée de Goriainoff, Olivier Bon and Pierre-Charles Cros chose Pigalle for their first hotel because of its potential. “It’s in an area that is today where the Marais was 10 years ago,” says Bon.
Grand Pigalle Hotel
Grand Pigalle Hotel
The partners worked with French interior designer Dorothée Meilichzon, who has styled rooms with 1950s-inspired furniture and restored original mouldings and fireplaces, keeping local appeal in mind. grandpigalle.com
Maison Souqet
Maison Souqet
In the shadow of the Moulin Rouge, Maison Souquet’s history is as colourful as the cancan and the courtesans who once entertained their clients here. maisonsouquet.com
Maison Souquet
Maison Souquet
Garcia and co-owner Sylviane Sanz sourced fin de siècle Oriental panelling, chandeliers, paintings and historic books from across France and Belgium to create a red-velvet, naughty-but-nice sense of glamour in the hotel’s 20 guest rooms and suites, salons and spa. maisonsouquet.com
Maison Souquet
Maison Souquet
Each of the guest rooms is individually decorated and named after a courtesan, including the most famous of them all, La Païva. You may well find her portrait above your bed. Rooms from $600. maisonsouquet.com
